It’s time for Thursday night football! This week it will feature our very own Tampa Bay Buccaneers traveling to Atlanta to take on the Falcons. This is a critical division game between the two favorites to win the NFC South.
On the road, with several key players injured, this won’t be an easy game for the Bucs. However, it’s still a game that they should be able to win. Several key players have to step up and have big games and I believe they can and will do so.
Who will that be? What will happen in this pivotal game? Here are my week five hot take predictions.
Kirk Cousins Gives Away Interception
It’s been a slow start for Kirk Cousins. After an offseason full of hype regarding how he could revolutionize the Falcons offense, he has really started flat over the first month. He was coming off a major injury, so maybe we shouldn’t be shocked, but this was not what we were expecting from the Atlanta offense.
And while I do think things will eventually trend up for the Falcons offense, I don’t think it will be this week. In fact, this could be Cousin’s worst game of the season. With some offensive line injuries, the 36 year old quarterback could be playing on his heels all game.
Quarterbacks who are uncomfortable make mistakes. And Todd Bowles is one of the best in the business at making quarterbacks uncomfortable. That is why I am predicting two or even three turnovers from Cousins in this game.
Logan Hall Has A Day
Even without Calijah Kancey, the Falcons have a lot to worry about with the Buccaneers defensive front. Vita Vea will draw a lot of attention and so will Yaya Diaby. Then there are blitzers like Lavonte David, Tykee Smith, Jordan Whitehead and Chris Izien to worry about. This will make for a lot of thinking by backup center Ryan Neuzil.
With all these names and blitzes to think about, there is one name that is easy to forget about. That is third year defensive lineman Logan Hall. He’s easy to overlook because he has been very underwhelming in his young career compared to what he was drafted to be.
However, his stock might be on the way up. Last week we saw Hall get a sack and the week before that he jumped on a fumble for the recovery. It might not be eye popping stuff, but Hall’s level of play seems to be improving a bit.
With Kancey out, more weight will fall on Hall’s shoulders. I expect Bowles to use him on stunts and challenge Neuzil to pick them up. That is why I am predicting Logan Hall to get multiple tackles for loss in this game.
A Repeat Performance
Typically, you don’t want your opponent to do what they did the week prior when they are coming off a big division win. However, that’s what Bucs fans should be looking for this week with Atlanta. Everything we saw from the Falcons offense in their 26-24 victory over the Saints is what we are hoping to see again this week.
This is because the Falcons scored no offensive touchdowns last week. They were able to score two non offensive touchdowns and four field goals, two of which were from outside 50 yards including a 58 yard field goal to win it. This Cousins led offense wasn’t exactly lighting up the scoreboard.
I believe the Bucs could do the same thing to them this week. Even with no Antione Winfield Jr and no Calijah Kancey, this defense should give Atlanta issues. That is why I am predicting that the Buccaneers keep the Falcons out of the end zone in this game and they force Younghoe Koo to try and beat them.
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