Sunday’s pivotal NFC South matchup between the visiting Atlanta Falcons and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers looks a lot different than it did last week.
Although the importance of the meeting between the two 4-3 squads isn’t diminished, the personnel for one of the teams has changed considerably.
In Tampa Bay’s 41-31 home loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Monday, the Buccaneers lost both of their leading receivers — Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.
Evans, who got his 100th career receiving touchdown in the first quarter, exited with a right hamstring injury.
Although Evans won’t be placed on injured reserve, Tampa Bay coach Todd Bowles said the team doesn’t expect him to return before the Week 11 bye, meaning he will miss the next three games at least. Evans has 26 receptions for 335 yards and an NFL-best six receiving touchdowns this season.
Trailing by 10 with just over a minute left, the Buccaneers then lost leading receiver Godwin, whose dislocated ankle will require surgery and likely will cost him the rest of his season. Godwin was in the midst of a career year, hauling in five receiving scores to go with 576 yards through the air, second in the NFL to Cincinnati’s Ja’Marr Chase (620).
Dealt the difficult task of having to make up for the loss of the veteran playmakers, Tampa Bay might have to rely on a pair of youngsters in Jalen McMillan and Trey Palmer.
McMillan, a rookie third-round pick out of Washington, has six catches for 74 yards and a touchdown, while Palmer, a second-year player, has five catches for 61 yards and a score.
“They bring something different,” Bowles said of McMillan and Palmer. “We have to tweak our offense now to what they bring to the table, as opposed to what Mike and Chris bring. It’ll be a challenge for the coaches as well as the players, but I’m excited to see them play. I think they have more than what meets the eye that we haven’t seen yet, so I’m excited.”
Atlanta is looking to bounce back from an ugly performance last Sunday, when it turned the ball over three times in the fourth quarter en route to a 34-14 home loss to the Seattle Seahawks. The Falcons topped Tampa Bay 36-30 in overtime on Oct. 3, and a victory Sunday would put them in the divisional driver’s seat.
Atlanta head coach Raheem Morris, the Tampa Bay head coach from 2009-11, said his Falcons will be ready to go.
“They’re pros, just like everybody else in the National Football League,” Morris said. “They’re definitely going to have the next-man-up mentality. That’s two really good players that we know are going to be out. … I know it’s always ‘woe is me’ when you have people hurt. But for coaches and people who work inside the building, they always have answers to be positive about, and people to get the ball to.”
It’ll be an Atlanta offense that vies to get back on track following its lowest point total since an 18-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 1.
Quarterback Kirk Cousins had his worst performance with the Falcons against Seattle, throwing two fourth-quarter interceptions to go with a fumble that was returned for a touchdown. For the season, Cousins has thrown for 1,830 yards and 10 touchdowns, with seven interceptions.
As for Atlanta’s injury report, linebacker Troy Andersen (knee) was a limited participant in Wednesday’s practice, possibly nearing a return after the Sept. 29 injury. Safety Justin Simmons (hamstring), cornerback Antonio Hamilton Sr. (back), and linebacker Nate Landman (shoulder) also were limited participants.
On the offensive line, Matthew Bergeron (neck) was a full participant, while center Ryan Neuzil (knee) did not practice.
For Tampa Bay, running back Bucky Irving (toe), tight end Payne Durham (calf) and safety Tykee Smith (concussion) were non-participants Wednesday.
