Countdown to Kickoff: Buccaneers-Falcons, Week 14 2023 

The 5-7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers will take on the 6-6 Atlanta Falcons on Sunday in a matchup that is crucial to their division title aspirations. The Bucs are coming off a victory against the Panthers and with a win on Sunday against their divisional foe, they would be tied for first place in the division. Tampa Bay will face an Atlanta team that boasts the sixth-best ground attack and a stingy defense that ranks first in the NFL in the red zone. In the critical round-robin tournament, the Bucs have a narrowed, playoff focus. In a high-stakes battle in hostile territory, the Bucs will look to catapult themselves forward in the quest for a third-straight division crown.

“We viewed [Week 13] as a playoff game,” said Head Coach Todd Bowles. “From here on out, every game we play is a playoff game, and most of them are division games that we play, so it’s really important for us to win those division games.”

After a week of preparation, here is what the Week 14 matchup comes down to:

• The winner of this game will be in first place in the division after Week 14 (both would be 3-1 in the division with head-to-head split). Tampa Bay would have tiebreaker based on record versus common opponents.
• Bijan Robinson has 756 rush yards (most in the NFL among all rookies) and 1,022 scrimmage yards (second among rookies behind Rams’ Puka Nacua with 1,074) in 2023. 616 of Robinson’s 756 rushing yards have come on outside zone runs per Next Gen Stats, the highest such percentage at 83.0 in the NFL among 41 players with 100-plus carries in 2023.
• According to Next Gen Stats, the Falcons have played man coverage on 38.5 percentage of opponents’ dropbacks (sixth-most in the NFL in 2023). Atlanta has only allowed four passing touchdowns in man coverage this season (tied for second-fewest in the NFL).
• The Falcons have allowed a touchdown on 37.1 percentage of opponents’ red zone drives in 2023, the lowest opponent red zone touchdown percentage in the NFL and lowest in a season by Atlanta since at least 2000.

• Bucs’ linebacker Lavonte David practiced without limitations during the week and is expected to be back in the fold in Week 14 against Atlanta. David missed the previous two games with a groin injury and is still the Bucs’ leading tackler with 90 stops. In addition, he leads the team with 14 tackles for loss and has notched 3.0 sacks, three passes defensed and a forced fumble.
• Devin White will not…