The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are looking for their first win as they face the Atlanta Falcons, who are looking to improve to 2-1, on Thursday Night Football.
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Roddy White – Falcons wide receiver expected to be inactive for Week 3 with hamstring injury
Doug Martin – Buccaneers running back expected to sit out Week 3 with knee injury
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The Atlanta Falcons are looking to recover from a beatdown at the hands of the Cincinnati Bengals, and they will face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as they play Thursday Night Football. The Buccaneers are looking for their first win of the season.
The Falcons will have to play without wide receiver Roddy White since he sustained a hamstring injury, but Harry Douglas is a capable receiver who can make spot starts.
Quarterback Matt Ryan will look to return to Week 1 form after struggling against the Bengals defense, and he will still have Julio Jones to throw to despite missing White.
The Buccaneers will look to move on from their disappointing start on offense, but they will have to do so without running back Doug Martin again. However, Bobby Rainey looked impressive in Week 2 as he rushed for 144 yards and added 30 receiving yards.
Quarterback Josh McCown has struggled so far though, as the Buccaneers offense has failed to score more than 17 points in a game. McCown has thrown two touchdowns against three interceptions so far in 2014.
A key matchup to look out for in this game will be Rainey against the Falcons defensive line, which has been weak so far. If Rainey can perform well against the Rams defense, it’s scary to imagine what he can do against the Falcons.
However, the Buccaneers have been vulnerable on pass defense, which is sure to have its struggles against Ryan. If Ryan and his receivers can take advantage, they should have no problem improving to 2-1.
Prediction: Falcons 27, Buccaneers 17
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