TB at ATL: 3 things you need to know
A pair of teams coming off tough losses will meet in the Georgia Dome Thursday when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers visit the Atlanta Falcons.
Here are three things you need to know:
Falcons' run defense will be tested
Doug Martin is listed as questionable and that may actually be a good thing for the Buccaneers.
Backup running back Bobby Rainey was excellent last Sunday against the St. Louis Rams and has now totaled 156 yards on 26 runs this season. Rainey is averaging six yards per carry and, if Martin can't go, look for the Western Kentucky product to get a healthy dose of carries.
Rainey will have an excellent chance to post big numbers against a Falcons defense that's had difficulties stopping the run. They've given up more than 300 yards on the ground through two games, including 170 to the Cincinnati Bengals last week.
Bucs facing a (true) starting QB for first time
If you knew the Buccaneers would be facing Derek Anderson and Austin Davis in their first two games, you would've probably liked their chances. Instead, Tampa is 0-2 and wasted two golden opportunities to pick up early-season wins.
Tampa must now deal with Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, Roddy White and the rest of the Falcon's offense on the road. Atlanta is coming off a game where it managed just 309 yards of offense and was limited to a lone touchdown in garbage time against the Bengals. You can bet the Falcons are going to come out strong Thursday night.
Gerald McCoy's injury
Like Martin, McCoy is also listed as questionable after breaking his hand against the Rams.
This would be a big loss for Tampa as McCoy is one of the league's best defensive tackles and run defenders. Even if he does play, it will interesting to see how wearing a cast impacts his play.
Look for the Falcons to test the Bucs' run defense early with Steven Jackson, in order to see what McCoy can do. A bunch of early runs should be a perfect set-up for some shots downfield to Julio Jones, which is something the Falcons love to do.