Week 5 Expert Picks: Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Atlanta Falcons

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers headed to their second road game in week five, this time in Atlanta, to begin three intra-division games in four weeks. It is also the Buccaneers’ first primetime game of 2024, taking place Thursday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. To find out how to watch, listen and live stream the game, click here.

The game is the first intra-division contest for the Buccaneers, and these games within the NFC South tend to take on a life of their own. According to analysts, there are many reasons to like both teams. Some cited O-line issues for the Buccaneers, while others noted that Atlanta puts the worst pressure on opposing quarterbacks in the league. For one analyst, Atlanta’s two-headed rushing attack was a deciding factor, but another noted that Tampa Bay gets its motivation from being underdogs. Another analyst noted that Thursday weeknight games often turn into “slogs” and believes the Bucs have more team chemistry to handle this type of game.

The Buccaneers are 1.5 point outsiders away from home, but have plenty of support from the experts. This is what some of them say:

NFL.com – Four out of five analysts side with the Buccaneers

ESPN.com – ESPN put together ELEVEN analysts and they went 6-5 in favor of the Falcons

CBSSports.com – Pete Prisco calls this a “tremendous game” for the NFC South and the Bucs side

USA Today – It’s split right down the middle of six predictions

Tribune Report – Bucs receive seven of eight picks in this group of experts

Pro Football Talk – This time Mike Florio and Chris Simms agree on the Buccaneers

Sports Illustrated – Only one dissenter among six analysts rejects Falcons

Sports News – A revenge win for Raheem Morris? This is what Vinnie Iyer foresees