Thursday, May 17th, 2012
The Atlanta Falcons will travel in a key NFC South divisional football game when they take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday afternoon.
Kick off time from Tampa Bay is scheduled for 4:15PM Eastern Time with television coverage provided by FOX.
The betting odds opened up in this game with the road team Atlanta Falcons favored by -2 ½ points with an over under of 45 points.
Early money has come on the road team as the Atlanta Falcons are now favored by -3 points. The total has moved down to 44 points.
Money line bettors playing the side of the road favored Atlanta Falcons will lay -150 odds with the home underdog Tampa Bay Buccaneers bringing back +130 odds to earn the outright victory without the aid of taking the points.
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When these two NFC South divisional foes met for their first meeting this season it was the Atlanta Falcons with the 27-21 victory against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a -10 point home favorite. The game landed over the closing total of 44 ½ points.
Atlanta’s running game was effective with 130 yards on 33 carries. Tampa Bay turned it over two times and took none away from the Falcons. Atlanta made a key fourth quarter goal line stand against the Buccaneers to preserve victory.
The Falcons enters this contest with a record of 9-2 on the year. The team puts up 25 points and 364 yards per game.
Atlanta is on the road for the sixth time on the season where they are 3-2. Their two losses came in a 15-9 overtime loss at Pittsburgh in week 1 as a -1 point favorite and a 31-17 road loss at Philadelphia as a +2 point underdog.
The team is coming off a 20-17 victory against the Green Bay Packers as a -2 ½ point favorite.
The Falcons put up 294 yards and converted on 4 of 12 on third down. The team had success on the ground with 117 yards on 27 carries for nearly 4 ½ yards per rush. Atlanta got in the end zone in 2 of 2 tries inside the red zone.
Quarterback Matt Ryan completed on 24 of 28 passes for 197 yards with a touchdown and no picks.
Running back Michael Turner had 23 carries for 110 yards and a score.
Tight end Tony Gonzalez led the club with 6 catches for 51 yards. Roddy White contributed with 5 catches for 49 yards.
Defensively the team allows its opponents 19 points and 346 yards per game.
The club allowed the Packers last week 418 yards and 4 of 11 on third down. They limited their NFC North opponents run game to just 77 yards on 23 carries for a 3.3 yards per rush average. They allowed the opposing signal caller to hit on 26 of 35 passes for 344 yards with a score and no picks.
Tampa Bay hosts this important divisional game with a record of 7-4 on the season. They sit two games behind Atlanta in the NFC South division. The team puts up 19 points and 319 yards per game.
The Buccaneers are at home for the sixth time on the season where they are 3-2. All losses at home and this season came against winning teams. Their two home losses came against New Orleans 31-6 and Pittsburgh 38-13 and failing to cover the spread as an underdog in each game.
The team is coming off a 17-10 road loss at Baltimore last week as a +7 ½ point road underdog.
Tampa Bay put up 263 yards and converted on 6 of 16 on third down. The team ran it 23 times on the Ravens defense for 101 yards for nearly 4 ½ yards per carry. The Buccaneers were penalized 9 times for 78 yards.
Quarterback Josh Freeman completed 17 of 37 passes for 162 yards with a touchdown and no picks.
Running back LeGarrette Blount on 13 carries rushed for 55 yards. Cadillac Williams got only 4 carries for 19 yards. Cadillac caught 5 passes for 41 yards.
Tight end Kellen Winslow led the team with 4 catches for 44 yards and a score.
On defense the team allows its opponents 20 points and 338 yards per game.
Tampa Bay allowed the Ravens 349 yards and only 3 of 12 on third down. The Buccaneers gave up just pedestrian run totals to their AFC North opponent last week by allowing 92 yards on 26 carries for a 3.5 yards per rush average. The Buccaneers got hurt in pass defense by allowing the opposing quarterback to hit on 25 of 35 passes for 289 yards with two touchdowns and 1 pick.
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NFL Trend: Tampa Bay Buccaneers are 4-1 ATS in their past 5 games versus Atlanta Falcons.
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