The 0-2 Tampa Bay Buccaneers travel to the Georgia Dome tonight to take on the 1-1 Atlanta Falcons.
The Falcons are hoping a return home will help quarterback Matt Ryan bounce back from a rough performance against the Cincinnati Bengals when they take on the injury-plagued Bucs.
The Bucs are struggling with two keys players out tonight due to injury; two time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Gerald McCoy and middle linebacker Mason Foster. Quarterback Josh McCown is also looking to fix his offense which owns the second worst passing mark in the NFL.
“We want it to happen right now, we want to win right now,” McCown said. “That just for me starts with correcting the things that I can correct as I have already mentioned. I’m just working to do that.”
The Falcons have given up 635 passing yards in their last two games, the second highest total in the NFL. Atlanta wide receiver Julio Jones says they are taking the Bucs seriously despite their record.
“Its the NFL, their are no weak teams in the NFL. That’s how I look at it. Everybody’s good, these guys get paid just the way we get paid and they want to win. No one likes to lose. They (Bucs) are going to come out here Thursday in the Dome and give us everything they got.”
Bucs head coach Lovie Smith believes his team needs to improve on both sides of the ball.
“I’m excited about playing in front of a national TV audience. We have not played our best ball, its a chance for a lot of people to get a look from what they see tonight so we’ll need to play well.”
Kickoff is set for 8:25 in the Georgia Dome. Coverage is on CBS as well as the NFL Network.
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