TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-6) and the Atlanta Falcons (6-6) are tied for first place in the NFC South.
If things go their way on Sunday, Tampa Bay could be in first place by the end of the night. The Bucs will have to beat Las Vegas, and the Falcons must lose at Minnesota.
“We would like to have a better record than we do now,” Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield said. “We’re still saying that we control our own destiny. Outside factors don’t matter if we don’t take care of business. It’s got to be a mindset of how do we win this game. It has to be like that every week from here on out.”
The Bucs and Falcons have the same records, though Atlanta owns the inside track because of the head-to-head sweep over Tampa Bay earlier in the season.
The second loss against the Falcons was part of a four-game losing streak for the Bucs. They’ve since won two in a row, while the Falcons have lost three straight.
“I’ve seen things go one of two directions: either it goes downhill or you find a way to fix things.,” Bucs wide receiver Sterling Shepard said. “With this team, that’s the mindset and mentality. We're going to get things going our way. We have to keep stacking the days and stacking the practices.”
Speaking of practice, rookie running back Bucky Irving was walking through plays after suffering a hip pointer in last week’s game.
Irving was also honored as the NFC’s Offensive Players of the Week for his performance in Week 13 at Carolina.
“How many times can we get the ball in his hands and how quickly?” Mayfield said. That’s pretty much what I've learned. He’s a playmaker.”
“Like I always said, shoutout to the guys out front,” Irving added. “I think they need to get more recognition. They’re doing a hell of a job of opening up the holes for me. So shoutout to those guys.”
Irving piled up 185 scrimmage yards and a touchdown against the Panthers. He’ll look to replicate that on Sunday when the Bucs host the Raiders at 1 p.m. inside Raymond James Stadium.
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