5 NFL teams on upset alert in Week 8
1. Atlanta Falcons
By every metric known to any human being that has ever watched an NFL game before, the Atlanta Falcons should be able to easily dismantle the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday afternoon. The Falcons sit at 6-1 on the season compared to the Bucs’ 2-4 record and Atlanta is at home; yet, I’m leaning towards the Buccaneers in this matchup.
For starters, the Falcons have quietly been pretty uninspiring over the past three weeks of action. They needed overtime to take down the Washington Redskins in Week 5, got destroyed by the New Orleans Saints in Week 6 on Thursday Night Football, and barely squeaked out a win over the Tennessee Titans last week. That’s not a murderer’s row of opponents and the Falcons at least somewhat struggled to get through that stretch.
Realizing that the Buccaneers are certainly another team that doesn’t strike fear in opponents, Tampa Bay has been sneakily improving in recent weeks. Rookie Jameis Winston has been getting noticeably more comfortable as a starting NFL quarterback and his performance has reflected that. Moreover, Doug Martin has looked rejuvenated recently and the Falcons have been susceptible to the run.
It’s a long shot without a doubt, but the way things have been playing out over the past few weeks makes it seems like there could be a major upset in the NFC South brewing this week and that Winston might be able to pick up his first major road win.