# Buccaneers vs Falcons prediction: what pundits picked

Week 16, 2026: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Atlanta Falcons

Dec 27, 2026 · not played yet · 0 calls on record

No pundit we track has picked a side in Buccaneers vs Falcons yet.

Page: https://missedtakes.co/nfl/games/2026-week-16-buccaneers-at-falcons

## How they come in

The Buccaneers are 3-6; the Falcons are 3-6 and have lost 2 straight. The Buccaneers beat the Falcons 16-0 when they met in Week 8. On win totals, 10 pundits put the Buccaneers at 8.5 wins on average, and 9 pundits put the Falcons at 6.1 wins on average.

Venue: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia

- Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 3-6 (202 scored, 178 allowed)
  - Last games: L 24-27 at Bears; W 16-0 vs Falcons; W 43-13 at Panthers
  - Unit ranks this season: offense 22nd, defense 6th of 32
  - Last season: 8-9
  - Win-total calls: 11 pundits, average 8.5, 2 to 17 wins
  - The side most pundits took won 4 of 8 Buccaneers games
- Atlanta Falcons: 3-6, lost 2 straight (188 scored, 223 allowed)
  - Last games: L 17-34 vs Bengals; L 0-16 at Buccaneers; W 29-20 vs 49ers
  - Unit ranks this season: offense 20th, defense 20th of 32
  - Last season: 8-9
  - Win-total calls: 9 pundits, average 6.1, 2 to 9 wins
  - The side most pundits took won 5 of 9 Falcons games

## Players to watch

Each club's starting quarterback, leading rusher, receiver and tight end, and its sack and tackle leaders, with their 2026 regular season so far, with the latest call on each from a pundit ranked on the leaderboard whose record beats the naive pick, made since the 2026 schedule came out ("No." is that rank). Leaderboard: https://missedtakes.co/nfl/leaderboard

- [Baker Mayfield](https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/baker-mayfield) (Starting QB, QB): 922 passing yards · 3 TD, 4 INT · 60.6% completions · 6 games; 32nd in the NFL in passing yards
  - No. 23 Jordan Dajani, Sep 28, 2026: Mayfield would seemingly be good to go, based on Bowles' current timeline, for their game on Oct. 25 against the Carolina Panthers. (not settled yet)
  - No. 24 Rich Hribar, Aug 5, 2026: Baker Mayfield to outplay his draft cost (a QB2) (not settled yet)
- [Bucky Irving](https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/bucky-irving) (RB1, RB): 825 rushing yards on 167 carries · 8 TD · 22 catches for 106 · 9 games; 4th in the NFL in rushing yards
  - No. 8 Pat Fitzmaurice, Aug 6, 2026: Bucky Irving to be 1st on the depth chart (not settled yet)
  - No. 12 Derek Brown, Aug 11, 2026: Bucky Irving to fall short of his draft cost (RB22, Overall RK57 | ECR vs. ADP: -13) (not settled yet)
- [Emeka Egbuka](https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/emeka-egbuka) (WR1, WR): 31 catches for 278 yards · 2 TD · 7 games; 81st in the NFL in receiving yards
  - No. 8 Pat Fitzmaurice, Aug 25, 2026: Emeka Egbuka to be 1st on the depth chart (not settled yet)
  - No. 12 Derek Brown, Sep 2, 2026: Emeka Egbuka to be 1st on the depth chart (not settled yet)
- [Cade Otton](https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/cade-otton) (TE1, TE): 23 catches for 211 yards · 0 TD · 8 games; 118th in the NFL in receiving yards
- [David Walker](https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/david-walker) (Sack leader, LB): 4 sacks · 15 solo tackles · 8 games; 30th in the NFL in sacks
- [Josiah Trotter](https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/josiah-trotter) (Tackle leader, LB): 1 sack · 36 solo tackles · 1 interception · 8 games; 14th in the NFL in solo tackles
- [Michael Penix Jr.](https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/michael-penix-jr) (Starting QB, QB): 1,444 passing yards · 10 TD, 6 INT · 62.3% completions · 7 games; 26th in the NFL in passing yards
  - No. 8 Pat Fitzmaurice, Sep 21, 2026: Michael Penix Jr. to be 1st on the depth chart (not settled yet)
  - No. 10 Shanna McCarriston, Sep 10, 2026: Michael Penix Jr. to be 1st on the depth chart (not settled yet)
- [Bijan Robinson](https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/bijan-robinson) (RB1, RB): 880 rushing yards on 169 carries · 6 TD · 31 catches for 250 · 9 games; 1st in the NFL in rushing yards
  - No. 4 Bryan DeArdo, Oct 10, 2026: Bijan Robinson to record 1,361 rushing yards (not settled yet)
  - No. 12 Derek Brown, Sep 7, 2026: Bijan Robinson to finish top 2 at his position, by fantasy points (not settled yet)
- [Drake London](https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/drake-london) (WR1, WR): 44 catches for 692 yards · 1 TD · 9 games; 8th in the NFL in receiving yards
  - No. 12 Derek Brown, Sep 26, 2026: He's wide receiver one. Where you want to put him in wide receiver one is fine by me. (not settled yet)
  - No. 30 Andrew Erickson, Sep 16, 2026: Drake London to be 1st on the depth chart (not settled yet)
- [Kyle Pitts](https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/kyle-pitts) (TE1, TE): 25 catches for 220 yards · 4 TD · 9 games; 113th in the NFL in receiving yards
  - No. 8 Pat Fitzmaurice, Sep 5, 2026: Kyle Pitts to be 2nd on the depth chart (not settled yet)
- [Za'Darius Smith](https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/za-darius-smith) (Sack leader, DE): 4.5 sacks · 6 solo tackles · 6 games; 22nd in the NFL in sacks
- [Kendal Daniels](https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/kendal-daniels) (Tackle leader, LB): 1 sack · 40 solo tackles · 1 interception · 9 games; 8th in the NFL in solo tackles

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The room is counted in pundits, each one's latest call standing. Accuracy is out of 100; the naive pick is the home team.
The week: https://missedtakes.co/nfl/games/2026-week-16
Method: https://missedtakes.co/methodology