Week 16 begins with an NFC South showdown between the Atlanta Falcons (4-9) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-6). Although the Falcons have been eliminated from playoff contention, they can still play spoiler for a Bucs team fighting for the division title with the Carolina Panthers (7-6).
It’s been a tough season for Atlanta, with Michael Penix Jr. suffering a season-ending injury and having to go back to veteran Kirk Cousins, whom they benched in favor of Penix. The Falcons are 1-3 with Cousins starting this season and aim to cause some chaos within the division down the stretch. Atlanta has lost seven of its last nine games and was crushed by Seattle last week, 37-9. Cousins threw two interceptions and completed 50% of his passes in the loss, while Bijan Robinson rushed for 86 yards.
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Tampa Bay hit a rough patch after opening the season 6-2. Many praised quarterback Baker Mayfield as an MVP candidate despite numerous injuries on offense. However, since the bye week, the Bucs are 1-4 and now find themselves fighting with the Panthers for the division, while Mayfield works through a shoulder injury. Tampa needs a win this week to build momentum heading into Week 16 against Carolina.
Falcons-Buccaneers start time: 8:15 p.m. ET
Location: Raymond James Stadium | Tampa Bay, Florida
TV channel: Amazon Prime Video, NFL+
Follow along with Yahoo Sports for live updates, highlights and more as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons kick off Week 15 on “Thursday Night Football.”
Live23 updates
Thu, December 11, 2025 at 5:35 PM PST
Thu, December 11, 2025 at 5:49 PM PST
Thu, December 11, 2025 at 5:48 PM PST
Behind fullback Vita Vea, Sean Tucker punches it in to finish off a rough drive for the Falcons.
Thu, December 11, 2025 at 5:47 PM PST
Thu, December 11, 2025 at 5:46 PM PST
Baker Mayfield finds Jalen McMillan for a 20-yard TD, but it’s overturned on replay as the first quarter ends. Still, it’s Buccaneers ball at the 1-yard line.
Thu, December 11, 2025 at 5:44 PM PST
Thu, December 11, 2025 at 5:43 PM PST
On 3rd-and-15 after a James Pearce Jr. sack, Baker Mayfield connects with Emeka Egbuka for 23 yards. Falcons CB A.J. Terrell got called for another penalty, this time illegal contact, which the Bucs declined.
Thu, December 11, 2025 at 5:41 PM PST
Thu, December 11, 2025 at 5:41 PM PST
Welcome back Mike Evans. The future Hall of Fame wideout, returning from a broke collarbone that’s kept him out since Oct. 20, gets his first catch for 12 yards and receives a big ovation from the Tampa crowd.
Thu, December 11, 2025 at 5:39 PM PST
Thu, December 11, 2025 at 5:39 PM PST
Thu, December 11, 2025 at 5:38 PM PST
Baker Mayfield got sacked on 3rd-and-3, but an A.J. Terrell holding penalty keeps the Bucs drive alive. And then Rachaad White throws down a big-boy run for 20 yards to put Tampa Bay at midfield.
Thu, December 11, 2025 at 5:32 PM PST
The Atlanta Falcons entered this game with the second-worst third down conversion rate in the NFL and come up short on 3rd-and-12, which was originally 3rd-and-2 before a false start then a delay of game penalty. Not what would you call an encouraging start.
Thu, December 11, 2025 at 5:26 PM PST
Thu, December 11, 2025 at 5:20 PM PST
The Bucs opened the drive with two straight 11-yard plays, but it stalls out from there. They punt at midfield and the Falcons will begin their first offensive drive around the 1-yard line after a perfect punt.
Thu, December 11, 2025 at 5:17 PM PST
The Bucs return the kickoff to the 33 and we’re off in Tampa Bay.
Kate Magdziuk
Get those TVs set! The Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers kick off live from Raymond James Stadium at 8:15 p.m. ET, airing live on Amazon Prime Video and NFL+.
Thu, December 11, 2025 at 4:45 PM PST
Yahoo Sports Fantasy Staff
Kate Magdziuk
The Atlanta Falcons are deploying veteran Kirk Cousins at quarterback for the remainder of 2025 after Michael Penix Jr. went down with a season-ending knee injury.
That might not be great news for the Buccaneers, based on his performance against Tampa in the 2024 season, prior to his benching.
He faced the Buccaneers in Weeks 5 and 8 last year, completing 74.7% of pass attempts for 785 yards, 8 touchdowns and 1 interception. He had four passing touchdowns in each of those contests, averaging 9.0 yards per pass attempt and a 127.8 NFL passer rating across those two games.
For those fantasy managers out there, Cousins was the overall QB1 and QB3 in Weeks 5 and 8, respectively.
Things have changed since then, sure. In 2024, the Bucs allowed the fourth-most passing yards (4,147) in the league and the seventh-highest yards per completion average (11.5).
Kate Magdziuk
The Atlanta Falcons will once again be without their WR1 in Week 15, as Drake London misses his fourth straight game with a sprained PCL.
It’s a big-time blow for the fourth-year wideout, who was having a career year. London had managed 100-plus receiving yards in five of his last six games, with six receiving touchdowns in that span. He is currently the WR4 in fantasy points per game in half-PPR scoring fantasy leagues this year (16.3).
Fifth-year tight end Kyle Pitts Sr. has led the team with 23 targets in that span, averaging 65.7 receiving yards per game over the past three weeks. He’s currently on pace for the second-highest receiving-yard total of his career, with a career-high 72.9% catch rate.