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 himself 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.”
Live4 updates
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.
Kate Magdziuk
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have caught a big-time break amid a recent skid, going 1-4 since coming out of their bye, with a shoulder injury hampering QB Baker Mayfield to boot.
Star wide receiver Mike Evans will make a return in Week 15 from a broken collarbone suffered back in Week 7. Evans was a limited participant in practices throughout the week before officially being listed as “questionable” on the final injury report.
Evans had been off to a turbulent start to the 2025 season with a career-low 43.8% catch rate through four games on 32 targets. He’d also dealt with a hamstring injury that he suffered in Week 3, which held him out for the following three games. Having missed nine games this year due to injury, 2025 will mark the first season of Evans’ career with fewer than 1,000 receiving yards. He entered the year with 11 such consecutive seasons, tied with Hall of Famer Jerry Rice for the most in NFL history.
Second-year wideout Jalen McMillan is also set to make his season debut after suffering a neck injury in the 2025 preseason. McMillan had a dominant end to his rookie campaign last season, totaling 24 receptions for 316 yards and seven touchdowns over the final five games of the regular season.
Both were activated to the 53-man roster from injured reserve on Wednesday.
Kate Magdziuk
Kate Magdziuk
With less than 90 minutes remaining until the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers kick off on “Thursday Night Football,” each team has announced its Week 15 inactives for gameday.
Here’s a look:
Falcons inactivesBuccaneers inactives