Bucs Loss to Atlanta Sets Up Crucial Clash

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers enter Sunday’s matchup against the Carolina Panthers with urgency after a crushing defeat last week. Tampa Bay blew a 14-point fourth-quarter lead and fell 29-28 to the Atlanta Falcons, a loss that left head coach Todd Bowles visibly frustrated. His profanity-laced postgame remarks underscored the team’s lack of focus and accountability. Now, with both teams sitting at 7-7, the showdown in Charlotte will determine who takes control of the NFC South heading into the final stretch.

Read All The Sports News on Sports Talk Florida

Evans and Bowles Light a Fire Under the Team

Star wide receiver Mike Evans and Bowles have been vocal in reminding the locker room that the Buccaneers are better than their recent play suggests. Evans emphasized leadership and execution, while Bowles demanded accountability from every level of the roster. “We understood the message after the ball game,” Bowles said. “Everybody is hard at work and trying to do the right things to win.”

Quarterback Baker Mayfield echoed the sentiment, calling out teammates for missed opportunities while taking responsibility for the offense’s struggles. All-Pro tackle Tristan Wirfs added that players should “stew” over the Atlanta loss during the mini-bye, using it as motivation to correct mistakes.

Division Title Still Within Reach

Despite losing five of their last six and six of eight overall, the Buccaneers still control their destiny. A win Sunday would put them back atop the NFC South, and two victories in their final three games would secure a fifth straight division title. Even if they split their two meetings with Carolina, Tampa Bay could clinch if the Panthers stumble against Seattle next week.

Bowles reminded his team that December football is about resilience: “You get up the next day, put your head down, you go to work, and you try to correct the little things. We’re playing meaningful games in December and that’s all you can ask for.”

Broadcast Information

Sunday’s game between the Buccaneers and Panthers kicks off at 1:00 p.m. ET from Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. The matchup will be televised nationally on FOX, with regional coverage across the NFC South markets. Fans can also tune in via Westwood One Radio and local affiliates, while ESPN Radio will provide national updates throughout the day. Streaming options include NFL+ and FOX Sports digital platforms.

Fired Up and Refocused

The Buccaneers began the season 5-1 and were 6-2 at their bye week, but losses to the Patriots, Bills, Rams, Saints, and Falcons have derailed momentum. Their lone win since was a narrow 20-17 victory over Arizona. Still, Bowles insists the team has everything in front of them. With Evans leading the offense and Bowles demanding accountability, Tampa Bay knows a win in Carolina could reset their season and reignite their push for another NFC South crown.

By: Matthew Weatherby

I’ll be frank. James Madison would have to walk a tightrope the size of a human hair to win this game. They have next to no shot, and it’s not a knock or disrespectful; it’s just the truth. With that being said, I did say that they had NEXT to no shot. So, what would the Dukes have to do to get the job done in Eugene Saturday night?

SPORTS TALK GEORGIA

SPORTS TALK FLORIDA

James Madison’s Path

I went thumbing through stats yesterday in search of James Madison’s path to win this game. I didn’t come up with much, but I did find a few stats with a strong correlation that could lead to a Dukes win. It all starts with game control.

Time of Possession. It’s not always the flashiest of stats, but it is a solid indicator of game control. James Madison ranks second in the country in time of possession. While Oregon ranks 39th in the country in time of possession. It is a substantial enough gap between the two to deem it relevant. That then begs the question: James Madison controls the game, but how do they do it?

They’ve controlled the game through the ground game on both sides of the ball. They are 5th in the country in rushing offense and second in the country in terms of their rushing defense. Compared to Oregon’s 14th-ranked rushing offense and 20th-ranked rushing defense. Again a somewhat substantial gap in terms of their season-long statistics that I deem to be relevant.

The problem for James Madison is the fact that Oregon is not a team like Troy (who just lost to Jacksonville State by the way); they will not have a talent advantage over Oregon. So if they follow that script exactly, they will still need a couple of “bounce of the ball” plays to go their way and allow them to steal some possessions.

To make a long story short, James Madison has to cut down on how long Oregon has the ball and how many possessions they have overall. If James Madison were to win this game, it would look something similar to Louisville’s week 8 win over Miami, where the Cardinals were able to cut down on Miami’s possessions.

But that won’t happen…

Why Oregon is going to roll

Talked about how James Madison needs turnovers in order to win this game, and Oregon is tied for 18th in the country in turnover margin. Meanwhile, James Madison is 76th in the country in margin. I called James Madison’s path thinner than a tightrope because of not only that, but the outside factors play heavily against them.

They are going to travel roughly 2,800 miles to Eugene. If you think that is easy, ask the Big 10 teams how easy those West Coast trips are. Not to mention Autzen Stadium is LOUD. Oh, plus Oregon is getting healthier and has its full attention on James Madison. There are zero outside factors that favor the Dukes.

Oh, but what about Oregon’s Coordinators? They are leaving to take different jobs. Yeah, so is James Madison’s Head Coach, Bob Chesney.

Oregon actually is not that much larger on the lines of scrimmage, like I had expected. But, they have more depth on the lines and more speed at the skill positions.

Closing Statement + Lines

In a way, I feel bad for James Madison. If they had gotten Ole Miss, some of those outside factors would have shifted. Plus, their game script would be a lot more successful against Ole Miss’s defense. But they didn’t, so their Cinderella dies in Eugene on Saturday night.

Line: Oregon -21, JMU +1100 on the moneyline

Over/Under: 47.5

Owners say one thing and do another.

The owner of Major League Baseball’s Baltimore Orioles franchise, David Rubenstein, had to approve Pete Alonso’s five-year, $155 million contract. No owner would allow an underling to hand out a contract at that kind of money. A team’s general manager can give out rookie contracts without an owner’s approval as that is standard working conditions for both a club official and a rookie. But the odd thing about Rubenstein handing out the deal to Alonso is this. In 2025 David Rubenstein, the new owner of the Baltimore Orioles franchise, was singing off of the same sheet music as owners who have been around the industry for a long time. MLB needed some sort of cost certainty model.

About a year ago, only five months into his tenure as an owner, Rubenstein sounded a lot like the Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf.  “I wish it would be the case that we would have a salary cap in baseball the way other sports do, and maybe eventually we will, but we don’t have that now,” Rubenstein told Yahoo Finance during the World Economic Forum. “I suspect we’ll probably have something closer to what the NFL and the NBA have, but there’s no guarantee of that.” Reinsdorf has been an advocate of some sort of salary cap or cost certainty for more than four decades however Reinsdorf proved to be a hypocrite when he signed Albert Belle five-year, $55 million contract in November 1996. Reinsdorf was an architect of the 1994 Major League Baseball strike as one of the hardline owners that included the Minnesota Twins owner Carl Pohlad and the officers of the Chicago Tribune Company that owned the Chicago Cubs franchise who pushed for a salary cap. Reinsdorf then handed out a huge contract to Belle. Owners say one thing and do the opposite.

Evan Weiner’s books are available at iTunes – https://books.apple.com/us/author/evan-weiner/id595575191

Evan can be reached at evan_weiner@hotmail.com

Pete Alonso