Mayfield Practices Fully as Winless-at-Home Bucs Prepare for Falcons

Baker Mayfield was a full participant in practice again Thursday, and linebacker Josiah Trotter and outside linebacker Yaya Diaby returned to full work after illnesses, as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers prepared to host the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, Nov. 1, at 1 p.m. at Raymond James Stadium. The NFC South game, televised locally on FOX, is the first of two meetings this season between division rivals that have both started slowly but sit within reach of first place.

Tampa Bay is 2-5 and Atlanta is 3-4. Carolina leads the division at 3-3, a half-game ahead of the Falcons and a game and a half ahead of the Buccaneers and New Orleans Saints. A Bucs win would leave Tampa Bay and Atlanta both at 3-5, and the Bucs would move into second place on tiebreakers, according to an analysis published by Sports Illustrated's Bucs site.

The Buccaneers' injury report

Mayfield, who dislocated his right thumb against Minnesota in Week 3, has been a full participant both days this week. The bigger questions are at receiver and right tackle. Receiver Emeka Egbuka, listed with a concussion and a foot injury, was limited Wednesday and Thursday. Right tackle Luke Goedeke (calf) did not practice either day.

Here is the Buccaneers' Thursday practice report, according to the team:

Godwin, Irving and A'Shawn Robinson were listed for rest rather than injury. Diaby's return to full practice matters: he had three sacks at Carolina, the first three-sack game by a Buccaneer since Devin White in 2020, according to the team, and he has 16 quarterback pressures this season.

Mayfield's return and the run game

Mayfield missed three games after the thumb injury. Undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels started in his place, and Tampa Bay went 1-2, including a three-point loss to Green Bay and an overtime loss to Pittsburgh in which the Bucs led 16-3 in the fourth quarter.

In his return last Sunday, a 43-13 win at Carolina, Mayfield wore a protective glove on his throwing hand and threw only 11 passes, completing seven for 64 yards and a touchdown. Tampa Bay ran 49 times for 258 yards, the fourth-most rushing yards in franchise history, with Irving gaining 106 yards and scoring twice. The defense forced four turnovers and sacked Panthers quarterback Bryce Young five times. The 30-point margin was the third-most lopsided road win in team history.

Mayfield joked afterward that the handoffs were the real test. "These handoffs, I don't know," he said, according to Buccaneers.com. "My thumb might be pretty sore. It's good form, though."

He also framed the win as a turning point for a team that had played 12 straight one-score games and gone 3-9 in them. "I think it's a statement internally for us, not to anybody else, but for us," Mayfield said.

Home field has not helped

The Bucs' problem has been Raymond James Stadium. Tampa Bay is 0-4 at home and 2-1 on the road, according to the NFC South standings. The season has also been marked by late collapses: losses to Cleveland and Pittsburgh both came after the Bucs gave up 10-point second-half leads, according to the team.

Despite the record, Tampa Bay is the only NFC South team with a positive point differential, at plus-11 entering the week, while Atlanta is at minus-2.

What Atlanta brings

The Falcons arrive after a 29-20 home win over San Francisco on Oct. 25 that handed the 49ers their first loss. Quarterback Michael Penix Jr., back from a torn ACL, threw for 213 yards and three touchdowns without an interception and was not sacked. Atlanta started 0-2 with Cooper Rush at quarterback and is 3-2 in Penix's starts, with nine touchdown passes and one interception.

Running back Bijan Robinson leads the NFL with 907 yards from scrimmage through Week 7 and averages 5.4 yards per carry. Tight end Kyle Pitts has a long history of hurting Tampa Bay: in eight games against the Bucs, he has 629 receiving yards and six touchdowns.

Atlanta's injury report is longer. Running back Brian Robinson (hamstring) did not practice Wednesday or Thursday. Pass rushers Samson Ebukam (hamstring) and Za'Darius Smith, who was resting, were limited Thursday, as were right tackle Jawaan Taylor (hamstring), linebacker Divine Deablo (forearm) and cornerbacks A.J. Terrell Jr. (groin) and C.J. Henderson (groin).

Matchups to watch

Sunday sets up as a test of Tampa Bay's ground game against a stingy front. Atlanta allows 88.9 rushing yards per game, among the best marks in the league, and its own rushing attack ranks sixth, according to the Buccaneers' preview. Defensive tackle Gervon Dexter, acquired from Chicago in the offseason, has 24 quarterback pressures, and safety Jessie Bates has 40 tackles, an interception and two forced fumbles.

On the other side, Bucs right guard Cody Mauch has allowed one sack all season and none since Week 3, and how Tampa Bay replaces Goedeke if he cannot play will matter against Atlanta's pass rush. The Falcons kept Penix clean against San Francisco, and the Bucs' pressure, led by Diaby, will try to change that.

Mayfield, who threw for 12,237 yards and 95 touchdowns in his first three seasons as Tampa Bay's starter, threw sparingly in his return, and the Bucs may again lean on Irving, Gainwell and Sean Tucker if the thumb limits him.

Last season's meetings

The teams split their 2025 series. Tampa Bay won 23-20 in Atlanta in Week 1, and the Falcons won 29-28 at Raymond James Stadium on Dec. 11, a game in which Pitts caught 11 passes for 166 yards and three touchdowns. Atlanta leads the all-time series 33-32.

What's next

The Buccaneers will release final injury designations Friday. Sunday's result will shape how both teams approach the NFL trade deadline, which falls on Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 4 p.m. Eastern, after Week 9. A win would pull Tampa Bay even with Atlanta at 3-5 and keep the Bucs close to Carolina, which has played one fewer game; a loss would drop the Bucs to 2-6, two games behind the Falcons, with the deadline approaching.

The teams meet again later this season in Atlanta.