Buccaneers vs. Falcons: Atlanta limping into playoffs after Week 17 loss

The Bucs went on to win 22-17 to finish the season 7-9.

Fantasy Impact: Martin came into the season as a solid fantasy sleeper, and he delivered on the hype and then some. Martin will finish his year with 1,454 rushing yards, 472 receiving yards and 12 total touchdowns.

The Bucs led 16-3 late in the third quarter before the Falcons would score a touchdown on a Turner 17-yard touchdown run. Martin would answer with a 40-yard touchdown run of his own and the Bucs would hold on late after the Falcons would add another touchdown with 7:07 remaining to make it interesting.

The Falcons finished 13-3 and head to the NFC playoffs while the Bucs finish a disappointing 7-9.

As the Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud says in this tweet, “let the scrutiny begin’” as the league’s coaches and organizations always go back and forth about playing their regulars in games that don’t matter as much late in season or resting them for the playoffs. Both sides have arguments, but when players the magnitude of Abraham go down for a team like the Falcons, who are already comfortable in their playoff position, resting players gets more ammo as the right thing to do.

Abraham has 33 tackles and 10 sacks this season, but only one sack in his last five games. He has 122 sacks for his career and is a major cog in the Atlanta defense. If he is lost for any portion of the playoffs, it will be a major blow to the Falcons.

Josh Freeman: So much better than previous Buccaneers quarterbacks that it’s not even funny. Well, it’s kinda funny.

It is a head injury but whether or not it is a concussion is unknown. The nine-year veteran is one of the leaders of the Falcons defense, and if he can’t return, it will be a big loss for the team. This is exactly what teams already in the playoffs are afraid of, seeing one of their major contributors go down in the final week of the regular season.

The Falcons are the No. 1 seed in the NFC Playoffs and the NFC South champs.

The Atlanta Falcons have already clinched the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs, while the Buccaneers have been eliminated from playoff contention.

The Falcons enter the game at 13-2, and have already clinched the top spot in the NFC playoffs. The focus for Atlanta will probably be on staying healthy, as the result of the game will have no impact on their season. The Bucs don’t have a whole lot to play for, either, as they won’t be reaching the postseason after going just 6-9 thus far.

The game between the Falcons and Bucs will not matter to other teams in the NFC playoff race, either, but all of the possible NFC playoff scenarios for this weekend can be found here.