Tampa Bay Weather Threatens to Turn Bucs-Falcons Clash Into a Muddy Slog

A forecast of first-half downpours in Tampa Bay sounds like a minor inconvenience until you remember these guys are trying to catch a leather missile while running full speed on wet grass. Meteorologist Kevin Roth is calling for a batch of rain that could clear up by the second half, which is weather-speak for nobody actually knowing what happens after halftime, but you should definitely bring a poncho.

If you are holding a ticket on a high-scoring shootout, this is the part where you start sweating. Heavy rain means heavy running, dropped passes, and the kind of sloppy turnovers that make defensive coordinators smile and fantasy managers question their life choices.

"Kevin Roth noted a batch of rain is moving in, with first-half downpours expected and a murky forecast for the second half."

For a Tampa Bay Buccaneers team sitting at a miserable 2-5, a monsoon against the Atlanta Falcons is the absolute last thing they need. You do not fix a broken season by playing in a giant puddle, especially when your margin for error is already nonexistent.

Baker Mayfield is already listed on the injury report with a right thumb issue. He practiced fully this week, but trying to grip a waterlogged football with a banged-up throwing hand is a great way to accidentally throw a screen pass into the third row.

To make matters worse, the Buccaneers might be forced to run the ball 40 times without right tackle Luke Goedeke, who is questionable with a calf injury. If you are going to play in a hurricane simulator, you generally want your offensive line at full strength.

This NFC South clash is going to look less like modern football and more like a 1920s rugby scrum. The Falcons and Bucs will have to throw out the playbook and just pray their running backs remember how to hold onto the rock.

If the skies actually clear in the second half, we might get a normal football game to close things out. Until then, expect a sloppy, miserable slog where the team that makes the fewest catastrophic mistakes walks away with the win.