The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are no strangers to playing the Atlanta Falcons. The two teams have been locked in a divisional rivalry for years in the NFC South, and they've had plenty of notable battles in that time frame.

They are mostly strangers, however, to Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. The Falcons drafted Penix in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, but ever since then, he's played the Buccaneers just one time — he was the quarterback for the Falcons last year when the Bucs beat them 23-20 in Atlanta to open the season.

Now, Penix is set to start against the Bucs for just the second time on Sunday. And that start is a milestone for both him and the Buccaneers.

Michael Penix Jr. Makes Tampa Bay Homecoming

The Buccaneers will host Penix and the Falcons on Sunday, and it will mark the first time that Tampa Bay has played Penix at Raymond James Stadium. The Bucs haven't beaten the Falcons in Raymond James Stadium since Oct. 9, 2022, but the Bucs have generally faced Kirk Cousins or Desmond Ridder in that time span.

This will also be Penix's first time at Raymond James Stadium, which means it will be the first time he's had an NFL homecoming. Penix grew up in the Tampa Bay area in Dade City, so this will be his first NFL game in his home region despite being drafted by the Falcons three seasons ago.

Penix may have grown up in the Tampa Bay area, but he insinuated at a press conference earlier this week that, because of Tampa Bay's lack of success during most of his life, he did not grow up a Bucs fan.

"Nah, I was never a Bucs fan," Penix said this week in the lead-up to the game. "I think the year I was born was the year they won the Super Bowl. And after that, as I was growing up... I wasn't a fan of the Bucs."

The Bucs, however, seem to be fans of his. Head coach Todd Bowles had a lot of good things to say about Penix, and he's certainly keeping Penix's skill set in mind as he game plans to defeat him for the second time in his career.

"He can throw the ball. He's got great zip on the ball and great timing on the football – [a] strong arm," Bowles said. "He can get out of the pocket. He runs a lot better than you think he can run. He's really not giving the ball away. They're doing a great job taking care of the football, which is going to be critical in this game. We’ve been getting [interceptions], but they're a hard team to get them off of, and he's playing winning football."

The Bucs will face off against Penix and the Falcons at 1 p.m. on Sunday in Tampa.