After a brutal start to the 2026 NFL season for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, there's all of a sudden a slight glimmer of hope.

After pummeling the Panthers in Carolina last weekend 43-13, the Bucs are now looking to string together back-to-back regular season victories for the first time in over a year. More importantly, with the Atlanta Falcons coming to town on Sunday, the Buccaneers will have a chance to make up even more ground in the division with the Panthers having already lost this week's matchup to the Green Bay Packers on Thursday.

Even though the Falcons and Panthers both sit at 3-4 atop the NFC South standings, the Falcons have a -2 point differential on the season compared to Carolina's -15. Interestingly enough, the Buccaneers, who are looking up at both teams with their 2-5 record, are +11 in the point differential category.

A win against Atlanta this week would be massive for the Buccaneers to close the gap in the NFC South standings. And with four divisional games still to be played, Tampa Bay would all of a sudden have a very realistic path to push for the top seed in the South by season's end.

Conversely, a loss to Atlanta would not only put the Bucs even further behind these teams in the standings, but it could signify the end of their competitive window this year and potentially turn the Bucs into sellers ahead of the Nov. 10th trade deadline.

In other words, even though we aren't quite at the halfway mark, the result of this Sunday's game against the Falcons could very well determine the fate of the 2026 Buccaneers.

Let's take a look at two key position groups that will need to step up in order for the Buccaneers to get a much-needed victory this weekend.

Linebackers

Although Todd Bowles' defense has really established itself as one of the league's better all-around units, there are still flaws to be found.

Most obvious among them is veteran LB Alex Anzalone who, despite signing a substantial contract to become a key leader of this defense in the offseason, has struggled mightily in all facets. Far too often, Anzalone loses his footing, fails to shed blocks, takes poor angles and misses tackles. Even more concerning is that he's been more of a liability in pass coverage than the asset that he was advertised to be coming over from Detroit.

Thankfully, his rookie running mate, Josiah Trotter, has been superb. That being said the Buccaneers have struggled as a unit when it comes to defending opposing tight ends. Meanwhile, Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts, though inconsistent, always seems to be a problem for the Buccaneers.

Trotter needs to keep playing how he has been, but Anzalone must step up in order to contain Pitts, who remains one of the most gifted pass-catching tight ends in the game. Throw in the challenge of defending the best running back in football, Bijan Robinson, and the importance of the Buccaneers' linebacker duo stepping up on Sunday becomes that much more obvious.

Wide Receivers

Even after Mike Evans surprised everyone by leaving Tampa Bay in the offseason, the Buccaneers remained confident in their WR room because of the quality depth they'd assembled leading up to that moment. Unfortunately, though, the Bucs' talented collection of pass catchers hasn't come close to producing the results everyone expected.

Although Chris Godwin has proven in the past to be a game changer, we've yet to see that version of the Bucs' veteran this season. The team's supposed number one WR, Emeka Egbuka, is unlikely to suit up in this game due to a foot injury and Jalen McMillan remains without a timetable for return.

Young receivers like Tez Johnson and Ted Hurst have both performed well in limited opportunities, but they'll need to be targeted more in this game in order to take the top off the defense and open up other opportunities for Zac Robinson's offense.

Although the Buccaneers managed to dominate the Panthers last weekend while passing for just 64 yards in the game, that's unlikely to be replicated against the Falcons, who present a much stouter run defense. As a result, the Bucs will need to attack the Falcons through the air in order to keep them honest. With Mayfield still nursing a thumb injury on his throwing hand, even more of that responsibility will fall on the Bucs' pass catchers.

In order for the Bucs to be effective through the air against Atlanta, they'll need to take some shots downfield to both Johnson and Hurst while utilizing Chris Godwin at all levels of the field. If those players are able to create separation against the Falcons' defensive backs, it will make life that much easier on Mayfield and significantly increase the Bucs' chances of winning this critical game.