With two weeks left in the 2024 regular season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons had identical 8-7 records but the Falcons had the upper hand in the division title race thanks to a head-to-head sweep of their Florida rivals earlier in the season. Fortunately for the Buccaneers, they won their last two games while Atlanta lost a pair of overtime contests and the NFC South crown stayed in Tampa for a fourth straight year.

As the team with control of its own destiny in that race switched back and forth multiple times, it became quite clear how important those previous meetings in Weeks Five and Eight were. Atlanta rallied in the first one on a Thursday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium to tie it in regulation and take a 36-30 decision in overtime. Three weeks later, the Falcons came

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