Coming back from their bye week, the Atlanta Falcons are looking to break their losing streak as they travel to Tampa to take on the Buccaneers on Sunday.
Can the Falcons turn things around? In the midst of a five game losing streak, the team is looking to come back strong against a team they have already defeated once this season.
Buccaneers rookie RB Charles Sims was placed on the active roster this last week, but was inactive during the Buccaneers' game against the Cleveland Browns. Sunday against the Falcons could be the rookie's first NFL start after spending most of the season out with an ankle injury.
The bye week fell at a perfect time for the Atlanta Falcons and with the week off, the Falcons will be returning fully rested, ready for two division games in a row.
The first meeting between these two teams this season made history and brought the Falcons their second win of the season. WR Devin Hester returned a punt for a touchdown, breaking the touchdown return record and the team defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 56-14. The Falcons are looking to turn their season around in this game and get a repeat of the Week 3 victory.
The Falcons may have defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during Week 3, but the Buccaneers defense was missing a notable face. During this week's game, DT Gerald McCoy will be back, and leading the team with five sacks, he is a major factor for the Bucs defense.
Will DT Jonathan Babineaux be healthy this week? Babineaux missed the Week 8 game against the Detroit Lions in London after suffering a foot injury, and all signs point to a healthy return so far.
The beginning of the month not only marked the start of the second half of the 2014 regular season for the Atlanta Falcons, but also the latest "No-Shave November" campaign, presented by Jack Black. The goal of the campaign is to grow cancer awareness by embracing hair, which many cancer patients lose, letting it grow and donating the money usually spent on shaving and grooming for a month to educate others about cancer prevention, saving lives and aiding those fighting the battle.
Both Falcons punter Matt Bosher and Falcons cornerback Desmond Trufant are just two of the many NFL players embracing the cause, each having family members impacted by cancer. The grandfather of Bosher's wife was diagnosed with prostate cancer and thankfully made it through the trial; however, there can never be too much awareness of the deadly disease.
"I think it's definitely an issue that needs to be brought to the forefront," Bosher said. "Men don't talk about a lot of health issues, especially in that respect, so I think it's good to bring more awareness to male health."
For those keeping score at home, we'll continue to post pictures of both players' beards, throughout the month. When asked which of the teammates would grow the better beard by month's end, the humble Trufant wouldn't say, only admitting, "my beard doesn't really grow in as well on the sides, but I can get it pretty long on the chin and the goatee area, so, we'll see."
Let the beard growing, cancer awareness and fundraising begin! For more information on "No-Shave November", click here.
