Falcons look to play spoiler against the reeling Buccaneers on Thursday night

Atlanta (4-9) at Tampa Bay (7-6)

Thursday, 8:15 p.m. EST, Prime Video.

BetMGM NFL odds: Buccaneers by 4 1/2.

Against the spread: Falcons 5-7-1, Buccaneers 5-8.

Series record: Saints lead 32-32.

Last meeting: Buccaneers beat the Falcons 23-20 on Sept. 7, 2025, in Atlanta.

Last week: Buccaneers lost to the Dolphins 37-9; Buccaneers lost to the Saints 24-20.

Falcons offense: overall (16), rush (12), pass (18), scoring (27).

Falcons defense: overall (14), rush (24), pass (9), scoring (20).

Buccaneers offense: overall (22), rush (20), pass (20), scoring (17).

Buccaneers defense: overall (21), rush (8), pass (27), scoring (23).

Turnover differential: Falcons plus-2; Buccaneers plus-9.

Tight end Kyle Pitts. While leading receiver Drake London deals with a knee injury, Pitts has become the go-to target. He led the Falcons with six catches for a season-best 90 yards against the Seahawks last week. It was his second straight outing leading the team in receiving yards. In Atlanta’s first meeting this season against Tampa Bay, Pitts caught seven passes for 59 yards.

WR Emeka Egbuka. The rookie receiver has slowed after a spectacular start. He dropped a touchdown pass last week that could’ve tied the game. Egbuka took accountability and is due for a breakout performance.

Robinson vs. Tampa Bay’s front seven. The Bucs are ninth against the run, but Jahmyr Gibbs and Treveyon Henderson ran all over them. Robinson is a threat as a receiver and a mismatch against Tampa’s linebackers coming out of the backfield.

Falcons: WR Drake London (knee) is out. ... LB Jalon Walker (quad), DL David Onyemata (foot) and TE Kyle Pitts (knee) and DL Brandon Dorlus (groin) are questionable.

Buccaneers: WR Mike Evans (collarbone) are WR Jalen McMillan (neck) are questionable. ... TE Cade Otton (knee) and S Tykee Smith (neck) are doubtful. ... LB SirVocea Dennis (hip) is out.

The Falcons have won two of the past three meetings, including both of Kirk Cousins’ starts last year.

Cousins threw for 785 yards, eight touchdowns and only one interception in two wins against the Bucs last season. ... RB Bijan Robinson ranks first with 1,683 scrimmage yards this season. He has 3,513 yards rushing, 1,520 yards receiving and 30 scrimmage TDs since 2023. ... Pitts aims for his third straight game with 80 yards receiving. ... RB Tyler Allgeier has scored a TD in two of his past three games on the road. ... Edge rusher James Pearce Jr. has a sack in five straight games, the first rookie to do that since Micah Parsons. He leads all rookies with six sacks. ... The Buccaneers ran for 179 yards last week. ... QB Baker Mayfield has completed less than 60% of his passes in three of the last four games. ... RB Bucky Irving had a team-high 81 yards from scrimmage and a TD catch last week. ... Egbuka ranks first among rookies in TD catches (six) and second in yards receiving (806) this season. ... Fellow rookie WR Tez Johnson has five TDs. ... RB Sean Tucker has five rushing TDs. ... LB Chris Braswell got his first sack of season last week. ... S Antoine Winfield Jr. needs two sacks to join Jamal Adams (21 1/2) as the only defensive backs since 1982 with 20 sacks in their first six seasons. ... K Chase McLaughlin is 9 for 9 from beyond 50 yards on field goals.

Robinson could have a monster game as a receiver against a defense that struggles against the pass and gives up too many big plays.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins throws against the Seattle Seahawks during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) carries against New Orleans Saints cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry (4) in the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) passes against the New Orleans Saints in the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)

Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson (7) avoids tackles from Seattle Seahawks linebacker Derick Hall (58) and cornerback Josh Jobe (29) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

GOMA, Congo (AP) — More than 400 civilians have been killed since the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group escalated its offensive in the South Kivu province in eastern Congo, regional officials said, adding that Rwandan special forces were in the strategic city of Uvira.

M23’s latest offensive comes despite a U.S.-mediated peace agreement signed last week by the Congolese and Rwandan presidents in Washington. The accord didn’t include the rebel group, which is negotiating separately with Congo and agreed earlier this year to a ceasefire that both sides accuse the other of violating. However, it obliges Rwanda to halt support for armed groups and work to end hostilities.

“More than 413 civilians (have been) killed by bullets, grenades, and bombs, including many women, children, and young people” in localities between Uvira and Bukavu, the regional capital, the South Kivu government spokesperson said in a statement late Wednesday.

“According to the information gathered, the forces present in the city are composed of Rwandan special forces and some of their foreign mercenaries, operating in clear violation of the ceasefire as well as the Washington and Doha agreements, in total disregard of the commitments made," the statement added.

M23 said it had taken control of the strategic city of Uvira in eastern Congo on Wednesday afternoon, following a rapid offensive since the start of the month. Uvira is an important port city on the northern tip of Lake Tanganyika and is directly across from neighboring Burundi’s largest city, Bujumbura.

The announcement by M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka, posted on the social platform X, encouraged citizens who fled to return to their homes. Uvira is an important port city on the northern tip of Lake Tanganyika and is directly across from neighboring Burundi’s largest city, Bujumbura.

Congo, the U.S. and U.N. experts accuse Rwanda of backing M23, which had hundreds of members in 2021. Now, according to the U.N., the group has around 6,500 fighters.

While Rwanda denies that claim, it acknowledged last year that it has troops and missile systems in eastern Congo, allegedly to safeguard its security. U.N. experts estimate there are up to 4,000 Rwandan forces in Congo.

Burundian Foreign Minister Edouard Bizimana, in an interview with French state media RFI on Wednesday, urged the U.S. to pressure Rwandan President Paul Kagame to ensure the implementation of the agreement signed in the U.S.

“M23 without Kagame, without Rwanda, is nothing," he said.

Bizimana said the capture of Uvira poses a threat to the economic capital, Bujumbura.

“We have registered more than 30,000 refugees and asylum-seekers in the last three days … Uvira and Bujumbura are coastal cities. What threatens Uvira also threatens Bujumbura."

On Thursday, Kanyuka said on X that “some Burundian forces have returned to their national territory, while others have entrenched themselves in the highlands,” referring to the hills of Uvira and Mininebwe in South Kivu.

“Since early Thursday morning, Dec. 11, 2025, these elements entrenched in the highlands have resumed, with unacceptable brutality, their campaign of extermination against our Tutsi Banyamulenge compatriots in Minembwe, indiscriminately launching bombs and using heavy artillery that is killing innocent civilians, including women and children," he wrote.

The Chairperson of the African Union, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, on Thursday said he “deeply regrets these clashes and the violence perpetrated against civilian populations, which run counter to the momentum generated by the Doha Framework Agreement” between congo and AFC/M23, “as well as the Washington D.C. Agreement between the DRC and Rwanda." He also called on all parties “to exercise restraint and to prioritize a political solution.”

In a statement Wednesday, the U.S. Embassy in Kinshasa urged M23 and Rwandan troops to cease all offensive operations and for the Rwandan Defense Forces to withdraw to Rwanda.

The Rwandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs blamed the Congolese armed forces for the recent ceasefire violations in a statement on X on Wednesday.

“The DRC has openly stated that it would not observe any ceasefire, and was fighting to recapture territories lost to AFC/M23, even as the peace process unfolded,” it said.

More than 100 armed groups are vying for a foothold in mineral-rich eastern Congo near the border with Rwanda, most prominently M23. The conflict has created one of the world’s most significant humanitarian crises, with more than 7 million people displaced, according to the U.N. agency for refugees.

Local U.N. partners report that more than 200,000 people have been displaced across the province since Dec. 2, with more than 70 killed. Civilians also have crossed into Burundi, and there have been reports of shells falling in the town of Rugombo, on the Burundian side of the border, raising concerns about the conflict spilling over into Burundian territory.

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Pronczuk reported from Dakar, Senegal. Associated Press writer Renovat Ndabashinze in Bujumbura, Burundi, contributed to this report.

FILE - M23 rebels escort government soldiers and police who surrendered to an undisclosed location in Goma, Democratic republic of the Congo, Jan. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa, File)