Atlanta’s path to the playoffs goes through Tampa in prime time.

The Falcons topped the Saints to keep their playoff hopes alive in a stacked NFC. Now, they’ll take on a different task when they face an underwhelming Buccaneers team on the road. The two NFC South rivals meet on Monday Night Football at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN (live stream).

Atlanta’s quest to defend its conference title has taken several twists and turns. The Falcons sit in third place in a deep division and may need to win out to ensure a return to the postseason. Tampa Bay doesn’t have anything to play for at this point besides draft position, but Monday’s game will give the Buccaneers the chance to ruin a rival’s season. While the club has typically rolled over against playoff teams, that motivation may be enough to turn Week 15’s matchup from a snoozer into a compelling 60 minutes of football.

Time, TV channel, and streaming info

• Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
• Location: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Fla.
• TV: ESPN
• Streaming: WatchESPN, FuboTV
• Odds: Atlanta is favored by 4.5 points.

Falcons at Buccaneers news:

• Atlanta won last week’s marquee showdown with New Orleans despite some head-scratching behavior from coach Dan Quinn.

Accepting the penalty seems like a no-brainer, forcing the Saints into a long third down and potentially a 50-yard field goal attempt that would’ve only tied the game. But Quinn made a baffling choice to decline, meaning that the Saints needed only 1 yard to continue the drive. Sure enough, Sean Payton went for it and Brees got the first down on a sneak.

• SB Nation’s latest mock draft has the Bucs addressing a major need with an impact 2018 rookie.

This is one of the bigger no-brainer choices in the top 10. The Buccaneers badly need a pass rusher on the edge, and Chubb is considered by many to be one of the draft’s top players.

• Matt Bryant is a damn fine kicker. But he’s also 42 — so do the Falcons have a kicker conundrum looming?

Bryant will be an unrestricted free agent in 2018. He represented a $3.08 million cap hit in 2017. His $1.4 million base salary in 2017 is only $400k more than the league minimum. (It’s worth noting that he made much more money earlier in his career with the Falcons.) I have to assume the Falcons could retain him with a similar investment next season. We know he loves playing for the Falcons and we know his family is quite fond of the team as well. The question is whether the team has any reason to think some sort of regression is on the horizon.

• If Dirk Koetter can’t get along with Jameis Winston, it could spell the end of his tenure with Tampa Bay.

“Listen, me and Coach Koetter have a great relationship first and foremost. We have the same goal when we go out there on that football field and that’s to win the football game. It doesn’t matter what anyone else can possibly say, obviously a lot of stuff can come out when we are not doing as expected, but that’s false. Coach Koetter coaches his tail off and he definitely supports me, so whatever anybody else has to say outside of that – that’s water under the bridge.”

Do the Buccaneers have any chance to inspire hope for 2017?

2016 was supposed to be a foundational year for Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers stayed in the playoff race through Week 17 before falling just short of the postseason with a 9-7 record. Instead of building on that growth, the franchise has regressed — all it has to look forward to after its 16th game is a promising slot in the 2018 NFL Draft.

But beating the Falcons and spoiling their season would give Tampa Bay something to hang on to through a long offseason. The Bucs’ best win this season came against an underwhelming Dolphins team, seemingly proving their mediocrity. Finding a way to beat a division rival in the midst of a playoff hunt would at least prove Tampa Bay is still dangerous.

Falcons at Buccaneers prediction:

It’s a clean sweep for the Falcons in our Week 15 picks. All eight experts as well as OddsShark’s computer took Atlanta to win this one.

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The worst Monday Night Football game ever