ATLANTA — The Buccaneers are in Atlanta tonight to take on the Falcons on Thursday Night Football.

The Bucs will be without five players for the game.

Defensive lineman Calijah Kancey, safety Antoine Winfield Jr., tackle Luke Goedeke, wide receiver Jalen McMillan and wide receiver Trey Palmer are out.

The Bucs will have their work cut out with the missing personnel, but coach Todd Bowles said he expects a next-man-up mentality.

“We will go with what we got,” Bowles said this week. “We got guys that stepped up, and they’ll have to step up again.”

The Falcons were widely considered the favorite to win the division after the offseason addition of quarterback Kirk Cousins.

The Falcons (2-2) have shown flashes of promise as Cousins has led two game-winning drives, but the veteran hasn’t matched the production of Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield that has led the Buccaneers to the top of the division.

The most recent evidence of mixed results came Sunday in the Falcons’ 26-24 win over the New Orleans Saints. Atlanta won despite not scoring an offensive touchdown, while Kyle Pitts was held without a catch and Bijan Robinson ran for only 28 yards.

Atlanta coach Raheem Morris said he’ll take the win and let others fret about the numbers.

“Really, for me, stats are for losers,” Morris said after the game.

Tampa Bay is currently in first place in the NFC South at 3-1, ahead of Atlanta and New Orleans, both 2-2. The Bucs are hoping to build on their early-season success. After Atlanta, the Bucs play at the Saints, host the Baltimore Ravens and Falcons and then play at the Kansas City Chiefs and host the San Francisco 49ers.

Mayfield said they know what's at stake against a divisional opponent in prime time.

Wide receiver Mike Evans became the Buccaneers’ career scoring leader last week. Evans is only one part in a passing game that also features wide receiver Chris Godwin. The team also promoted Sterling Shepard from the practice squad as another option for Mayfield.

“I think that it really makes it difficult for the defense,” Godwin said. “It’s one thing when a guy is going off because you feed the hot hand, right? But if we’re able to spread the ball around that much, everybody gets involved. ... You can mix in your quick game, your deep passing game, play actions, screens.”

The Bucs have won the past three NFC South titles. This is their fourth 3-1 start in the past five years. They’ve also been successful against Atlanta lately, winning six of the past eight meetings between the division rivals, outscoring the Falcons by 51 points in those games.

Godwin attributes some of Mayfield’s success to the comfort level that comes with being with the same team for a second season.

“And yes, this is our first year in this offensive system, but it’s his second year with this group of guys, and I think the camaraderie that we built last year really helped,” Godwin said.

“I think the adversity that we faced when we all stuck together — I think (that) really helps this year. I think it’s just a natural maturation process, just for him as a player.” 

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.