FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Since the Atlanta Falcons routed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 56-14, on Sept. 18, Bucs defensive tackle Gerald McCoy has returned from a broken hand and recently signed a seven-year, $98 million contract extension.

The two-time Pro Bowler is an interior force for the Bucs and will be a challenge for the Falcons revamped offensive line Sunday.

“He leads their team in sacks; he’s a very explosive defensive lineman,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “It’s not that he’s going to lineup on one side, he moves around.”

The Falcons are starting James Stone at center. He’s an undrafted rookie from Tennessee. He will be making his second start. He’ll be flanked by veteran guards Jon Asamoah and Justin Blalock.

The Falcons plan to center their scheme around McCoy. He’s what they called a “game-wrecker.”

“McCoy is their three technique,” Smith said. “It’s going to be based on what we do formationally, so both guards are going to get an opportunity to have to block him. But he is one of the most explosive guys in the league. He is very similar to the guy that we played last week, the guy that wore number 90. (Detroit’s Ndamukong Suh).”

The Falcons are still trying to rally around the fact that they are just two games behind 4-4 New Orleans with eight games to play.

“I believe, and we believe as a coaching staff, we all know where we’re at,” Smith said. “We haven’t had the first half of the season that we would like, and our focus really needs to be on today, and once we finish today then we move onto the next day. That’s how we have to approach it.”

He’s hoping that team can rally with such an insular approach to a difficult situation.

“I think it’s very important for us as a team to not be worrying about anybody else but our self, and trying to be the best that we can be,” Smith said. “We’re going to continue to coach aggressively, and we’re going to continue to go out and play aggressively. I think it’s very important for us to put together some solid days on the practice field, and the thing that hasn’t been happening is, it hasn’t carried over the game field for 60 minutes. We’ve seen spurts in games that we like, but we haven’t been able to put it together since our game against Tampa (in Week 3).”

The Falcons held a 35-0 halftime lead on Tampa Bay. They would push the lead to 49-0 before pulling the starters.

They are expecting the Bucs to seek revenge.

“This is a division game, and I know that (Bucs coach) Lovie (Smith) will have them ready to play,” Smith said. “That game is really going to have no bearing on what’s going to happen in this ball game. We’re two different football teams. They’re playing with a lot of confidence right now. They’ve shown improvement over the last two or three weeks.”

In addition to having McCoy back, rookie wide receiver Mike Evans is starting to come around. He could pose problems for Atlanta’s leaky secondary.

The first-round draft pick out of Texas A&M proved a game-long matchup nightmare for the Browns last Sunday, catching seven passes for 124 yards, highlighted by a pair of 24-yard touchdown catches.

Evans, who missed the Oct. 5 game at New Orleans with a groin injury, is tied with Vincent Jackson for the team lead with 32 catches. He tops the Bucs with 460 receiving yards and four touchdowns heading into Sunday’s home matchup against the Falcons.

SERIES HISTORY: The series is tied 21-21. Tampa Bay won the last meeting in Tampa when it routed the Falcons 41-28 as Bobby Rainey rushed for 144 yards last season. The Falcons have not won a road game in an outdoor stadium since beating the Bucs in Tampa on Nov. 25, 2012.

MEDICAL WATCH: DT Jonathan Babineaux (foot), WR Harry Douglas (foot), DE Jonathan Massaquoi (foot) and RB Antone Smith (neck) were limited in Wednesday’s practice. OT Jonathan Scott (hamstring) did not participate.

MATCHUPS TO WATCH:

Falcons C James Stone vs. Bucs DT Gerald McCoy, who has five sacks: Stone will be making his second NFL start. He played well against Detroit, but did have a crucial holding penalty on Ndamukong Suh when the Falcons were trying to run the clock out. Stone will be helping right guard Jon Asamoah on McCoy, who recently became the league’s highest paid defensive linemen. He did not play in the last meeting.

Falcons RB Steven Jackson, who’s coming off his best showing, vs. Bucs MLB Mason Foster, a key cog in Tampa Bay’s defense: The Falcons gave Jackson a season-high 18 carries against the Lions as they tried to get their running game moving. He rushed for 60 yards. Foster had seven tackles, one for a loss and one quarterback hit last week against Cleveland.

Falcons S Dwight Lowery vs. Bucs RB Bobby Rainey: The Falcons have dropped Lowery down in the box and use him as a linebacker in running situations. He has helped to solidify what was a meek rushing defense earlier in the season. Rainey had a strong game last week against Cleveland rushing for 87 yards on 19 carries. Last season, he rushed for 144 yards against the Falcons.