Five Things I’m Looking For With The Buccaneers Schedule

The NFL schedule release is due to happen this week on Thursday. Although we have known the opponents for quite some time, we will finally learn the official order and matches for the 2026 season. This will make an impact for all teams, including our Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

As we have seen in recent years, it’s not always about who you play as much as it is when you play them. The Buccaneers have embodied this as a team that has started hot, but gone on lengthy losing streaks in the later parts of the season. Hopefully the schedule doesn’t line up that way this year.

While we don’t have any information at this time, there are certainly things that I would like to see with the schedule. There are also things that we can speculate on based on what we know. Here are the five things I’m looking for with the Buccaneers schedule.

1) Get Your Passport Ready

There is a chance the Buccaneers could be sailing around the world to play a game this year…..Okay, so they’ll fly, but you get the point. All the hosting teams for overseas games have been announced and there are three teams on the Bucs schedule with an unknown opponent to travel across the pond to play.

The Detroit Lions will host a game in Germany. The Bucs had a great experience there a few years ago, so it might make sense for the NFL to look to continue to build momentum there. However, part of me questions if they want to send such a good matchup overseas.

The other two teams are division opponents. The New Orleans Saints will host a game in Paris and the Atlanta Falcons will host a game in Madrid. Either matchup is interesting enough; just tell me what time to set my alarm clock for to watch them play.

2) Primetime Action

The Buccaneers are a good team. They also have a difficult schedule, so they will be playing good teams regularly. When that is the case, those types of games are usually in prime time. So naturally I wonder how many prime time games we should expect.

The Bucs are not one of the media darlings in the NFL. They are often passed by for bigger brands, so the number is typically smaller than you might hope. However, with opponents like the Steelers, Cowboys and Bears on the schedule then the Buccaneers could benefit from those brands. 

Looking at it now, I could see around five primetime games. The NFC North and AFC North are big brand divisions and the Los Angeles market twice this year will help those odds as well. The Bucs are a good team and deserve that prime time spotlight. 

3) Head North Early

One of the best divisions in the NFL is the NFC North. It feels like any team could win that division and last year no one had a losing record. Each team would make a good measuring stick for the Bucs this year.

Ideally, Tampa would play those teams early in the season. While all are very good, each has question marks. Whether it be a new quarterback in Minnesota, offensive line shuffling in Detroit or injury status of Micha Parsons in Green Bay.

It would be nice to play those games before those questions are answered. Before Penei Sewell is comfortable at left tackle, before Kyler Murray builds chemistry with his wide receivers, etc. It might be a slight advantage, it it would be nice to have either way.

4) Stacking Contenders

Todd Bowles has received a lot of criticism for his mid-season losing streaks. And while this is fair, it’s also a result of bad timing. It seems every year that the Bucs toughest opponents have all been bunched together on the schedule (often at a time where the Bucs were dealing with significant injuries).

Grouping teams like the Lions, Bears, Rams, Chargers and Cowboys together would make for a very tough month. And while that would soften the rest of the year out, it would set up for another potential losing streak if things don’t go their way. Ideally, there is a little breathing room between playing contenders.

There aren’t many bottom feeders on the Buccaneers schedule this year, so expect to see good teams bunched together. But if they could avoid grouping the best teams all together then I think that would go a long way.

5) Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

No, I’m not talking about the John Candy movie. I’m talking about travel and a potential lack of rest for the wicked. Let’s not forget that these are humans taking the field and the wear of being on the road for long stretches can be fatiguing. 

Fortunately, the Bucs don’t have any daunting road trips this year. Both games against Los Angeles are at home, as are the northern most games in Green Bay and Minnesota. So barring an overseas trip, travel shouldn’t be terrible. 

Of course, it would be nice to space some of the longer trips out. Perhaps playing Dallas, then Detroit, the back home and then to Chicago could make for a tough month. But as long as the travel isn’t stacked together, then this aspect should be pretty manageable.