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History Repeats Itself In Bucs Season Projections

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Adam Schultz | Last updated May 17, 2025 10:23 PM ET

Last season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were ravaged by injury, and Baker Mayfield still led the team to a division title with a 10-7 record.

It wasn't the prettiest with both sides of the ball seeing key players see the inside of the treatment room, but when fully healthy, Tampa was a force.

Now, with the Buccaneers getting back Chris Godwin and drafting Emeka Egbuka along with some stout defensive players, not to mention the free agent signing of Haason Reddick, it is feasible to suggest the Buccaneers will be at least as good as last season, if not better.

Looking at their schedule, the win projection sees the Buccaneers with 9.7 wins, and NFL.com's Cynthia Frelund has Tampa winning the NFC South...again.

"In the first seven weeks, the Bucs face four games against teams I forecasted to win their respective divisions: at Houston (Week 2 on Monday Night Football), vs. Philadelphia (Week 4), vs. San Francisco (Week 6) and at Detroit (Week 7 on MNF). That stretch -- combined with Weeks 11 and 12, when Tampa must face the Bills and Rams on the road -- drives the Bucs' win total under 10 games," Frelund writes. "Don't be too mad, though, because I have them winning the NFC South for the fifth straight season."

If the Buccaneers can stay away from the injury bug, then going over nine wins is a good bet and lets not forget, Baker Mayfield led them to 10 wins last season with an injury-depleted team.

So the floor for the Buccaneers is set, and the ceiling? Well, that will be determined in due time, but there's no doubting that in 2025, Tampa Bay will look to be one of the top dogs in the conference.

And they will have ample opportunity to prove their worth, with the Bucs facing the Detroit Lions, Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers, and Los Angeles Rams, so we will know a lot about Tampa from those contests.

But one thing remains constant - the Buccaneers should be division champs again.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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