Which games are you looking forward to the most?
Believe it or not, the 2025-26 NFL season is almost upon us. The quietness of summer will soon be met with the sounds of pads clashing with each other as training camp continues to inch closer. For the Buccaneers, there are high expectations for the group in 2025. Seeking a fifth straight NFC South division crown, the Bucs have many high profile and interesting games on their schedule. Let’s take a look at some of the bigger ones that are going to be going down this season.
Week 1: @ Atlanta Falcons
The opening week of the NFL season is always exciting and anticipated but with this particular matchup, the Bucs should be eager to get down to business. Traveling to Atlanta for a showdown with the Falcons is a huge way to start the year and is a big opportunity for both teams to potentially make a statement. For Tampa Bay though, it’s a chance to get some redemption. Even though the Bucs got the last laugh by winning the division last year, they were swept by the Falcons and the last time they were in Atlanta, blew a lead and lost the game in overtime.
This game will give Tampa Bay the chance to get that bad taste of getting swept out of their mouths by beating the Falcons to start the year 1-0. The Bucs have started 1-0 every year in the Todd Bowles era and haven’t lost a season opener since 2020. Not only will it be the first game of the season, but it will also be Tampa Bay’s first time facing Falcons sophomore quarterback Michael Penix Jr. We’ll see if the Bucs can start fast while also exercising some demons from the previous season.
Week 4: Vs Philadelphia Eagles
The defending Super Bowl champs come to town in week 4 and it presents an opportunity for the Bucs to put themselves on the map. Tampa Bay is regarded as a bubble playoff team, but beating the defending champs early in the season could be the type of statement that puts the league on notice.
The Bucs have had a lot of success against the Eagles over the past few years, beating them 6 times over the last 7 matchups, including eliminating Philadelphia in the playoffs twice. Just this past season the Bucs beat down the Eagles and just a few months later the Birds were hoisting the Lombardi trophy.
It will be a nice early season challenge and a chance to see how the Bucs stack up against one of the NFL’s top teams.
Week 7: @ Detroit Lions
Speaking of seeing how Tampa Bay stacks up against top teams, they will have yet another opportunity early in the season as they head to Detroit for a Monday night football battle with the Lions. The Bucs were actually able to get some revenge on Detroit last year after the Lions eliminated Tampa Bay in the 2023 playoffs. The Bucs were an injured group heading into week 2 last year and went into Detroit and beat the Lions in one of the best victories in the Todd Bowles era.
Now they will see them yet again and will need to bring their “A” game in order to win this one. If the Eagles are the top dog in the NFC, the Lions are right there behind them. Tampa Bay wants to be in the same conversations as the Lions and Eagles in the NFC and in order to do that, they will have to beat some of these teams. We’ll see what they have in store on prime time.