The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ season opener in 2023 was a thriller, a 20-17 road victory over the Minnesota Vikings in which Baker Mayfield threw two touchdowns in his Buccaneer debut and Chase McLaughlin drilled a 57-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to win it. That set the stage for a rousing 3-1 start to the season for Tampa Bay and, eventually, a third straight NFC South title.
A team’s Week One results can set the tone for an entire season, and though the Buccaneers had to overcome a midseason dip to storm back into first place, the road win over a Vikings team coming off a 13-4 season in 2022 was a great sign. The 2024 Bucs, with Mayfield and a number of other key players back on brand-new contracts (most recently Antoine Winfield Jr.), have high hopes for another playoff chase and would love to get off to another fast start.
Where might that happen? And against which team? That’s what we’re here to predict today, as the 2024 NFL schedule is set to drop on Wednesday night. (Here’s how to watch.) It’s our annual attempt to narrow down the Buccaneers’ Week One matchup to three possibilities, using as much logic and available information as possible and then throwing a trio of darts.
First off, here are the choices.
Home: 49ers, Broncos, Commanders, Eagles, Falcons, Panthers, Raiders, Ravens, Saints
Away: Chargers, Chiefs, Cowboys, Falcons, Giants, Lions, Panthers, Saints
The first step in this exercise is to eliminate as many options as possible. It’s a good year for that, as we can already cross five teams off the list due to select games the NFL has already announced ahead of the full schedule reveal. One game in particular pulls double duty for us, as the Chiefs will play host to the Ravens in the NFL’s annual Kickoff Game on Thursday night in Week One. So the Bucs will definitely not be heading to Kansas City or playing at home against Baltimore that week.
We also already know that Green Bay is opening the season in São Paulo, Brazil in Week One, and since their opponent is the Eagles that means there will be no visit from Philadelphia to Raymond James Stadium to kick things off. In addition, the league has already announced two other Week One matchups in the Jets at 49ers and the Cowboys at Browns. Both the 49ers and Cowboys are on the list of Bucs opponents above, but they won’t be facing the Bucs on opening weekend.
So we’re now down to 12 options, and I’m going to…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at News…