The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will open their 50th anniversary season on the road, play four prime time games and host the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 28.
Those are among the highlights of the Bucs’ schedule, which was announced on Wednesday by the NFL.
The Bucs begin defense of their NFC South title Sept. 7 at division foe Atlanta and second-year quarterback Michael Penix Jr. of Dade City. Penix took over as the Falcons’ starter in Week 16 last year. Tampa Bay has won four straight openers.
The following week, Tampa Bay will play on “Monday Night Football” at Houston, the first of five 2024 division winners on the schedule. The Sept.15 matchup against the Texans kicks off at 7 p.m. and will be telecast nationally on ABC and ESPN.
The home opener on Sept. 17 brings in the New York Jets, along with first-year head coach Aaron Glenn and quarterback Justin Fields, who was acquired in free agency. Kickoff is at 1 p.m.
That’s followed by the Eagles game, the third straight season Philadelphia has traveled to Tampa. The Eagles also lost at Raymond James Stadium during the 2023-24 playoffs.
The Bucs will also play a Monday night game at Detroit (Oct. 20) and a Sunday night game against the Rams in Los Angeles (Nov. 23).
Tampa Bay’s bye comes in the middle of the 17-game slate. Coach Todd Bowles' team gets a week off the weekend of Nov. 2.
The Bucs will likely face only one trip with severely cold weather, Nov. 16 at Buffalo.
The Bucs chances to win their fourth straight division title could be helped by the back half of the slate, which includes four of six games against NFC South opponents.
It also features a three-game homestand against the Arizona Cardinals (Nov. 30), New Orleans Saints (Dec. 7) and the only prime time matchup at home against the Falcons on “Thursday Night Football” (Dec. 11).
The golden anniversary schedule closes Jan. 4 at home against the Carolina Panthers.
The Bucs, like all the NFL teams, released their schedule through social media videos. Tampa Bay's 10-minute production featured former coach Jon Gruden "unboxing" the slate. Gruden has regularly posted videos showing him unpacking large boxes of merchandise sent to his Tampa home by college and professional teams.
The 2025 schedule’s got @BarstoolGruden feelin’ nicey 😎 pic.twitter.com/khoxdFwbwM
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) May 15, 2025
Gruden, who coached the Bucs to their first Super Bowl title in 2002, was reinstated to the team’s Ring of Honor in February. He was removed in 2021 because of 7-year-old emails he sent containing inappropriate comments that led to his resignation as the Raiders’ head coach.
There has been no word from the team on whether there will be a designated game this year to induct other former Bucs into the Ring of Honor.
In addition, there has been no announcement regarding a throwback game, in which the Bucs wear their former Creamsicle orange uniforms.
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