Looking forward to the 2023 NFL Season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers aren’t expected to do much. National pundits believe this team is heading toward the 1st pick in the 2024 draft. However, the local optimism is apparent. If we get solid QB play from Baker Mayfield or Kyle Trask, the belief is this team can win the division.
With that said, let’s take a look at the 5 games I’m most excited for.
Courtesy of Tampa Times
#5 Detroit Lions vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers
I may be a little biased here because I love the Lions, but I think this will be a great match up. This game comes down to the perception that these are two teams going in opposite directions. Tampa has had recent success during the Brady era while the Lions have been rebuilding for 3+ years. Now the Lions are up and Tampa is (supposedly) down. It’ll be interesting to see Tampa’s top defense go up against one of the best offenses in the league. Aiden Hutchinson vs Tristen Wirfs will be great to watch.
Plus this is the creamsicle uniform game! Can’t go wrong.
Courtesy of vikingswire @ USA Today
#4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Minnesota Vikings
Kicking off the NFL season with a match up that I think will be a lot closer than people think. The Vikings defense was awful last year and they lost some of their veteran leadership, so they could be even worse. We may see a really solid outing from the Tampa offense in this game. The Buccaneers defense will be fully healthy in Week One, ready to stop the Dalvin Cook-less Viking Offense. Are the Vikings rebuilding? Could it be Kirk Cousins’ last year in Minnesota?
Week One upset victory in the cards? I wouldn’t be shocked.
Courtesy of falconswire @ USA Today
#3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Atlanta Falcons
Yes, I’m going division games for the top 3 Buccaneer games this season. When talking about division rivals, it’s hard not to look at these games as most important. Atlanta comes in 3rd on this list because they have done the least amount of changing. Sure they added Bijon Robinson at RB but other than that, they are the same team as last year. We’ll see how far Ridder has come along and if he’s up to the task of being a starting QB in this league.
Courtesy of buccaneers.com
#2 Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Carolina Panthers
Carolina is coming into this season with a new head coach and the number one pick in the 2023 draft, Bryce Young, at QB. It’ll be interesting to see how well they fare considering they had a solid running game and defense last season. Either way, I don’t see this Tampa offense putting up a lot of points against this team. Carolina may have found that piece to the puzzle that will put them over the top. If they did, it’s going to be very hard for Tampa to keep up.
Courtesy of buccaneers.com
#1 Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs New Orleans Saints
Up until last year, the Saints have been the Bucs biggest Achilles heel. And even last year with the game in Tampa, the Saints had this team on the ropes. Now they added Derek Carr to the fold, which is going largely unnoticed. The Saints had two great rookie receivers last year and are getting Michael Thomas back. This offense could be electric when Kamara gets back in Week 4. The defense is a bit older but has always brought the house against Tampa. The Bucs need to bring their ‘A+’ game against this team.
All in all, this should be an interesting season for the Tampa Buccaneers. If they can find their future starting QB (Mayfield or Trask), this team can compete for the playoffs. However, the more likely scenario is a team with 4-6 wins.
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