After a strong preseason, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are locked in and ready to begin their season on September 8 against the Washington Commanders at home. The Bucs, as every other team does, have four games through the first four weeks of the season, and they’ll be looking to start the season on a high note if they want to win yet another NFC South title and make a playoff run.
Here are predictions for the Buccaneers’ first four matchups of the year.
Predicting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers September Results
Week 1 vs Washington: Win
The Washington Commanders aren’t exactly one of the best teams in the league. In fact, they sit near the bottom of ESPN’s power rankings at 28, with a lot of unproven talent and seasoned veterans who are already past their prime on their roster. The addition of Heisman winner and LSU product Jayden Daniels will certainly help their situation, but he’ll need to play well throughout the first few weeks of the season if he wants to prove that he’s ready to be a regular starter in the NFL. Daniels might cause some problems for the Tampa Bay secondary, but if the offense responds as expected, this one should be an easy win for the Buccos.
Week 2 @ Detroit: Loss
The Detroit Lions are one of the best teams in the league heading into the season. Just last year, they broke a 31-season-long playoff drought, winning over 10 games in a season for the first time since 2014, winning the NFC North for the first time in team history and the first divisional title since winning the NFC Central in 1992, and making it all the way to the NFC Championship game, beating the Bucs on the way there in the divisional round. They’re set to repeat their success from last year, having added excellent players to their rosters such as cornerbacks Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw Jr. through the draft. They also extended the contracts of some of the most important pieces of their offense, such as quarterback Jared Goff, wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, and offensive tackle Penei Sewell. It’s games like this one that will prove the Buccaneers’ ability to beat better teams, but this one might just be too out of reach.
Week 3 vs Denver: Win
The Denver Broncos had a rough offseason. They lost wideout Jerry Jeudy, center Lloyd Cushenberry, and linebacker Josey Jewell, and weren’t able to bring in good replacements through free agency. Perhaps their best offseason move was drafting quarterback Bo Nix out of Oregon, a move many considered to be desperate given there were already five quarterbacks taken off the board by the time the Broncos could make their first pick. They also traded for former second-overall pick Zach Wilson, who will serve as Nix’s backup. The QB room is definitely an improvement from the Drew Lock and Jeff Driskel days, but every other position isn’t. They still have wide receiver Courtland Sutton and cornerback Pat Surtain on the roster, but the pros of having them simply can’t outweigh the lack of depth elsewhere. This should be another easy win for Tampa Bay at home.
Week 4 vs Philadelphia: Loss
In Week 4, we get a rematch of last year’s Wild Card matchup in the same scenario that saw it happen: the Buccaneers face off against the Philadelphia Eagles. Unfortunately for Tampa Bay, this is not the same team they faced in 2023 at all: since then, they did lose Jason Kelce and Fletcher Cox to retirement, but also they added safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, wide receiver DeVante Parker, linebacker and former Buccaneer Devin White, offensive tackle Mekhi Becton, and, perhaps their biggest move, they added a hungry Saquon Barkley who will be looking to leave his injury problems with the New York Giants behind and prove he can be one of the best running backs in the league when healthy. And if all of this wasn’t enough, they will also be looking for revenge after the Buccaneers eliminated them from the playoffs last year. The odds are definitely against the Bucs on this one, and you can safely write this one off as a loss against a revamped Eagles team.
Main Image: © Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
