In a previous article, the five easiest games in the 2024 Tampa Bay Buccaneers schedule were analyzed. Now, it’s time to do the opposite and analyze the five hardest games for the Buccaneers in the upcoming season. The Buccaneers are playing next season against what are arguably the top-five teams in the league. It will be a tough test, but if they are able to overcome it, they are poised to make a deep playoff run.
Let’s take a look at which games will be the toughest ones for the Bucs next season.
The 5 Hardest Games in the 2024 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Schedule
Week 9 @ Kansas City
By far the toughest game in the Bucs 2024 schedule, they travel to Kansas City to face off against the Super Bowl champion Chiefs. Undoubtedly the best team in the league by a considerable margin, the Chiefs dramatically improved their biggest weakness last season (receiving) with the likes of Marquise Brown and Xavier Worthy and have an all-around excellent roster. Led by superstar Patrick Mahomes, this team is expected to follow up on their continued success from the past few seasons and make another push for the Super Bowl. We’ve seen better teams lose on any given week, though. Expect this Monday Night Football matchup to be an extremely hard test for the Bucs, almost a given loss, with the potential for being one of the best games of the season.
Week 10 vs San Francisco
Not even a week after facing the current Super Bowl champions, the Buccaneers must travel back to Tampa to face the current Super Bowl runner-ups, the San Francisco 49ers. Arguably the second-best team in the league, they improved their defense with the additions of Leonard Floyd to replace the departing Chase Young, Yetur Gross-Matos, and Rock Ya-Sin. We already saw this matchup happen in Week 11 of last season, resulting in a 27-14 victory for the Niners at Levi’s Stadium. It shouldn’t be any different this year, considering how they’ve improved heading into the season. Like the game against the Chiefs, this one will be extremely challenging for the Bucs, and they’ll need to bring their A-game if they want to beat one of the league’s top teams.
Week 7 vs Baltimore
After entering last season’s playoffs as the clear favorites to win the Super Bowl, the Baltimore Ravens fell short yet one more time and lost in the AFC Championship game against the eventual champions, the Kansas City Chiefs. Disappointment after disappointment, the Ravens are ready to prove their worth as a championship-caliber team and won’t hold back next season. Led by two-time MVP and last year’s winner Lamar Jackson, the Ravens present arguably the best ground offense in the league, as they have for the past couple of seasons. The additions of Nate Wiggins and T.J. Tampa improve an already elite secondary and make it one of the best in the league. Unless the Bucs find a way to counter the rushing game and find openings through Baltimore’s elite defense, they’ll have a really tough time taking the upper hand on this one.
Week 2 @ Detroit
For a team that hadn’t made the playoffs since 2016 and hadn’t even won a playoff game since 1992, the turnaround the Detroit Lions had in 2023 is nothing short of remarkable. In a rematch of last year’s NFC Divisional round matchup, the Lions will look to replicate their 31-23 victory when they face off again this season. The Lions have one of the best offenses in the league, featuring players like Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jahmyr Gibbs, David Montgomery, and Sam LaPorta. On top of that, they’ve also dramatically improved their already elite defense with the additions of Ennis Rakestraw Jr., Terrion Arnold, and Carlton Davis III. They should continue their success from last season and prove to be a challenging matchup for the Buccaneers early in the season.
Week 4 Vs Philadelphia
This matchup is also a rematch of last year’s playoffs, with the difference being that the Buccaneers won this game and eliminated the Eagles from the playoffs. Despite the positive result for the Buccaneers last year, it’s impossible to overlook the fact that the Eagles are one of the best teams in the league, despite some concerns with their defense. The additions of C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Quinyon Mitchell, and Cooper DeJean will help mitigate last season’s struggles. An elite offense featuring Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley will certainly be a problem for the Bucs and will make it tough for them to replicate the win from last year’s Wild Card round.
Main Image: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
