The 2025 NFL schedule is set to release at 8:00 p.m. ET Wednesday night, but there are always leaks — and some announcements about who the Bucs are playing and when — swirling around throughout the days leading up to the official drop.
That means we can work at piecing together the Bucs’ 2025 slate in the hours leading up to the official release.
Tampa Bay has known its opponents for the upcoming season since the 2024 campaign ended. Todd Bowles’ team has eight home games and nine road games, with the opponents as follows:
Bucs ILB Lavonte David and CB Zyon McCollum and Eagles RB Saquon Barkley – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
HOME:
Arizona Cardinals
San Francisco 49ers
New England Patriots
New York Jets
Philadelphia Eagles
Atlanta Falcons
Carolina Panthers
New Orleans Saints
AWAY:
Los Angeles Rams
Seattle Seahawks
Miami Dolphins
Buffalo Bills
Detroit Lions
Houston Texans
Atlanta Falcons
Carolina Panthers
New Orleans Saints
Tampa Bay will face five teams from the 2024 postseason field, with just one — the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles — coming to Raymond James Stadium.
The full schedule will be unveiled Wednesday night, and based on the teaser posted by the team on Tuesday night, expect Super Bowl XXXVII-winning head coach Jon Gruden to be involved in the release video.
PewterReport.com is keeping track of any Buccaneer schedule leaks here.
***DISCLAIMER: None of these reports are absolutely official unless otherwise noted.
Bucs 2025 Schedule Leaks — Updated Tracker
It has been reported that the Bucs will be playing the Falcons in Atlanta to kick off the season (see below), with the other game in Tampa Bay potentially being in primetime. 11Alive News’ Maria Martin shared Wednesday morning that the Dirty Birds will be getting five primetime games this season, with one of them being a Thursday Night Football matchup with their NFC South division rival.
Hello #Falcons in prime time ⭐️
They are being given 5, yes FIVE primetime games this year, league sources tells me.
2 MNF – Bills/Rams at home
2 SNF – Vikings/49ers on the road
1 TNF – @ Bucs— Maria Martin (@Ria_Martin) May 14, 2025
If this ends up being the case, it will mean that the Bucs could exact some Thursday night revenge on the Falcons. If you remember, last year quarterback Kirk Cousins torched Tampa Bay’s defense to the tune of 509 passing yards and four touchdowns in a 36-30 win. Cousins likely will not be under center in the next matchup as quarterback Michael Penix Jr. has taken the reins, but it would be entertaining regardless.
Bucs ILB Lavonte David and Falcons WR Drake London – Photo by: USA Today
According to multiple reports, the Bucs are set to open the 2025 regular season with a big-time NFC South matchup against the Falcons in Atlanta.
A road game would make sense, as the Tampa Bay Rays have a home game across the street at Steinbrenner Field on Sunday, Sept. 7 at 12:10 p.m. Of note, the Rays also play at home on Sept. 21, which is Week 3 of the NFL season. So, Bowles and Co. may be on the road that week as well.
happy NFL draft schedule day..
league sources tell me the Atlanta Falcons will open the season at home vs Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers pic.twitter.com/K0baGp7GYl
— Zach Klein (@ZachKleinWSB) May 14, 2025
There have also been reports about the Bucs playing on the road against the Rams on Thanksgiving night. However, Pewter Report has heard otherwise.
Not so sure about the rumors of a Bucs at Rams game on Thanksgiving in primetime…
— PewterReport 🏴☠️ (@PewterReport) May 14, 2025
Stay tuned for more schedule leaks and official announcements throughout the day up until 8:00 p.m. ET when the entire schedule is officially released by the Bucs and the NFL.
Pewter Report Podcast: Bucs 2025 Schedule Release Show At 8:00pm ET
And be sure to join Scott Reynolds and Matt Matera at 8:00 p.m. ET for a special Bucs 2025 Schedule Release Show edition of the Pewter Report Podcast on our PewterReportTV YouTube channel. The show will also be streamed live on the @PewterReport Facebook and X channels, too.