The NFL 2025 schedule comes out next on Wednesday, May 14, and the Bucs – and Tampa Bay fans – are eagerly awaiting its release. I’m not going to make any predictions in terms of which opponent the team will face in Week 1 or how many prime time games the team will get this season.
But there are some interesting facts and tidbits around past schedules that we can parse and analyze to prepare for the release of the Bucs schedule for 2025. Remember, Tampa Bay and all NFC teams will be playing eight games at home and nine games on the road this season.
Tampa Bay’s 2025 Opponents
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Arizona Cardinals
Atlanta Falcons
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Atlanta Falcons
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Los Angeles Rams
Miami Dolphins
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This year the Bucs will play five teams that made the playoffs in 2024, but only one of those teams at home. That would be the Super Bowl champion Eagles, who will visit Raymond James Stadium for a third straight time in the last two seasons.
The other four playoff opponents will be on the road in 2025. Tampa Bay will travel to Buffalo, Detroit, Houston and Los Angeles to play the Rams.
Will The Bucs Play In Spain?
The AFC teams that will host international games in 2025 have been revealed, and the only one that the Bucs will play this season is Miami. The Dolphins will be hosting the first-ever NFL game in Spain, but team sources tell me that they would be shocked to be Miami’s opponent for that game.
Typically the league gives a head’s up to all teams playing internationally – even before the schedule is released – for planning purposes and logistics. Tampa Bay has received no advance word from the NFL in this regards – yet. So unless the league has changed its protocols, look for the Bucs vs. Dolphins game to be played in Miami and not overseas.
That means the team won’t have any international games in 2025.
Who Will Likely Be The 2025 Season Opener For Tampa Bay?
The NFL typically likes to start the season with more games between conference and divisional opponents rather than NFC vs. AFC clashes. Tampa Bay hasn’t started the season playing an NFC South opponent since kicking off 2020 in New Orleans.
Yet the last four years have seen the Bucs play other NFC teams, hosting the Cowboys in 2021, then playing at Dallas in 2022 and playing at Minnesota in 2023 and then hosting Washington last year.
Former Seahawks WR Tyler Lockett and Bucs CB Jamel Dean – Photo by: Getty Images
Will this be the year the Bucs begin a season against the Falcons, Panthers or Saints? Or will it be another NFC team for a fifth straight season?
If it’s a home game it could be San Francisco, which was the 2019 season opener in Bruce Arians’ first game as Tampa Bay’s head coach, or perhaps Arizona.
It seems like the NFL would want the other NFC non-divisional opponent – the Eagles – for a possible prime time game in Tampa Bay, yet could that be the opening prime time game on Sunday Night Football or Monday Night Football? Or will the league save that game for later in the year?
If it’s an NFC road game to start the season, the Bucs could travel to Seattle, Detroit or Los Angeles to face the Rams.
For some reason, opening 2025 on the road at Seattle seems most likely. The last time Tampa Bay played at Seattle was in 2019. The team lost to the Seahawks, 40-34, in overtime.
Will The Bucs Play On A Holiday In 2025?
There is certainly a chance the Bucs could play on Thanksgiving with a game at Detroit on the schedule. But since the NFL has gone to a triple-header on Thanksgiving with the holiday featuring another contest aside from the annual games at Detroit and at Dallas, every team technically has a chance of playing on Thanksgiving.
The Bucs have only played one game on Thanksgiving, which was a 38-10 loss at Dallas in 2016. Tony Romo threw five touchdown passes to beat Tampa Bay that day.
Former Bucs QB Tom Brady – Photo by: USA Today
Tampa Bay did play a Christmas primetime game in 2022, winning at Arizona in overtime, 19-16. So at least Tom Brady and Co. made it a very Merry Christmas. That was the first and only Christmas game in franchise history.
Will the Bucs be featured on a national holiday again this season? And will Tampa Bay host a holiday game for the first time in franchise history? Stay tuned.
Both Christmas and Thanksgiving are on a Thursday this year, and that day has not been kind to Tampa Bay recently.
Tampa Bay’s Thursday Night Blues
The Bucs have traveled for five of their last six games on Thursday Night Football. The lone home game was a 27-22 loss to Baltimore in 2022.
Tampa Bay has actually gone 2-4 on Thursday night since 2019 with Todd Bowles as either the team’s defensive coordinator or the head coach. Unfortunately, the team has lost every Thursday night game with Bowles as head coach – the loss to the Ravens in 2022, a 24-18 loss at Buffalo and a 36-30 in overtime at Atlanta last year.
Bucs RB Bucky Irving – Photo by: USA Today
Will this year finally be different?
Will the team finally have a home game on Thursday night?
And will Tampa Bay snap three-game losing streak on Thursday Night Football?
Will Bucs’ Primetime Woes Continue?
Tampa Bay was not ready for primetime last year, losing all four of its 2024 night games during the regular season.
Week 5: 36-30 OT loss at Atlanta on Thursday Night Football
Week 7: 41-31 loss to Baltimore on Monday Night Football
Week 9: 30-24 OT loss at Kansas City on Monday Night Football
Week 16: 26-24 loss at Dallas on Sunday Night Football
To make matters worse, the Bucs also lost on Sunday Night Football in the playoffs at home against Washington, 23-20. So essentially, Tampa Bay went 0-5 in night games last season.
The team is now 3-8 in primetime games during the regular season under Todd Bowles, including 0-6 in the regular season since 2023. The lone primetime win over the last two years was a 32-9 home win over the Eagles in the 2023 Wild Card round.
Tampa Bay was 3-2 in 2022 under Bowles in his first season as head coach.
If the Bucs have Super Bowl aspirations the team will need to get back to winning at night.
After all, the Super Bowl isn’t played during the day.
Pewter Report’s Bucs 2025 Schedule Release Show
The Bucs may not be great in primetime, but Pewter Report is!
Join the Pewter Report staff for a LIVE Bucs 2025 Schedule Release Show on Wednesday, May 14 at 8:00 p.m. ET on our PewterReportTV YouTube channel. The show will also be streamed live on our @PewterReport X and Facebook channels.