The Buccaneers’ season is over, and it’s time to look toward the future — including the draft. Now that the regular season is over, the Bucs’ first-round selection has been finalized.

The Bucs finished with an 8-9 record, which slots them in with the 14th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Elsewhere in the NFC South, the last-place Saints will be picking at No. 8. The Falcons also finished 8-9 after beating the Saints to finish off the season, and they would be picking at No. 13, right before the Bucs, if they hadn’t traded that pick to the...

The full 2026 NFL schedule will be released this spring, but we do know now which teams the Buccaneers will face in 2026, and which of those matchups will be at home and on the road.

In addition to the usual home/away matchups against the NFC South — the Falcons, Panthers, and Saints — the Bucs will face the NFC North (Packers, Lions, Vikings, and Bears), the AFC North (Bengals, Browns, Steelers and Ravens), and the Rams, Chargers and Cowboys.

It’s hard to predict how tough the Bucs’ 2026 opponents will be based on this season’s performance. The Bears and...

It shouldn’t have come down to the snooze fest between the New Orleans Saints and the Atlanta Falcons to decide whether the Bucs or Panthers would be playoff bound and division winners. But it did, and this just proves the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ continued commitment to Todd Bowles would be indefensible. Known as a defensive-minded head coach, Bowles has failed to deliver a defense that consistently impacts games — or a team that finishes seasons with urgency.

Under Bowles, the Bucs’ defense has routinely ranked middle of the pack or worse in critical categories. Over the past three seasons, Tampa...

– The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Carolina Panthers, 16-14, to improve to 8-9 on the season and regain a share of the NFC South lead. With a win by the New Orleans Saints over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, or a tie, the Buccaneers would earn their sixth straight playoff berth and claim their fifth straight division title. In doing so, the Buccaneers would become the first NFC team since the 1992–1996 Dallas Cowboys to win five straight division titles. The Buccaneers would also join the Buffalo Bills as the only teams in the NFL to make the playoffs...

Well, wins are still wins.

As horrible as the last two months have gone for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, their playoff hopes still glimmer after yet another messy, rain-soaked game in the confines of Raymond James Stadium. Despite the defense almost blowing it, again, the Panthers couldn’t surmount their own mistakes and some questionable officiating as the Bucs won 16-14.

All the same struggles of the last 8-9 games were still apparent in some form — turnovers, unacceptable special teams mistakes, busted coverages / limited pass rush — but a repeat of Tampa’s ball-control heavy game plan from the first...

First Quarter:

Tampa Bay began Saturday’s must-win contest with the ball and their offense put their best foot forward. Baker Mayfield stormed down Raymond James Stadium’s rainy field. A drive that began as most 2025 Buccaneer drives do, with a Bucky Irving run up the middle, ended in the end zone with a Cade Otton touchdown reception. 7-0, Bucs.

Tampa’s defense kept that same energy, coming out stingy on Carolina’s first drive. After a frivolous penalty on the game’s opening snap, Todd Bowles’ crew brought the clamps out. One Carolina punt later and the Buccaneers were back on the...

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are home this week for the season finale to take on the 8-8 Carolina Panthers for an NFC South clash to decide the division (sort of). If Carolina wins, they outright win the division. If Tampa Bay wins, they will hope the Saints can defeat the Falcons to claim the division crown.

The Bucs will be without veteran receiver Sterling Shepard as well as cornerback Jamel Dean this week. You can see the rest of the inactives here.

Kickoff is set for 4:30 PM EST. Enjoy each other’s company in the comments section!

Staff game picks...

The 7-9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers are home this week to take on the NFC South leading Carolina Panthers. At 8-8, Carolina will look to secure the division and a playoff spot with a win over the Bucs. Tampa Bay, coming off a bad loss to the Miami Dolphins a week ago, didn’t do themselves any favors by dropping a much needed victory in South Florida. They couldn’t secure the victory while being down some role players and their top offensive lineman in Tristan Wirfs. But this week they’ll have all hands on deck (for the most part) to try and...

The Buccaneers’ entire 2025 season is riding on Saturday’s matchup against the Panthers.

The Bucs have lost four in a row, with consecutive losses to the Saints, Falcons, Panthers, and Dolphins, while the Panthers are fresh off a 27-10 whooping by the Seattle Seahawks. The Bucs are at home in Tampa today, and oddsmakers have them set as standard home favorites in Saturday’s NFC South clash.

And it’s a win or go home situation, since the Bucs’ losing streak has them leveled up with the third-place, eliminated Atlanta Falcons at 7-9. For the Buccaneers to sew up that last division...

When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers started the season 5-1 after beating the San Francisco 49ers, fans begun showering in Kool-Aid after drinking nearly all the supply in Tampa. But if you truly sat back and analyzed how they got there — sneaking wins out in the last minute — this team was bound to break. And so they did.

From 5-1 to now 7-9, this team is six hours of football time away from not making it to the playoffs. That is, their game and the Saints-Falcons game that’ll decide the NFC South.

Man, it’s hard to pinpoint what exactly...

As the Buccaneers get set to take on the Carolina Panthers to wrap up the season following a disappointing Week 17 loss to the Miami Dolphins, we here at Bucs Nation will dive into some picks and predictions for Tampa Bay’s big Week 18 matchup against a divisional opponent.

Check it all out below.

Predictions

Offense

Tampa Bay’s offense is not clicking on all cylinders. Whether there is the oblique injury that is still hampering Baker Mayfield, the constant injuries along the offensive line, the lack of successful route running by receivers, etc., this offensive unit has been...

As the holiday season winds down and we look toward the new year, the Buccaneers gave their fans something for Christmas that nobody wants, a big lump of coal. One thing that has become clear are that real changes need to be made to this team over the coming months because what is happening right now should not and cannot be acceptable.

After a 6-2 start, the Bucs have completely plummeted and now sit at 7-9 after their fourth straight loss on Sunday to Miami and now find themselves no longer in control of their own destiny ahead of Saturday’s...