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Buccaneers: 2018 Opponents Set Following Fourth Place Finish

By David Harrison

LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 31: General Manager John Lynch of the San Francisco 49ers looks on from the sidelines during the second half of a game against the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on December 31, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 31: General Manager John Lynch of the San Francisco 49ers looks on from the sidelines during the second half of a game against the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on December 31, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /
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A new year means new opponents, and for teams like the Buccaneers, the planning starts now.

Aiding in this planning could be the finalization of the Buccaneers’ 2018 slate of games. Since all 32 NFL teams have played all sixteen of their regular season games, we can now fill in the final two spots.

We already knew Tampa would be facing the AFC North and NFC East. This means home match-ups against the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins along with road trips to Dallas and New York to face the Giants.

From the AFC side of things, the Bucs will visit Cincinnati and Baltimore while the Steelers and Browns visit Raymond James Stadium. I wonder if Hue Jackson will let the team travel to Tampa a little early, so their players can get some sun? Anyway, moving on.

Coming into Week 17 there were only two spots up for grabs, well not really, but they weren’t officially official yet.

For those who don’t know how this works, each year every team plays teams from other conference divisions which finished equal to them in their own division.

So, since the NFC East is up for a full-on NFC South head-to-head contest in 2018, the Bucs play the teams in the other two NFC divisions which finished last – since Tampa finished last in the NFC South.

Got it? Cool.

Next: Final Pick Six of 2017 Season

Who finished last in the NFC North and NFC West? The Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers, that’s who.

This means the Buccaneers will face each of these teams with San Francisco making the cross-country trip to Tampa, and the Bucs heading to Chicago at some point.

From here, it’s just a matter of waiting for the full schedule to be released sometime before the NFL Draft. In 2017, the final dates were released by the NFL on April 20th.

And of course, they’ll face each NFC South rival twice. This completes the thirteen line card of opponents for the 2018 NFL Season.

What do you think about John Lynch’s 49ers coming to Tampa in 2018?

Let me know what your thoughts on this and anything Buccaneers related are in the comments, on Facebook, or on Twitter.

"Coach Koetter and the Buccaneers players have had their final press conferences. Check out our thoughts on the Locked on Bucs Podcast!"

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