Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Which part of the 2018 schedule is most critical?

With the release of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 2018 regular season schedule we all know now when the team will face each of their opponents in the coming year.

However, what is still to be seen is which part of the schedule will prove to be the most critical stretch for the 2018 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

This, like many things sports, will of course be left to individual speculation and theorizing. However, today I’m going to give you my theory.

If you haven’t yet seen the schedule, then here’s a nice team tweet to get you caught up:

Now that we’re all on the same page, let’s get to it. Bottom line here is there’s no easy path to the playoffs for any team in the National Football League.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are no different as they have four games against divisional winners and four more against playoff teams. Of course, six of those games come from within the NFC South.

More from The Pewter Plank

• Devin White posts cryptic message to Lavonte David on Twitter
• ESPN predicts surprising outcome to Devin White trade saga
• Updated Buccaneers depth chart after signing two players from rookie minicamp
• Todd Bowles sends clear message about Baker Mayfield’s role with Bucs
• The Athletic is wrong about Bucs one ‘must-watch’ game in 2023

Eleven contests in 2018 will come against teams which are likely to be considered playoff contenders. Finally, one will come against a totally revamped Cleveland Browns team who will likely get a few more contributors in the coming week.

So. Which stretch is the most critical? Some might say it’s the first four weeks leading into a Week 5 bye.

Opening up in New Orleans followed by visits from the Super Bowl Champs and the Pittsburgh Steelers in consecutive weeks. Finally, a trip to Soldier Field to face the Bears, and then it’s a week off. A well-deserved one at that.

Or maybe it’s the end where the Bucs have two divisional match-ups bookending two weeks on the road in Baltimore and Dallas. Finishing against four straight opponents who will be looking to jockey for playoff spots themselves will be no easy task for sure.

Neither of these is the most crucial though. Instead, it’s weeks seven to thirteen. Not just because these weeks hold nearly half of the games on the schedule. No, that’s too easy.

Instead, it’s the teams they play there that make it so critical. The NFL schedule makers did not set the Tampa Bay Buccaneers up to be fast out the gate or even strong finishers.

No. What they did instead was set up the Jameis Winston led team to be mid-season risers. And in a big way.

Despite facing the Carolina Panthers twice in this stretch, this is the portion where the team has their most winnable games.

Facing the Browns, Bengals, Redskins, Giants, 49ers and Panthers twice, Tampa needs to walk away from this stretch with five wins or more.

Five is the exact amount of teams they play in this stretch who finished with sub-500 records. If the Bucs are a playoff contender, they have to get five of these.

No matter how you shape out the other two ends of this schedule, any fewer than five wins in this area of the season places the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in dire straits as it pertains to their playoff aspirations.

"Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com joins the Locked on Bucs Podcast to help make the seventh pick in the 2018 LOB Mock Draft!"

Which portion of the season are you most looking forward too? Which single games are the most critical in your opinion?

Sound off in the comments or on social media.

David Harrison is one of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Co-Experts for The Pewter Plank. You can reach him about this or any other NFL topic on Facebook, or on Twitter.