For the first time in two decades, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are attempting to begin the season with four straight victories. You have to go back to 2005 for the last time the Bucs got off to this hot of a start, and it's only happened two other times in franchise history.
What better way to celebrate the team's 50th anniversary than to make it four times that the season has started with a 4-0 record?
If it's going to happen, it won't be easy. The Bucs face the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, a team that's also trying to get out to a 4-0 start. We very well could be witnessing a playoff preview in Week 4, as both the Bucs and Eagles appear to be the class of the NFC at the moment -- something that doesn't bode well for Tampa Bay.
The last time we had this sort of a momentum swinging game was back in 2023, when the Bucs were off to a 4-1 start and welcomed the Detroit Lions into town. It was indeed a preview of what we'd see in the NFC Divisional Round a few months later, but it was a brutal afternoon in which Tampa Bay got hounded 20-6 by Detroit.
The good news is that Tampa Bay owns the Eagles, at least over the last handful of meetings. The Bucs are 6-1 against Philly going back to 2015 when the pendulum swung back in Tampa Bay's favor. Most Bucs fans remember the pit of the early 2000s that included a number of disheartening playoff defeats at the hands of the Eagles, but the Rondé Barber pick-six in the 2002 NFC Championship Game remains a highlight of the last half-decade of football.
What channel is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers game on today? (September 28th)
Here's everything you need to know to catch today's home opener for the Buccaneers:
- Date: Sunday, September 28th
- Start Time: 1 pm ET
- Location: Raymond James Stadium | Tampa, FL
- TV Channel: FOX
- Announcers: Kevin Burkhardt, Tom Brady
- Radio: WXTB 97.9 FM
- Live Stream: NFL+ | Fubo
Philly is the defending Super Bowl champions, though, and look poised to defend that crown. Tampa Bay might have recent history on their side but they'll need a lot more than that to pull out another gutsy win on Sunday.
Tampa Bay is getting two key players back at the exact right time, as Chris Godwin and Tristan Wirfs are returning to the lineup for the first time. It comes right as Tampa Bay will be without Mike Evans for at least the next few weeks -- if not longer -- as well as at a time when the team is getting eaten alive by the injury bug all over the roster.
It's a huge boost to the offense, and one the Bucs will need if they want to hang with Philly in Week 4.
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