It turns out the NFL schedule isn't as set in stone as we all assume it is. Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans are learning that the hard way, as the team could face back-to-back weeks when kickoff times change on them at the last minute.
There are rumors swirling that next Sunday's game against the Seattle Seahawks will be moved back, but the league announced another game is changing for the Bucs first. The NFL announced that the Week 6 game between the Buccaneers and 49ers would be flexed into the late window of CBS's broadcast schedule.
Rather than kicking off at 1 p.m. ET, the Bucs will now play at 4:05 p.m. ET instead. CBS is flipping the Saints-Patriots game into the early window as a result.
NFL Week 6 Schedule Change:#49ers vs. #Bucs has been moved from 1:00 ET to 4:25 ET#Patriots vs. #Saints has been moved from 4:25 ET to 1:00 PM ET
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 29, 2025
It's unclear if this move was made as a rolling accommodation for another change that could happen next Sunday. With the Seattle Mariners set to host the ALDS just down the road from Lumen Field, the league may need to adjust the start time of the Bucs-Seahawks game to prevent overcrowding in the area.
Moving the game against San Francisco feels less about the Week 5 start time change, but it's not hard to connect those dots even if they don't entirely match up.
What we do know for sure is that this isn't the first time the Bucs have been flexed, and hopefully, it goes better than the last time we saw it. Ironically, it was the Week 6 game two years ago against the Detroit Lions that the league flexed into the America's Game of the Week slot, and the Bucs proceeded to get their doors blown off.
It ended up being a 20-6 beat down, one that kick-started a 1-6 losing streak that nearly derailed Tampa Bay's entire season. We've come a long way since then, but last year we saw the Bucs slip into a coma in the middle of the season and this flexed game lines up with that happening again.
The game against San Francisico comes at an absolutely brutal stretch of the Bucs' schedule.
After playing the 49ers, Tampa Bay heads to Detroit for a Monday night game and then travels coast-to-coast from Buffalo to Los Angeles two weeks later.
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