3 things to know about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2024 NFL schedule

Before we get to the true doldrums of the offseason, the NFL Schedule Release will serve as one final hurray before the silence settles in.

There might still be some free agent action to be had, but for the most part, teams will retreat to rookie minicamps before setting things up to kick off training camp in a few months. It's the slow time of year, but before we know it the preseason will be here and Week 1 will arrive.

We still don't know what that will look like when it arrives, but the schedule release typically happens in the two weeks after the NFL Draft so we're close to putting the puzzle together.

Even without the exact dates and times of the games, there a few things we already know about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers schedule that could give us an idea of how the season will go.

3 things to know about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2024 NFL schedule

Tampa Bay has one of the easiest schedules in the NFL

As the dust settled on a successful season for the Bucs, anxiety started to kick in over what that meant for trying to run things back next season. Tampa Bay has a first place schedule next year, but that sounds more daunting than it actually is.

The Bucs have the fifth-easiest schedule this year based on records from last year. Opponents have a combined .478 winning percentage, with future matchups against teams like the Raiders, Broncos, and Commanders.

Everyone is expected to be better than last year but it's unlikely that any of those teams experience a turnaround like the Houston Texans had. Two of those teams will have rookie quarterbacks as well, with Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix expected to be starting by the time they play the Bucs.

Lest we forget that Tampa Bay has two games against the Carolina Panthers, a team once again expected to be picking near the top of the draft next year. There will be tough matchups, like game against Baltimore, San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Kansas City, but that's how bad the rest of Tampa Bay's schedule is that it still has a favorable strength of schedule ranking.

Buccaneers will have one extra home game in 2024

With the NFL moving to an 18-game schedule, teams are on a rotation for gaining and losing home games in a given year. Last season the Bucs had more games on the road but that flips back to a much more tolerable ratio this season.

Unless the Bucs get tossed into an international game in Europe, they'll be playing nine games at Raymond James Stadium in 2024.

Here are the games Tampa Bay will play at home:

• Philadelphia Eagles
• Washington Commanders
• Denver Broncos
• Carolina Panthers
• New Orleans Saints
• Atlanta Falcons
• Las Vegas Raiders
• Baltimore Ravens
• San Francisco 49ers

At least one primetime game is expected outside of Thursday Night Football

It used to be that every team was guaranteed a primetime game, no matter how terrible they were. That rule was quickly caveated by the fact that Thursday Night Football counted as a primetime game before eventually being dropped.

That's how the Bucs have played a primetime game almost every year while also being one of the teams scheduled for the fewest Sunday Night Football games. Tom Brady helped change that, but the Bucs are likely to get at least one primo game thanks to their ability to stand all on their own.

Don't expect the Bucs to get maxed out with primetime games, but it's tough to see them not getting scheduled for one this year. We saw Tampa Bay get a Monday Night Football game last season against the Eagles, getting featured in the nationally televised slot on ABC rather than the cable-only game on ESPN.

Tampa Bay plays Philadelphia again this year, which is one of the games that makes sense a primetime affair. Games against the Chiefs and Lions could end up as Sunday Night Football games, while a game against the Ravens feels like one you can see in Monday Night Football graphics.

It might not be more than one or two games, but the Bucs have enough going on that it seems unlikely that the league wouldn't feature them in at least one primetime slot.

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