If you are a fan of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, there was one game in particular on the team's 2025 schedule that lived up to the offseason hype.

When the schedule landed in May, there was a lot to be excited about as the Buccaneers prepared to go after their fifth straight NFC South title and their sixth straight playoff campaign. Recently-kindled rivalries with the Los Angeles Rams and Detroit Lions were going to get another chapter. A December home game against the Atlanta Falcons, considered at the time a major contender to break the Bucs' division stranglehold, loomed large. Tampa Bay only had to wait until Week Two to take the Monday Night Football stage, in Houston against another team defending a division championship.

In retrospect, when the Bucs' 2025 campaign about eight months later, it was clear that the team's best outing of the season was in Week Five in Seattle. Not only did the Bucs win a thriller of a shootout, 38-35, in a venue that very few visitors were able to escape from with a victory, but Seattle would go on to a 17-3 record (playoffs included) and a Super Bowl championship. Baker Mayfield had a nearly flawless performance, rookie Emeka Egbuka had a star turn and the legendary Lavonte David had one more game-changing play in what would prove to be his final season, an interception to end Seattle's final drive.

Last May, however, this probably wasn't the game most of us circled as the one we were most looking forward to in 2025. At the time, Seattle was not necessarily considered a prime Super Bowl contender. In fact, prior to the start of the season, the Seahawks were given the 19th best odds to win the championship (the Bucs were 15th).

So what was that one game in particular that lived up to the hype for Bucs fans, if not this one? It wasn't the Lions or Rams contests, both one-sided losses. And that Atlanta game in December proved painful, with third-and-28 and fourth-and-14 memorable for all the wrong reasons. No, in your author's humble opinion, the game that lived up to the hype was in Week Six against San Francisco. The 49ers had had the Bucs' number in recent years, beating them four straight times from 2019-24 by an average margin of two touchdowns. It was a bit of a grudge match and a premier opponent, and this time the Bucs were up to the challenge, pulling away in a hard-fought game for a 30-19 victory. This was the afternoon that featured Mayfield's insane third-and-14 scramble, the MVP chants from the crowd and Tez Johnson's gymnastic touchdown celebration.

So now it's May again and we just got the 2026 schedule last week. It's impossible right now to know which games will prove to be the most exciting outings for the Bucs and their fans, but it is very much possible to take a guess at it. And that's what Staff Writer/Reporter Brianna Dix, Buccaneers.com Contributor Gabriel Kahaian and I are going to today as we continue our series of schedule-related Roundtable discussions.

This is the third in our series of four schedule-related debates. Here's the run-down for the full series:

Friday, May 15: What one thing would you most like to **thank the NFL schedule makers** for this year?

Monday, May 18: What is one thing you would change about the Bucs' schedule if you had the power?

Tuesday, May 19: What is your most anticipated game on the Bucs' 2026 schedule?

Wednesday, May 20: Who is the most interesting rookie the Buccaneers will face on their 2026 schedule?

The three of us are not going to duplicate answers, so the order of each debate could be important…and believe me, it definitely was this time. Gabe gets to go first this time, with me second and Bri third.

Gabriel Kahaian: Buccaneers at Bears, Week 9

The game that really jumps off the page is the Bucs' Sunday Night Football matchup against the Chicago Bears on November 8th. Chicago is coming off its first NFC North division title since 2018, with Caleb Williams blossoming into the star many expected him to become under Ben Johnson's wing. In 2025, Williams fell just 58 yards shy of becoming the first quarterback in Bears history to eclipse 4,000 passing yards in a season, throwing for 400 more yards and seven more touchdowns than he did in his rookie campaign. The Bears also established a potent run game, finishing third in the league at 144.5 rushing yards per game. That balanced attack, paired with a defense that led the league with 22 forced turnovers, carried them to the NFC Divisional Round before the league MVP and the Rams ended their run.

At its core, this prime-time matchup pits two teams with something to prove against each other, albeit from opposite ends of the spectrum. The Bears want to show that 2025 was not a flash in the pan and they are built to sustain success for the foreseeable future. Meanwhile, The Bucs want to prove last season was just an injury-riddled blip, not a benchmark. Their ceiling is still well above where they finished in 2025.

Both teams will arrive with eight games of seasoning and a bye week waiting on the other side, making this the perfect opportunity to make a statement and seize momentum heading into the second half. Two former NFC Central rivals arrive on a prime-time stage with the ability to broadcast a narrative in their own image. Williams vs. Mayfield on Sunday Night Football will be must-watch television.

Scott Smith: vs. Green Bay Packers, Week Four

We had a group text exchange before working on this Roundtable and I will let you know that all three of us would have picked the Chicago game if we were first. So I hope that one lives up to the hype come November.

So with the Sunday-nighter off the board, where did I turn for my choice. Well, the New Orleans Saints seem to be getting some buzz as potential NFC South title contenders this season and the Bucs play them in what could be a critical division showdown in Week 18 so…/double-checks schedule. Never mind, that one is in the Superdome. Pass.

Instead, I'll go with the visit from the Packers on October 4. That is the final leg of a notable early-season three-game homestand and it feels like the Buccaneers are going to need to make the most of their homefield advantage in September and October if they're going to stay in the thick of the NFC South race.

The Bucs and Packers have a long and oft-contested rivalry due to their quarter-century together in what was previously known as the NFC Central Division, and lately, it has been particularly entertaining both teams have been annual playoff contenders and both have featured high-performing quarterbacks. That should be the case again when Mayfield and Jordan Love square off. Over the past three seasons combined, Mayfield ranks third in the NFL in passing yards and Love is seventh; Mayfield is second and Love sixth in touchdown passes; Love is second and Mayfield seventh in completions of 25 or more yards. These two are more than likely to put on an aerial show on what will probably be a steamy afternoon.

The Packers have brought out the best in the Buccaneers this decade. Tampa Bay has won three of the four meetings in that span, and its one loss was by just two points. During the 2020 regular season, a Week Six game in Tampa was billed as a clash of MVP quarterbacks between Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers but the Bucs' defense intercepted Rodgers twice and sacked him four times and the Bucs ran away with a 38-10 victory. When the two teams met again in the NFC Championship Game, Rodgers (that season's NFL MVP) was much better, with three touchdown passes, but he was still sacked five times and the Bucs punched their ticket to Super Bowl LV with a 31-26 decision. And in 2023, Mayfield became the first visiting quarterback ever to record a perfect passer rating at Lambeau Field as the Bucs won again, 34-20.

The Packers could have a very dangerous offense in 2026, with Love surrounded by the likes of Josh Jacobs, Christian Watson, Jayden Reed, Matthew Golden and Tucker Kraft. Mayfield and the Bucs, however, have the firepower to match, and perhaps a much more effective pass rush this season. I can't wait for this matchup.

Brianna Dix: TNF at Dallas Cowboys

I mulled over several possibilities and almost went with the Buccaneers' battle against the Detroit Lions on the road at Ford Field in Week 11. The two clubs have become rivals of sorts with several matchups in the last few years. Tampa Bay's trip to Detroit in 2026 will be the sixth of the past eight seasons, including playoffs. The Bucs have a better record on the road against the Lions (16-17) than at home (13-16). The battles between the Bucs and Lions are always chippy with a playoff-type feel as both NFC teams vie for a tally in the win column. However, since the Lions game is a 1:00 p.m. kick, I decided to go with the Bucs clash with the Dallas Cowboys in Week Five on Thursday Night Football at AT&T Stadium.

The Bucs began the 2021 and 2022 seasons with wins over the Cowboys but Dallas eliminated Tampa Bay from the playoffs in 2022. Not only will this marquee matchup be on the grand stage in the national spotlight, but these showdowns always run down to the wire. Six of the last eight meetings in the series between the Bucs and Cowboys have been decided by one score. As is customary when these two teams face off, I foresee the 2026 battle being a nail-biter as well. Given the storied history of the Cowboys' franchise, playing at AT&T Stadium always brings an added layer of hype and thrill for fans. I predict this Thursday Night Football contest will unfold in thrilling fashion like the previous ones.