One month into the 2025 season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and San Francisco 49ers are both 3-1 and easily identifiable as top NFC playoff contenders. The NFL recognized as much on Monday when it elected to put the Week Six showdown between the Buccaneers and 49ers in front of a larger television audience.
The league announced Monday that the Tampa Bay-San Francisco game, presented by Novartis, at Raymond James on Sunday, October 12 has been flexed to the late afternoon slot The game was originally scheduled to start at 1:00 p.m. ET but will now kickoff at 4:25 p.m. ET. In a corresponding scheduling change, the New England Patriots game at New Orleans that Sunday will be moved from 4:25 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. The Cincinnati Bengals and Green Bay Packers meeting is also scheduled to kickoff at 4:25 and is remaining in that time slot.
The NFL first introduced flex scheduling in 2006 as a way to allow teams to play their way into time slots with larger audiences. In 2025, the flex scheduling option began in Week Five and can be utilized through Week 17. In Weeks 5-13, scheduling changes must be announced at least 12 days prior to the date of the games being moved.
The Buccaneers first two home games – a win over the New York Jets and a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Weeks Three and Four – kicked off at 1:00 p.m. ET and featured temperatures in the 90s with feels-like temperatures in triple digits. With the Week Six game flexed, the Buccaneers will not play another 1:00 p.m. home game until Week 10 against the Patriots on November 9.
The Buccaneers are the only team in the NFC that has made the playoffs in each of the last five seasons and are seeking a record fifth straight NFC South division title. They currently lead the NFC South by one game over the Atlanta Falcons, a team they beat on the road in Week One. The 49ers are tied with the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks atop the NFC West and have made the playoffs in four of the past six seasons, two of which ended with Super Bowl appearances.
The Buccaneers play at Seattle in Week Five before returning home for their now late-afternoon contest against the 49ers. Limited tickets are still available here.
