The Tampa Bay Buccaneers played the penultimate game of their 2024 regular season on Sunday. A few hours later they found out exactly when they would play the last one.
As has become the regular procedure in recent seasons, the NFL released its full game schedule in May but had some information still to fill in later in the year. That would be the dates and times of all 16 games in Week 18, which will be spread out over Saturday and Sunday, January 4 and 5. The Saturday schedule would involve two games, with an eye towards staging matchups that were relevant to playoff races. Thirteen more contests would be played in the early and late-afternoon windows, with the final one on Sunday night.
Those decisions have been made and the NFL announced its Week 18 schedule on Sunday evening. The Buccaneers will play host to the New Orleans Saints at Raymond James Stadium next Sunday, January 5, with kickoff scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET. The Atlanta Falcons home game against the Carolina Panthers will also kick off at 1:00 p.m. ET so that neither team will gain an advantage by knowing the other's outcome as the Bucs and Falcons fight for the NFC South title.
The Buccaneers were in a similar situation at the end of last season. Tied with New Orleans atop the division after 17 weeks, with both teams at 8-8, the Bucs needed a win over Carolina or a loss by the Saints against Atlanta to win their third straight division crown. Tampa Bay prevailed in Charlotte, 9-0, and took the division on a tiebreaker after the Saints also won.
