The Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2026 season opened with a six-point loss at Cincinnati, marking the first time since 2020 that the team had not come away victorious in Week One. That means Week Two will be an effort to even the scales, and the opponent is the Cleveland Browns, who will visit Raymond James Stadium on Sunday, September 20, with kickoff scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET.
While the Buccaneers rallied from 18 points down but ultimately fell to the Bengals, 33-27, thanks mostly to four lost fumbles, the Browns opened their 2026 campaign with a tough 34-10 defeat at Jacksonville. The Jaguars' Trevor Lawrence threw four touchdown passes and Jacksonville's defense came at Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson with five sacks and an interception.
The Buccaneers will be trying to avoid their first 0-2 start since 2014, and they will have homefield advantage at their disposal as they take on a second straight AFC North opponent. In this case, it just happens to be the franchise that drafted Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield first-overall in 2018 but later traded him to Carolina after making an enormous deal to bring in Watson.
"It's the next opponent," said Mayfield after Sunday's game. "For us it's making the corrections we need. I thought there was a lot of good stuff out there. Obviously, we didn't come out on the right side but we'll make the corrections we need to and we'll move forward. Cleveland happens to be the next opponent and our home opener."
