TAMPA — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will open the 2026 regular season at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati on Sept. 13, facing a retooled Bengals squad led by quarterback Joe Burrow, with kickoff set for 1:00 p.m. ET.
The Bucs closed their preseason slate with a 19-0 loss in Jacksonville on Friday, and the team now enters the league’s built-in bye week — a scheduling feature since the NFL trimmed the preseason to three games in 2021 — to finalize its 53-man roster and 16-man practice squad before the regular season begins.
Tampa Bay will be chasing a 1-0 start for the sixth consecutive year, but Cincinnati presents a formidable test. Burrow played all 17 games in 2024 and led the NFL with 4,918 passing yards and 43 touchdown passes. Wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase has amassed 6,837 receiving yards and 54 touchdowns across five seasons, and the Bengals’ offense also features wideout Tee Higgins and running back Chase Brown.
Cincinnati’s defense, which cratered in recent years and contributed to three straight playoff absences despite a Super Bowl appearance after the 2021 season and an AFC Championship game berth in 2022, received a major overhaul. The Bengals added defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence and defensive tackle Jonathan Allen up front, signed safety Bryan Cook and edge rusher Boye Mafe in free agency, and drafted edge rusher Cashius Howell in the second round.
The Buccaneers counter with an offensive line anchored by All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs, returning the starting five that produced strong results in 2024 after a severely injury-plagued 2025 campaign. New offensive coordinator Zac Robinson will debut a revamped scheme featuring a stacked receiver room and a new running back tandem of Bucky Irving and Kenny Gainwell.
Tampa Bay won four straight NFC South titles from 2021 through 2024, a run that followed the franchise’s Super Bowl LV championship in 2020, but missed the playoffs last season on a tiebreaker. The Bucs’ roster cutdown to 53 players must be completed before the Sept. 13 opener in Cincinnati.