TAMPA — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers open their 2025 season Sunday with a 1:00 p.m. ET road game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium, looking to reclaim the NFC South title after a tiebreaker loss to the Carolina Panthers ended their streak of four consecutive division crowns.
The Bucs overhauled their roster during the offseason, hiring Zac Robinson as offensive coordinator, parting ways with franchise pillars Lavonte David and Mike Evans, and investing heavily in a rebuilt defense. The marquee addition was Miami Hurricanes pass rusher Rueben Bain Jr., who fell to Tampa Bay at the 15th pick in the draft. Free agent edge rusher Al-Quadin Muhammad, who posted 11.0 sacks for Detroit in 2025, and the return of 2025 rookie David Walker from a knee injury give defensive coordinator Todd Bowles a deeper rotation that the team hopes will generate consistent four-man pressure from some combination of Bain, Muhammad, Walker, Yaya Diaby, Vita Vea and Calijah Kancey.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield enters the opener riding a dominant Week One track record since becoming Tampa Bay’s starter in 2023: a 3-0 record with nine touchdown passes, zero interceptions and a 114.5 passer rating. His counterpart, Joe Burrow, carries the opposite trend — 3-9 in Weeks One and Two with an 82.7 passer rating and 202.4 passing yards per game, compared with 40-24-1, a 104.3 rating and 282.8 yards per game from Week Three onward. Burrow missed roughly half of last season with a toe injury.
Cincinnati made its own defensive overhaul after finishing 30th in points allowed and 31st in yards allowed in 2025. The Bengals traded the 10th-overall pick for former Giants nose tackle Dexter Lawrence and added defensive tackle Jonathan Allen, edge rusher Boye Mafe, safeties Bryan Cook and Kyle Dugger, and draft pick edge rusher Cashius Howell. The offensive core of Burrow, wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgs and tailback Chase Brown remained largely intact.
On offense, Robinson inherits a unit that ranked fourth in rushing yards and third in passing yards under Liam Coen in 2024 but regressed under injuries during Josh Grizzard’s tenure in 2025. All five starting offensive linemen from 2024 return healthy. Chris Godwin is expected to work primarily from the slot with Emeka Egbuka as the main outside receiver, while roles for Jalen McMillan — who is dealing with a knee injury that could affect his availability — rookie Ted Hurst and second-year receiver Tez Johnson will take shape in the early weeks.
The Bucs also brought in veteran special teams coordinator Danny Smith, who spent roughly three decades as an NFL coordinator, including a long run with the Pittsburgh Steelers under Mike Tomlin. Tampa Bay has not returned a punt or a kickoff for a touchdown since 2010, the longest active drought of any NFL team. Personnel additions Miles Killebrew, Kevin Knowles and Christian Rozeboom, along with the return of Ko Kieft from injury, are aimed at fixing kickoff coverage and blocked-punt issues from 2025. Placekicker Chase McLaughlin returns as one of the league’s most accurate kickers.
Tampa Bay is tied with Philadelphia for the longest active streak of Week One victories at five, with each of those campaigns also producing 2-0 starts. Sunday’s game will be broadcast locally on FOX.