TAMPA — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will open their 2026 season at the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 13 at 1 p.m. on FOX, then host the Cleveland Browns the following week in what amounts to a Buckeye State doubleheader to launch the campaign.
The NFL released the full 18-week schedule this week, giving Tampa Bay nine home games at Raymond James Stadium — a product of the league’s rotation that places all 17th-game matchups with NFC hosts this year. The Buccaneers drew the Los Angeles Chargers for that extra home date because both teams finished second in their respective divisions in 2025.
The Browns game on Sept. 20 kicks off a three-game homestand that also includes NFC North opponents Minnesota on Sept. 27 at 4:05 p.m. and Green Bay on Oct. 4 at 1 p.m. Tampa Bay then heads to Dallas for the first of three primetime appearances — a Thursday night game on Oct. 8 at 8:15 p.m. on Amazon. The other two nationally televised contests are a Sunday Night Football trip to Chicago on Nov. 8 at 8:20 p.m. on NBC and a Monday Night Football home matchup against Carolina on Nov. 30 at 8:15 p.m. on ESPN.
The Buccaneers, who won the NFC South four straight years before last season, will not face a division opponent until Week 7, when they travel to Carolina on Oct. 25 to take on the defending division champions. The Panthers claimed the title last year after winning a three-way tiebreaker over Tampa Bay and the Atlanta Falcons. Both Bucs-Panthers games are completed before December, while the schedule back-loads the rest of the division slate: both Saints matchups fall in the final four weeks, and a trip to Atlanta in Week 16 could land on Saturday or Sunday, Dec. 26-27.
The bye arrives in Week 10 on Nov. 15, nearly dead center in the schedule with nine games played and eight remaining. The toughest stretch follows immediately — Weeks 11 through 14 send the Bucs to Detroit, home for the Carolina Monday night game, home for the Chargers and then to Baltimore on Dec. 13.
Tampa Bay will be chasing its sixth consecutive season-opening victory at Cincinnati. Only the Buccaneers and the Philadelphia Eagles have won each of their last five openers, a streak dating to 2021. The schedule also spares the Bucs consecutive road weeks for the first time in 35 years — the last time that happened was the 1991 season.
Cold-weather exposure appears limited. Half of Tampa Bay’s eight road games are in domes or warm-climate cities — Dallas, Detroit, Atlanta and New Orleans — with the only outdoor road dates after October at Chicago on Nov. 8 and Baltimore on Dec. 13. The Week 11 trip to Detroit marks the Bucs’ sixth game at Ford Field since 2019, playoffs included; Tampa Bay is 3-2 in the first five.
Preseason play begins Aug. 14 at the New York Jets, followed by a home date against the Kansas City Chiefs on Aug. 22 and a trip to Jacksonville on Aug. 28. The regular season concludes the weekend of Jan. 9-10 at New Orleans, with the day and time still to be determined. The Week 17 home game against the Los Angeles Rams on Jan. 3 also awaits a confirmed time and broadcast network. Single-game tickets for all nine home dates are now on sale.