TAMPA — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will host the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday at Raymond James Stadium for their only home preseason game in August, with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. ET and the game broadcast locally by WFLA-TV.
The matchup marks the first preseason meeting between the two franchises in a decade-and-a-half. Their last preseason contest came in 2011 in Kansas City, with the Bucs winning 25-0. Tampa Bay has won five of the first six preseason meetings between the clubs. It is also just the second time the Chiefs have returned to Raymond James Stadium since the Buccaneers defeated them 31-9 in Super Bowl LV, the second championship in franchise history.
Tampa Bay enters the game off a strong showing at the Meadowlands, rallying from 10 points down to beat the New York Jets 24-16. Quarterback Baker Mayfield and most starters sat out the opener, though Mayfield is expected to see some playing time Saturday. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who is in the latter stages of his recovery from last year’s ACL tear, may not be put at risk this preseason.
Several Buccaneers rookies stood out against the Jets. Quarterback Jalon Daniels directed two second-half scoring drives and capped the second with his own touchdown run. Cornerback Ayden Garnes picked off a Bailey Zappe pass in the second quarter and returned it 47 yards for a touchdown and a 10-10 tie. Outside linebacker Jack Pyburn recorded two of the Bucs’ four sacks. Outside linebacker David Walker, who missed last year with a knee injury, saw his first NFL game action and logged a pair of quarterback pressures.
Kansas City dropped its preseason opener 20-12 to the visiting Los Angeles Rams at Arrowhead Stadium. All of the Chiefs’ points came on Harrison Butker field goals, while Rams rookie quarterback Ty Simpson threw two touchdown passes and completed 21 of 25 attempts. Justin Fields, in his first year in Kansas City, filled in for Mahomes and completed all four of his passes for 41 yards before giving way to seventh-round pick Garrett Nussmeier, who completed 13 of 19 passes for 98 yards in his NFL debut out of LSU.
The Buccaneers close their preseason schedule the following week before the regular season opens in September.