TAMPA, Fla. — One thing nearly every expert, pundit and fan does as soon as the schedule comes out is go down the list and predict wins and losses.
Something that many don’t do is sit back, look at the schedule as a whole and point out problematic stretches throughout the season. It’s easy to say, “the Bucs will beat the Dolphins” or “they shouldn’t have any problem with the Bears this time around.”
So, where do the problems lie for the defending champions this season?
The first stretch that pops out to me is weeks three through six.
Everyone has part of that stretch circled because it includes the primetime against the Patriots, marking Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski’s return to Foxboro. However, that game is a part of a run of games that could prove difficult when the season arrives. The Bucs take that long trip to Los Angeles to face the Rams and their new quarterback Matthew Stafford before shipping up to Boston to meet up with Bill Belichick.
They return home in week five to face the Dolphins before immediately going back on the road to face the Eagles in Philadelphia. Three road games in four weeks− including a short turnaround to play the Eagles− is not an ideal situation. Now, the Pats and Eagles weren’t exactly great last year, and the Dolphins appear to be a team on the way up, but you could point to the Rams and Dolphins games as those ever-tricky “trap games.”
Let’s go one step further.
Week seven, they’re back home against the Chicago Bears (a playoff team last season), then travel to New Orleans, a bye week, travel to Washington (a playoff rematch from last season), home against the Giants on Monday night, then off to Indianapolis followed by an away game in Atlanta. That means from weeks three through thirteen, the Bucs will be on the road, including two shortened weeks, for seven games while playing just three at home and having a bye in the mix.
Again, not an ideal situation for the Buccaneers.
Now, all NFC teams are at a slight disadvantage with the additional game being on the road this season. That said, it’s really kind of curious as to why the Bucs have a second primetime game on Thursday night thrown into the middle of this eleven-week run. For three months of the season, the Bucs will play in front of their fans just three times. It’s reminiscent of a few seasons ago when the Bucs were on the road or on their bye for five consecutive weeks.
No schedule is perfect, but it’s more than frustrating to see the defending champions get a bit of a raw deal. You can make the argument that they have the fourth “easiest” schedule this season, but strength of schedule is a ridiculous metric to use. Outside of the Buccaneers, who are returning all of their starters, there isn’t another team in the NFL that will be the same as they were in 2020. The NFC East, you would think, will have competitive football teams and not see their division won by a team with a losing record. The AFC East has revamped in the form of the Patriots signing major free-agent help while the Jets take a mulligan on their franchise quarterback.
One thing is for sure: No one can say the NFL made it easy for the Buccaneers to get back to the big dance.
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