The 2019 regular season is getting closer and closer. With that in mind, it’s a good time to analyze the schedules of all 32 NFL teams which is what the Last Word on Sports NFL department is currently doing. Articles will be broken down into the eight hardest and eight easiest games on each team’s schedule. Here, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers most difficult games are under the microscope.
Check out the eight easiest games on the 2019 Bucs schedule.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Most Difficult Games of 2019
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Week Four: at Los Angeles Rams
When you were an NFC also-ran last year and you’re playing a road game against the defending conference champions, it’s no surprise that it’s the toughest challenge of the season. That’s what the Bucs face a mere four weeks into their 2019 campaign when they head out west to face the Rams. Sean McVay‘s crew made it to Super Bowl LIII in controversial fashion with the pass interference no-call heard round the world against the New Orleans Saints. But there’s no doubting the talent of this team on both sides of the ball, even with the departure of Ndamukong Suh to the team the Rams are facing this week along with the question marks surrounding the long-term health of Todd Gurley‘s knee.
Both McVay and first-year Bucs head coach Bruce Arians have a reputation as being quarterback whisperers. The former turned Jared Goff into a player capable of leading a team to the Super Bowl after he looked like a bust as a rookie under Jeff Fisher. And Bucs fans are hoping Arians’ magic can rub off onto Jameis Winston who’s certainly in a make or break year. In the end, the two former first overall picks are on a collision course for a late-September clash at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum.
2. Week Five: at New Orleans Saints
One week later, the Bucs face the team that was the victim of the aforementioned controversy involving the Rams. Tampa’s NFC South rival certainly have a legitimate case that they were robbed of a Super Bowl appearance. And it’s a reason why coaches can now challenge pass interference calls/no-calls beginning in 2019.
Even though it’s in the past and players need to move on, there has to be an added level of motivation for this Saints team given what happened. Drew Brees wants to prove that he’s still got something left in the tank as he hits age 40. Fresh off signing a massive extension, Michael Thomas looks poised to maintain his status as one of the best contested-catch receivers in all of football. Add in the always raucous fans at the Superdome and you have a game where the oddsmakers won’t be giving the Bucs much of a chance.
3. Week Nine: at Seattle Seahawks
Speaking of raucous road environments, it doesn’t get much better (or worse from the standpoint of the visiting team) than CenturyLink Field. That’s where the Bucs will be heading during the first week of November when they take on the Seahawks. Much like Thomas above, Russell Wilson inked a gigantic extension during the off-season. Only in his case, it made him the highest-paid player in the league.
Expectations are certainly high in Seattle as they’re coming off a playoff appearance where they narrowly lost to the Dallas Cowboys in the wild-card round. In addition to the dynamic playmaking abilities of Wilson, the Hawks boast arguably the NFL’s best middle linebacker in Bobby Wagner. Like Wilson, he also got paid big-time this off-season. Most pundits peg Seattle as a legit Super Bowl contender out of the NFC this year. For that reason, the Bucs ostensibly face an uphill battle to walk out of C-Link with a W.
4. Week 12: at Atlanta Falcons
Fans of opposing NFC South teams certainly have an additional weapon in their trolling arsenal in regards to the Falcons given what transpired in Super Bowl LI. But such antics don’t carry much substance when perpetrated by Bucs fans considering how badly the Falcons have owned them in recent years. Atlanta is currently on a five-game winning streak in the series and has won seven of the last 10 meetings. That means the Bucs remain winless in the Falcons shiny new digs, Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Matt Ryan and company will, without a doubt, be motivated to put last year’s mediocre 7-9 campaign behind them. It did end on a good note, though, as they won the final three games of the season. Their receiving corps, led by Julio Jones but also including other talented players such as Mohamed Sanu and Calvin Ridley, is as good as any in the league. And if Devonta Freeman can stay healthy, it will take a lot of pressure off Ryan and the passing game. Simply put, this is another road game where the odds will be stacked against the Bucs.
5. Week Two: at Carolina Panthers
Not surprisingly, all three interdivisional road games make it onto the difficult portion of the schedule. Last up is the Bucs journey up to Charlotte to face the Panthers. Tampa is coming off a win, having beaten Carolina 24-17 in Week 13 last year. But it was pretty clear by that point in the season that Cam Newton‘s shoulder was not 100 percent. After off-season surgery and a change to his throwing mechanics, the former league MVP will be full-go for the Bucs first road contest of the regular season.
Suffice it to say that the Bucs have struggled against Carolina in recent years. They have just three wins in the series since 2013 and they’ve come by an average of 3.67 points. And nowadays, Newton is surrounded by a plethora of proven offensive talent. Christian McCaffrey is a veritable Swiss army knife out of the backfield. And though they lost Devin Funchess to free agency, that provides D.J. Moore with a huge opportunity to prove he’s number one receiver material. This game will provide the Bucs with a monumental early-season challenge.
6. Week 11: vs New Orleans Saints
Up until this point, the focus has been on road games. That’s not too surprising given that their very nature tends to make them tougher than the friendly confines. It all changes here with the Saints coming to town in mid-November. Drew Brees has realized success against Tampa on the road, going 8-5 at Raymond James Stadium since he joined the Saints. At this point in the season, teams are going to be looking to consolidate their positioning vis a vis the playoffs. And if the Bucs want to make it into the tournament, defending home field is going to be immensely important.
7. Week 14: vs Indianapolis Colts
The Colts look to be the most formidable non-NFC South opponent who will make the trip to the Bay Area in 2019. They’re coming off an amazing season, Frank Reich‘s first as head coach, which saw them win nine of their last 10 regular-season games en route to a playoff berth. Then they blew out their division rival Houston Texans in the wild-card round before bowing out to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. It marked the triumphant return to prominence of Andrew Luck who proceeded to win NFL Comeback Player of the Year honors.
But injury concerns are once again dogging Luck heading into the start of the 2019 season. He hasn’t played at all during the preseason and has only participated in practice in a limited capacity due to a lingering calf/ankle injury. Already, there are question marks as to whether or not he’ll be ready for the season opener. However, this matchup takes place in early December which is obviously plenty of time for him to get healthy and reprise his role as an elite NFL signal-caller.
8. Week 16: vs Houston Texans
The hardest eight games on the Bucs 2019 slate concludes with the other AFC South team who made the playoffs last year. All indications point to Bill O’Brien‘s squad being playoff-caliber once more. Deshaun Watson is a proven winner and is surrounded by legitimate weapons on the offensive side of the ball, including the uber-talented DeAndre Hopkins. And then there’s some guy named J.J. Watt who’s as formidable an edge-rushing talent as there is in the NFL. Though it will be a pleasant surprise if the penultimate game of the season has playoff implications for both teams, most experts are confident that it will for the Texans at least.
