By Kevin Stone/@kstone06/@newftbj
You didn’t think we were done with Tom Brady talk did you?
Not to worry, we’re going to have Tom Brady Tuesday coverage every week here at New England Football Journal to make sure you can still keep up with what the GOAT is doing.
Brady will be in primetime plenty this season, bringing Bucs fans the attention for the first time in a long time. For now, let’s take a look at that schedule, one that most Patriots fans will be following with great interest.
WEEK 1
BUCS @ SAINTS, 4:25
Talk about starting with a bang. The NFL wasted little time making sure they gave sports-starved fans one of the greatest matchups of all time potentially. Brady-Brees as division rivals in the SuperDome to start the year has a chance to be one of the most watched games not only in Bucs or Saints history but in NFL history.
Brady and Brees haven’t had many head-to-head matchups, but twice a year now will be riveting, and kicking off the season with it is genius by those that created the schedule.
WEEK 2
PANTHERS @ BUCS, 1 PM
A nice soft landing for Brady after potentially losing on the road to open his Bucs career. A Cam Newton-less team walking into a hornet’s nest (if fans are allowed of course) sets up a fun day for TB12. No Keuchley at linebacker makes Brady finding Gronk up the seam much easier too, the only question will be whether Tampa’s defense can stop Christian McCaffrey long enough for Brady to create some separation on the scoreboard.
WEEK 3
BUCS @ BRONCOS, 4:25
Denver has always been a house of horrors for the Patriots and Tom Brady, but will this be different? It’s hard to know if Denver will be any good despite showing some promise last season, so maybe TB12 is able to escape Denver with a win. The weather in late September should also benefit the Bucs offense as well.
WEEK 4
CHARGERS @ BUCS, 1 PM
Should be another easy one for Brady and the Bucs. The Charger defense is good but Brady had little trouble with it in the AFC Divisional round game a few years back, and with the weapons he has now this should be a rout. LA is also coming west to east for an early start, which we all know rarely bodes well, especially for a team that just lost its veteran quarterback to free agency.
WEEK 5
BUCS @ BEARS (THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL), 8:20
Brady’s second toughest game early in the year will come on a short week when traveling to Chicago. If the Bears defense is the same defense it was two years ago and not last year Brady could be in trouble if that Bucs offensive line isn’t improved. Thursday night games are usually pretty sloppy and I’d expect this one to be the same when the time comes.
WEEK 6
PACKERS @ BUCS, 4:25
Brady-Rodgers will highlight this week, unless Rodgers has built up so much ill will by then that Jordan Love is now the quarterback, but I doubt it happens that early. This is best case scenario for Brady, getting Rodgers at home, but this should be one of those memorable “games of the year” unless injuries ruin it. Local product AJ Dillon will be in the backfield for Green Bay in this one and may have some luck against a suspect Bucs defense unless they’re much better this season.
WEEK 7
BUCS @ LAS VEGAS RAIDERS (SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL), 8:20
Brady does Vegas.
After all the hype during the offseason regarding whether Brady was Vegas bound, he’ll make his Vegas debut wearing a Bucs jersey on Sunday Night Football. If Derek Carr is able to steadily improve this one has a chance to be an offensive shootout between Brady’s weapons and the revamped Raider offense.
WEEK 8
BUCS AT GIANTS (MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL), 8:15
Brady’s first Monday night game as a Buccaneer comes against the hated Giants. Obviously, Brady has had memorable games for good and bad reasons against the Giants and assuming that the Giants are as bad as they were last year then this one should be fun for Brady and that offense. If Daniel Jones improves and Joe Judge can game plan for Brady then this one could be interesting, but as of May 8th it feels like the Bucs have a field day here.
WEEK 9
SAINTS AT BUCS (SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL), 8:20
The rematch comes in early November under the lights in Tampa. At this point in the season it could have HUGE NFC South division standings implications, and it’s also worth noting that this will be the third straight primetime game for the Bucs, which could wear them down a bit. The later the game the bigger it is, and it might not be any bigger than this depending on where Brady and Brees have led their teams to this point.
WEEK 10
BUCS AT PANTHERS, 1 PM
Another division rematch, assuming that Brady and the Bucs have taken care of most or all of their business to this point, this one should be a relatively easy one for the Bucs. The 1 PM kick off will be a welcomed change for Tampa Bay.
WEEK 11
RAMS AT BUCS (MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL), 8:15
Brady struggled a bit against the Rams’ defense in the 2018 Super Bowl, but these Rams aren’t those Rams. McVay seems to have some of that magic dust wearing off of him and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Rams stumble into this game with a record well below .500. Brady has usually always risen to the occasion in primetime and I doubt this one is any different unless injuries are decimating the Bucs’ roster.
WEEK 12
CHIEFS @ BUCCANEERS, 4:25
Aside from the Saints games this once should be the matchup of the year, and maybe one of the most hyped up “Super Bowl previews” in history. I’m a bit surprised this one isn’t earlier in the year so the NFL could make sure they avoided early season injuries and got the matchup they want, but if both of these teams are as good as we think they should be heading into this one then it will be an all-timer.
WEEK 13
BYE WEEK
Usually you’d like your bye week around Week 8 or 9, but instead the NFL handed Tampa it’s latest bye week in 30 years. Are they trying to make sure Brady wears down so he can’t have a deep playoff run? I wouldn’t put it past the NFL to try and sabotage the man even when he isn’t wearing a Patriot uniform.
WEEK 14
VIKINGS @ BUCS, 1 PM
Back to the normal 1 PM home game coming out of the bye, this one could actually be a pretty good playoff preview. Assuming Minnesota’s offensive weapons are healthy still and assuming that Mike Zimmer has his usual pretty good defense, Brady and the Bucs will have their work cut out for them here. You’ve got to think this one will have a big impact on playoff seeding this time of year as well, making it sneaky one of the most watchable games of the year.
WEEK 15
BUCS @ FALCONS, 1 PM
This one will completely depend on injuries I think. If Atlanta is healthy then I think they have a bounce back year and potentially battle New Orleans and Tampa Bay for the division title.What’s crazy about this is that it’s the first division matchup between the Bucs and Falcons and will be the first of two meetings in the final three weeks. Brady already owns real estate in Matt Ryan and Dan Quinn’s head, so even if Atlanta is fighting for playoff positioning, it’s hard for me to see Brady losing to Atlanta unless his weapons are in shambles.
WEEK 16
BUCS @ LIONS, TBD
This one will either be on Saturday the 26th or Sunday the 27th in December, but a Matt Patricia defense having to game plan for Brady is quite intriguing, especially if you’re a New England fan and the Pats are out of it by this point. Hopefully Detroit has something to play for here, because Matty P trying to spoil Brady’s push for a bye or trying to get the Lions into the playoffs while having to step over Tom Brady to do so would be some incredible theatre.
WEEK 17
FALCONS @ BUCS, 1 PM
Brady gets to close out his first regular season as a Buccaneer against a division opponent he just prepared for a couple weeks prior. This one (assuming the Bucs have wrapped up the division and/or a bye) could just be your average final week game, but if both these teams are playing for something then another Brady-Matt Ryan duel could be a hell of a way to close out the regular season.
There you have it. A way-too-early breakdown of the Brady-led Bucs schedule before we even hit training camp. We will be following Brady’s season closely here at New England Football Journal (he’s the greatest of all time, how could we not?), and this schedule has quite a few intriguing things to watch for.
Make sure you stay with us for our Tom Brady Tuesday’s to see how this all plays out.