The Buccaneers don’t need a reminder of how last season slipped away, but they’re getting one anyway. Tampa Bay split its six NFC South games a year ago, and the margin for error was so thin that one extra win would have been enough to take the division instead of leaving the Bucs just outside the playoffs.
The sting was felt most in Atlanta. Tampa’s loss to the Falcons came by a single point, 29-28, on Thursday Night Football, and the sequence that still hangs over the fan base is “3rd and 28.” Todd Bowles’ profanity-laced reaction after that collapse only added to the memory.
Now the rematch is set for Sunday, Nov. 1, at Raymond James Stadium, the same building where Tampa watched that one get away. The Falcons used that win as a springboard.
They entered the game 4-9, then closed the year with three straight victories to finish 8-9 and tie for the best record in the NFC South. Atlanta missed the division title on a tiebreaker, but the finish still gave the team real momentum.
Tampa Bay, meanwhile, went the other direction. The Bucs were sitting at 6-2 and looked like the team to beat in the South before dropping seven of their final nine. If Bowles is going to quiet the noise in 2026, the turnaround has to start with the kind of divisional work that was missing last season.
The changes have already started. Two days after the regular season ended, Tampa fired offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard after one year on the job. In his place came the coach who helped create the “3rd and 28” nightmare: Zac Robinson.
That move gives the matchup a little extra bite. Robinson will be facing his former team, and Baker Mayfield will be going against a former head coach of his own.
Kevin Stefanski was in Cleveland when Mayfield helped deliver the Browns’ only playoff win since the “new Browns” arrived in 1999. He was also the coach in charge when Cleveland made the DeShaun Watson trade 14 months later and, in effect, pushed Mayfield out the door.
So when Tampa and Atlanta meet in November, the game will carry more than just divisional weight. For the Buccaneers, it’s a chance to start settling an old score.
In Other News...
Buccaneers Camp Could End Badly For One Young Player Fans Expected More From
Training camp opens July 28 for the Buccaneers, and the first real roster battles are already easy to spot. The backup quarterback race has Connor Bazelak trying to hold off Jalon Daniels for the third spot, while along the edge Anthony Nelson, David Walker and Chris Braswell are all working for a rotational role behind the established names.
Braswell is the one who feels most vulnerable heading into camp, because there is little margin for error when teams start sorting out the bottom of the roster. Tampa Bay has enough competition at several positions to make these weeks matter, and for a young player trying to stick, the difference between a strong start and a slow one can be the difference between making it through August and getting squeezed out before the season even begins. [Read more 🡒]
These Buccaneers Sleepers Could Make Camp Decisions A Lot Tougher
Training camp always has a way of turning the back end of a roster into the most interesting part of the summer, and this Buccaneers group has a handful of offensive sleepers worth tracking. From a rookie quarterback trying to show he belongs, to a few young skill players and an interior lineman looking for any opening they can get, the competition is less about headlines than about carving out a path to keep working in Tampa Bay.
What makes this batch notable is how many different jobs are on the table. Some of these players are fighting for roster consideration, others are trying to stick on the practice squad or earn a special-teams lane, and a few are simply chasing enough trust to get a developmental look in camp. For a team building depth on offense, those small wins can matter just as much as the bigger names, and this is the sort of group that can quietly make the final decisions a lot tougher. [Read more 🡒]
Baker Mayfield Opens Up About The Mindset Behind His Bucs Comeback
Baker Mayfield has spent the last couple of seasons turning a difficult stretch into something closer to a second act, and he has been open about what helped him get there. After leaving Cleveland and going through a rough 2022 that included stops with the Panthers and Rams, he found steadier footing in Tampa Bay, where his play and presence gave the Buccaneers a much-needed lift.
What stands out in Mayfields view is not just the production, but the mindset behind it. He says asking for help and being willing to show vulnerability have been central to handling the setbacks in his career and personal life, and that support from others has helped him stay mentally resilient as he rebuilt himself into a Pro Bowl quarterback. [Read more 🡒]