2017 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Schedule: Full Listing of Dates, Times and TV Info

If the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are going to take a leap into annual contender status, this should be the season we begin seeing it. 

Jameis Winston is heading into his third NFL season and has the best supporting cast of his career. Tampa went out and signed DeSean Jackson in free agency to give him a much-desired deep threat to go along with Mike Evans, Cameron Brate and Adam Humphries.

Doug Martin should be better than he was in 2016, mostly because it's impossible to imagine him being worse. If he continues to struggle, Jacquizz Rodgers was fine in Martin's place down the stretch last season.

The Bucs also added defensive tackle Chris Baker to improve their defensive line and didn't lose any non-replaceable talent. 

Per Jenna Laine of ESPN.com, Jackson said:

"

To be able to see the Buccaneers—they’ve obviously made a drastic turn in where they’re going and where they’re heading to—to have my addition along with my fellow teammate Baker ... to have these two personalities come to a team like this and continue what we started and what they’re doing, I think it’s a plus-plus win for everybody.

"

Contrast that with the mass exodus of talent and coaches from the Atlanta Falcons, and Tampa is probably going to be a sleeper division champion pick this season. Can the Bucs back it up? Well, let's take a look at the schedule and assess that probability.

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Time (ET)	TV
1	Sep 10	at Dolphins	1 p.m.	FOX
2	Sep 17	Bears	1 p.m.	FOX
3	Sep 24	at Vikings	1 p.m.	FOX
4	Oct 1	Giants	4:05 p.m.	FOX
5	Oct 5	Patriots	8:25 p.m.	CBS
6	Oct 15	at Cardinals	4:05 p.m.	FOX
7	Oct 22	at Bills	1 p.m.	FOX
8	Oct 29	Panthers	1 p.m.	FOX
9	Nov 5	at Saints	1 p.m.	FOX
10	Nov 12	Jets	1 p.m.	CBS
11			BYE WEEK
12	Nov 26	at Falcons	1 p.m.	FOX
13	Dec 3	at Packers	1 p.m.	FOX
14	Dec 10	Lions	1 p.m.	FOX
15	Dec 18	Falcons	8:30 p.m.	ESPN
16	Dec 24	at Panthers	1 p.m.	FOX
17	Dec 31	Saints	1 p.m.	FOX

Analysis

The entire NFC South basically takes up the middle of the pack when it comes to schedule strength. Atlanta has the most difficult route with the 13th-hardest schedule and is followed in order by Tampa, New Orleans and Carolina, per John Breech of CBSSports.com.

South teams go head-to-head against the AFC East and NFC North this season, which is far from a cakewalk. The Bucs got the good fortune of hosting the New England Patriots but go on the road to Miami, Green Bay and Arizona outside the division.

Looking at the schedule for every AFC South team, there's a possibility that 10 wins takes the division—and that's not an insult. The Panthers will be back stronger next year, the Falcons aren't totally falling off and the Saints are going to throw for 5,000 yards a season until Drew Brees' arm falls off. It's a gauntlet as is, and the South's non-divisional opponents don't have many byes.

The Jets are a tire fire, but the Patriots, Dolphins and Bills all fashion themselves as playoff teams. The Packers, Lions and Vikings were all .500 or better last season, and the Bears...well, OK, maybe there are two byes here on the slate. (Or there might be a Mike Glennon Revenge Game in waiting. Heh.)

Traveling to Arizona and hosting the Giants isn't a great draw for non-common matchups, either. The NFC South might wind up with the toughest slate in football once we look back on 2017.

Pivotal Matchups

It's simple: Do better than the teams in your division. That's extremely simplistic, no-duh analysis. But it's the only truth for teams in the NFC South this season.

Everyone is going to have a tough road. Fourteen of Tampa's 16 games come against teams with reasonable playoff expectations in 2017. The Saints and Panthers get a little lucky by having only 13 of their 16 contests coming against potential playoff teams. 

Given the competition on the schedule and the interdivisional rivalries, it's hard to see a scenario where the South gets two playoff teams. Getting to nine or 10 wins here is the goal, and doing so by posting a winning record in the division is the likeliest path to the postseason.