Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2017 schedule release: Games, dates and times

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers went 9-7 in 2016. Inheriting a second-place schedule, will 2017 be the year that Tampa Bay gets back into the NFC Playoffs?

2017 should be a year filled with great optimism for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They narrowly missed out on the 2016 NFC Playoffs with an impressive 9-7 record. Keep in mind that is has been almost a decade since Tampa Bay made the NFL Playoffs. This team continues to get better with Dirk Koetter as head coach, Jason Licht as general manager and Jameis Winston as its starting quarterback.

Tampa Bay will have a second-place schedule. The Buccaneers have its six annual NFC South games against Atlanta, Carolina and New Orleans. This year, the NFC South plays the entirety of the AFC East and the NFC North. Tampa Bay draws the Arizona Cardinals and the New York Giants to complete their 16-game slate. Here is what the on-the-rise Buccaneers are up against this fall.

These are the home and road opponents in 2017:

Home: New Orleans, Atlanta, Carolina, Chicago, Detroit, New England, New York Jets, New York Giants

Away: New Orleans, Atlanta, Carolina, Green Bay, Minnesota, Buffalo, Miami, Arizona

Here is the week-by-week schedule (updated upon release):

Week 1: at Miami Dolphins
Week 2: vs. Chicago Bears
Week 3: at Minnesota Vikings
Week 4: vs New York Giants
Week 5: vs. New England Patriots (Thursday Night Football)
Week 6: at Arizona Cardinals
Week 7: at Buffalo Bills
Week 8: vs Carolina Panthers
Week 9: at New Orleans Saints
Week 10: vs New York Jets
Week 11: BYE WEEK
Week 12: at Atlanta Falcons
Week 13: at Green Bay Packers
Week 14: vs Detroit Lions
Week 15: vs. Atlanta Falcons (Monday Night Football)
Week 16: at Carolina Panthers
Week 17: vs. New Orleans

Tampa Bay should feel lucky that it gets the bulk of its tough games at home. Then again, home-field advantage hasn’t really been a thing going the Buccaneers’ way for years. Regardless, the Buccaneers do get the Detroit Lions, the New England Patriots and the New York Giants at home this season. Those are all playoff teams from 2016 and could be back there in 2017.

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On the other side of the coin, road games at Green Bay and Miami aren’t going to be easy. Those are two playoff teams from last year. Add in that Arizona, Buffalo and Minnesota could be in the mix for playoff berths this fall as well. If the Buccaneers are making the NFC Playoffs, they’ll have to dominate in NFC South play, as this is not a favorable schedule in the slightest.