Coming off their first Week 1 loss since 2020, the Bucs return to Raymond James Stadium Sunday afternoon to host the 0-1 Browns in their 2026 home opener.

Tampa Bay was its own worst enemy in its Week 1 loss to Cincinnati, fumbling the ball away four times — with Baker Mayfield responsible for three of them — and now it’s time for an early get-right game for the Bucs. Of course, it’s also a revenge game for Mayfield as he matches up with the team that drafted him with the No. 1 overall pick in 2018 only to dump him after the 2021 season for Deshaun Watson.

Watson and Cleveland’s offense have largely been a mess ever since, while Mayfield has revived his career and found a home in Tampa. Now, the two quarterbacks will face off for the first time since the Browns made the call to trade for Watson and send Mayfield packing.

There’ll also be something of a reunion with this Week 2 matchup as new Browns head coach Todd Monken spent 2016-2018 with the Bucs as their offensive coordinator. The 60-year-old first-time head coach is looking for his first career victory when Cleveland comes to town Sunday afternoon.

Here’s a general preview of Sunday’s home opener for Tampa Bay.

The Last Time…

The Bucs and Browns last met in November of 2022, with the Browns coming away with a shocking, 23-17 overtime win in Cleveland. Tom Brady and a struggling Tampa Bay team led 17-10 late into the fourth quarter, but the home team rallied late.

The Bucs defense got a stop with 2:41 left in the fourth quarter, but Brady and the offense killed only 25 seconds of clock before punting the ball back. After a decent punt return, Jacoby Brissett and the Browns offense only had to go 46 yards to tie the game. They did so with 32 seconds to play, as Brissett found David Njoku for a 12-yard score to force overtime.

Browns TE David Njoku and Bucs ILB Devin White – Photo by: USA Today

In overtime, Tampa Bay crossed midfield before punting, then Cleveland punted it right back. But Brady and the offense went nowhere again, and that led to the game-winning drive for the Browns. A 45-yard pass from Brissett to Amari Cooper set up an eventual 3-yard touchdown run by Nick Chubb that sent the Bucs to 5-6 and got the Browns to 4-7.

Brady was 29-of-43 for 246 yards and two touchdowns on the day, while Chubb was the star of the afternoon on the other side with 26 carries for 116 yards (4.5 avg.) and the game-winning touchdown.

This will be the 12th regular season meeting all-time between the Bucs and Browns. Cleveland has a 7-4 advantage to this point, though Tampa Bay has won the last three meetings at home.

How The Bucs And Browns Are Trending

The Bucs come into Sunday’s home opener looking for a bounce-back game after losing in Week 1 at Cincinnati. With all credit to the Bengals, the Bucs did a good job in beating themselves throughout much of the game with four turnovers — all fumbles — being the major difference in a 33-27 loss. Aside from the obvious, there were some concerning aspects of the team’s season-opening defeat, too.

Perhaps the single biggest disappointment outside of those aforementioned turnovers was the performance of Tampa Bay’s supposedly rebuilt pass rush. Yaya Diaby and first-round pick Rueben Bain Jr. were complete zeroes off the edge, while Vita Vea was shut down in the middle of the defense. Calijah Kancey and Al-Quadin Muhammad had their moments throughout the day, but Joe Burrow being the least-pressured quarterback in the entire league over its opening weekend reflects extremely poorly on the Buccaneer front.

Bengals TE Mike Geisicki – Photo by: IMAGN Images via Reuters Connect

Beyond the lack of pressure from the front four, the Bucs defense also continued to struggle when it came to defending the tight end position. Mike Gesicki torched Tampa Bay in Week 1, which was especially troubling considering the belief that the addition of veteran inside linebacker Alex Anzalone would help solve the unit’s issues against tight ends and over the middle of the field. Instead, Anzalone had a pitiful debut and one of the defense’s biggest weaknesses of the last couple of years persisted.

Offensively, most of the concern will be with the four turnovers. Then again, Baker Mayfield losing three fumbles and Bucky Irving losing another certainly won’t happen every week. What is worth keeping an eye on, though, is whether offensive coordinator Zac Robinson can create opportunities for some explosive plays going forward. While the offense did relatively well for itself outside of those giveaways, there was a certain lack of explosiveness that could put a cap on the group’s potential under Robinson if he can’t dial up some big plays.

With all that said, there were plenty of positives to take away from Week 1 for Tampa Bay, too. So, it’s not as if Todd Bowles and Co. are trending downward, even if they have lost eight of their last 10 games dating back to last season. Defensively, the emergence of Josiah Trotter, who had a sack and a pick-six in his debut, was a plus. The fact that Zyon McCollum and the secondary held Ja’Marr Chase in check was a plus, too.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: IMAGN Images via Reuters Connect

And while more explosive plays would be welcome for the Bucs offense in Week 2, the operation under Robinson’s watch looked smooth. If Mayfield holds onto the ball better, the offense likely scores 30+ points to go with Trotter’s pick-six and Tampa Bay probably comes away 1-0. Irving (save for the fumble) and Emeka Egbuka were particularly effective for the Buccaneer offense in the opener, and that’s a good sign.

As for the Browns, there was very little to be encouraged by in their 34-10 Week 1 loss to the Jaguars. This is obviously a Browns franchise that is plenty familiar with losing, and there’s not a whole lot to suggest that anything will change as 2026 rolls on.

New head coach Todd Monken inherited a mess in Cleveland. The quarterback situation is the biggest factor in that mess, with a boatload of money still tied to Deshaun Watson, who hasn’t been a legitimate starting quarterback for six years now. But the Browns have rolled with him to start this season, though it feels like it’s only a matter of time before the offense is turned back over to second-year signal-caller Shedeur Sanders.

The Browns defense has kept them in games in recent years, and having the NFL’s sack king certainly helped in the past. But they finally pulled the trigger on a trade this offseason, sending Myles Garrett to the Rams. They did get a good pass rusher back in Jared Verse, but he’s not Garrett and this Cleveland defense could have a tough time making up for the dysfunction on the offensive side of the ball.

Browns HC Todd Monken – Photo by: IMAGN Images via Reuters Connect

With all that said, though, Monken is a great offensive mind and has the temperament necessary to deal with the kind of situation the Browns find themselves in. And he does have talent to work with, even if that Week 1 showing in Jacksonville didn’t quite show it.

On offense, Cleveland has a wealth of young talent. The backfield features 2025 second-round running back Quinshon Judkins, while the receiving corps includes 2026 first-round pick KC Concepcion and second-rounder Denzel Boston alongside veteran Jerry Jeudy. Tight end Harold Fannin Jr., a 2025 third-round pick, is dangerous, too. And along the offensive line, there’s 2026 No. 9 overall pick Spencer Fano and four former first- and second-round talents.

And despite no longer having Garrett, the defense is still ripe with talent at every level. In addition to Verse up front, there’s 2025 first-round defensive tackle Mason Graham. Manning the middle of the defense is 2025 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Carson Schwesinger, while five-time Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward leads the way in the secondary.

Here’s how the Bucs and Browns stack up heading into their Week 2 meeting:

Bucs Offense: T-13th in scoring offense (27.0 PPG), 21st in total offense (282.0 yards per game), 16th in passing offense (193.0 yards per game), 23rd in rushing offense (89.0 yards per game)

Browns Offense: T-28th in scoring offense (10.0 PPG), 23rd in total offense (272.0 yards per game), T-19th in passing offense (195.0 yards per game), 24th in rushing offense (87.0 yards per game)

Bucs ILB Josiah Trotter – Photo by: IMAGN Images via Reuters Connect

Bucs Defense: 26th in scoring defense (33.0 points allowed per game), 18th in total defense (351.0 yards allowed per game), 24th in passing defense (245.0 yards allowed per game), 14th in run defense (106.0 yards allowed per game)

Browns Defense: 27th in scoring defense (34.0 points allowed per game), 19th in total defense (360.0 yards allowed per game), 23rd in passing defense (234.0 yards allowed per game), 22nd in run defense (126.0 yards allowed per game)

As of Wednesday night, the Bucs are 8.5-point home favorites over the Browns, with an Over/Under set at 41 (per Hard Rock Bet).

Bucs vs. Browns Game Information

When: Sunday, September 13
Where: Paycor Stadium (Cincinnati, OH)
Kickoff: 1:00 p.m. ET
TV: CBS – Tom McCarthy (Play by Play), Robert Turbin (Analyst), Tiffany Blackmon (Reporter)
Bucs Radio: 98Rock – Tony Castricone (Play by Play), Dave Moore (Color), Jay Recher (Reporter)
Spanish Radio: 96.1 Caliente – Martín Gramática, Santiago Gramática