Pewter Report’s PR Roundtable
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A new Pewter Report Roundtable debuts every Tuesday on PewterReport.com. Each week, the Pewter Reporters tackle another tough Bucs question. Who is the Bucs player you want to see succeed the most?

Scott Reynolds: Bucs Should Mix It Up And Go With The Browns Game

Let’s face it. The Bucs need all the mojo they can get when it comes to wearing their creamsicle uniforms, which seem cursed at this point. After the creamsicles successfully returned in 2009 for the first time since they were Tampa Bay’s primary uniforms for the last time in 1995, the team is just 1-6 in the orange jersey and white pants with the Bucco Bruce helmet. After getting a win in 2009, the Bucs have lost six straight games in the throwbacks. So which game should Tampa Bay wear the creamsicles in to attempt to break the curse?

Over the years, the Buccaneers have lost to the Falcons three times – in 2010, 2024 and 2025. Despite the fact that Atlanta could be one of the league’s worst teams in 2026, Tampa Bay needs to stop playing its closest NFC South foe in the orange jerseys. It just hasn’t worked, and the team had a great shot at winning the creamsicle game last year but blew a 14-point over the Falcons with 10 minutes left. By the way, the Bucs also have losses to the Panthers (2011) and Saints (2012) in the creamsicle uniforms, so maybe just skip division opponents altogether.

Bucs LT Tristan Wirfs – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Tampa Bay has also tried to channel some old NFC Central nostalgia and harken back to a day when the creamsicles were all that the team wore. The Bucs managed to pull off the upset of the Packers in 2009 when they rolled out the throwback jerseys again, but got crushed by the Lions in 2023 when the creamsicles made their return after more than a decade’s absence. So maybe skip the Vikings and Packers home games this year. It’s time to try a new tactic.

The Bucs need to break the “creamsicle curse” and the only way to do that is to get a win. What’s the most winnable game on this year’s schedule? The home opener against the lowly Browns in Week 2. Cleveland traded away its best player in All-Pro defensive end Myles Garrett, and Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield will likely be aiming to show the Browns they made a big mistake by trading him away in 2022. So this game makes perfect sense.

I know the Bucs typically like to wear all-white jerseys for their home opener because of the heat and humidity, and making the Browns wear their dark brown jerseys might create a homefield advantage. But instead of wearing the pewter helmet the Bucs can don their white Bucco Bruce helmet, which might be a bit cooler for the players. And the orange jerseys are a lighter shade and shouldn’t be that hot – not as hot as a deeper color like red.

Plus, the Bucs have started the season 2-0 in each of the last four years under Todd Bowles, and that’s some pretty good mojo to latch on to. Schedule the creamsicle game for Week 2 and it’s just about a guaranteed win.

Matt Matera: Bucs Hosting The Saints Is The Right Setting For The Creamsicles

The Bucs just don’t win in the creamsicle uniforms and they’ve struggled against the Saints at home in recent years, going 2-3 in their last five matchups at Raymond James Stadium. So Tampa Bay can exorcise some demons by having two negatives cancel each other out.

Tampa Bay has gone 1-2 at home against the Saints with Baker Mayfield as starting quarterback. Even the lone game they won, the 2024 season finale, was a struggle. Nobody expects Tampa Bay to win while putting on the creamsicles, so the Bucs can create their good fortune by surprising themselves by defeating their division rivals.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Of course the timing and weather of any game is very important, given the temperatures it reaches in Tampa. Typically the Bucs will wear their white road uniforms at home early in the season when it’s hotter out. But this game against the Saints, while scheduled for a 1:00 p.m. start, is on December 20, so it’s a good time to wear the orange jerseys.

Beating the Saints at home is great. Beating them while the Bucs have their creamsicles on will be even better.

Adam Slivon: Bucs Should Revisit Past Success, Wear Them vs. Packers

The last time the Bucs won in the creamsicle uniforms, Raheem Morris was the head coach, and a rookie Josh Freeman was the quarterback. Nearly nothing went right during that dreadful 3-13 2009 season, but one of the highlights was Tampa Bay beating the Packers, 38-28 in the first throwback game in franchise history.

Former Bucs HC Raheem Morris – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Fast forward nearly 17 years later, and they still have not won in the Bucco Bruce uniforms. It has been a long case of bad luck wearing the uniforms for the franchise, even with an extended hiatus from wearing them. So, why not turn back the clock in more than one way and kick it to the curb with some déjà vu?

While the Packers are expected to be one of the top NFC contenders this season, that should not stop the Bucs from picking this game as the one to rock their aesthetically pleasing throwback uniforms. Not only would it be a sign of confidence and chance to make a statement at home in them but is also a nod to the days when both teams clashed in the NFC Central division.

Given that the game takes place in early October, Tampa Bay has a strong argument to instead opt to wear white uniforms under the sweltering Florida sun. Still, they should give thought into making this game even more memorable. Putting on the creamsicle uniforms one more time against an old-time rival would be the best way to do it.

Bailey Adams: Bucs Can Break One Streak, Continue Another In Week 12

When the topic of the “creamsicle curse” comes up, I’ve long tried to maintain the belief that it’s not the jerseys, the helmets or the pants at fault for this unfortunate streak. It’s the players and coaches. After all, it wasn’t the orange jersey or the Bucco Bruce decal on the helmet that blew a 14-point fourth-quarter lead to continue the losing streak last year against Atlanta. The players and coaches did that.

But yes, the reality is that Tampa Bay has lost six straight games in the orange throwbacks. So, I think it would be smart for the Bucs to pick the right spot for this year’s creamsicle game. And while Scott Reynolds has a point with choosing the Browns game and Josh Queipo choosing another winnable game (no spoilers), my choice does involve the team pushing its luck and trying to exorcise its creamsicle and primetime demons at the same time.

Give me Bucco Bruce on Monday Night Football in Week 12 when the Bucs host the Panthers.

Bucs WRs Jalen McMillan and Chris Godwin Jr. – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

I know Tampa Bay’s track record on primetime – both under Todd Bowles and historically over its 50 seasons of existence – is really bad. But in deciding to don the orange and white against Carolina in Week 12, Bowles and Co. would have a chance to end one streak and continue another. Because by beating the Panthers and ending the six-game losing streak in the creamsicle jerseys, the Bucs would also extend their winning streak against the Panthers at Raymond James Stadium to eight games.

The Panthers haven’t won at the New Sombrero since 2017. The Bucs beat them at home in 2018. In 2019, the “home” game against them came over in London. And in the 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 seasons, Tampa Bay continued to take care of business against Carolina at Raymond James Stadium. I like this team’s chances of doing it again in 2026, too.

Yes, the Panthers dethroned the Bucs last season and won their first NFC South title in a decade while ending Tampa Bay’s four-year reign atop the division. And I think Dave Canales will have Carolina in the mix again this year. But the Bucs are the better team, and I think they’re plenty capable of getting the job done when the two teams meet at Raymond James Stadium… even if it’s in primetime and yes, even if it’s in the creamsicles. Get it done and end the streak, Buccaneers.

Josh Queipo: Tampa Bay Should Try The Creamsicles Again vs. Atlanta

The creamsicles are 1-6 since they came back. One win, in 2009 over Green Bay, then six straight losses. If the curse is real, and the record says it is, the fix is simple. Stop wearing them in bad spots. Wear them when the Bucs have the best chance to win. In 2026, that game is Week 8 at home against Atlanta.

I know – Tampa Bay suffered one of its worst losses last year – and in recent memory – on Thursday Night Football wearing that uniform. The Bucs allowed the Falcons to convert third-and-28 and fourth-and-14 situations en route to a game-winning field goal to stun them, 29-28.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield and RB Bucky Irving – Photo by: USA Today

The Falcons are projected as one of the league’s worst teams this year, favored in just two games all year. Tampa Bay should be a comfortable home favorite, exactly the setup you want to snap a streak. With new head coach Todd Monken and without All-Pro edge rusher Myles Garrett, Cleveland might be worse on paper, and the Browns come in Week 2. But you don’t burn the creamsicle moment on a home opener.

Among realistic spots, a down Atlanta squad is the cleanest path to a win. Better yet, this is the Atlanta creamsicle curse. The last two times the Bucs wore the orange, the Falcons beat them in one-score heartbreakers. It was 31-26 in 2024 and 29-28 in 2025 after blowing a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter. Wear them in Week 8, beat a bad Atlanta team, and you don’t just break the curse.

You break it against the team that’s been writing it.