With a dramatic 17-16 victory over of the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers finished the 2016 regular season with a 9-7 record and a second-place finish in the NFC South division, the team’s best mark since going 10-6 in 2010. While the exact times and dates of the Bucs’ 2017 schedule won’t be known until April, Tampa Bay knows which opponents it will face home and away next year due to the NFL scheduling formula that rotates the divisional opponents.

Bucs WR Mike Evans – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Aside from the NFC South division rivals Atlanta, Carolina and New Orleans, Tampa Bay will also face teams from the AFC East and the NFC North, in addition to a team from the NFC West and the NFC East that also finished with the same standing in their respective divisions. The New York Giants and the Arizona Cardinals are those two other NFC teams.

For the Glazers, the Bucs’ owners, they have to like the prospects of several sold out games at Raymond James Stadium in 2017. If Tampa Bay fans don’t purchase all the tickets, fans of Chicago, both New York teams and New England all travel well and will assure the Buccaneers of at least a few sellouts in the new year.

Tampa Bay will face at least five playoff teams in 2017, including Atlanta (twice), New England, Miami, the New York Giants and possibly either Green Bay and/or Detroit.

Bucs’ 2017 Home Opponents
Chicago Bears
Detroit Lions
New England Patriots
New York Jets
Atlanta Falcons
Carolina Panthers
New Orleans Saints
New York Giants

Bucs’ 2017 Away Opponents
Green Bay Packers
Minnesota Vikings
Buffalo Bills
Miami Dolphins
Atlanta Falcons
Carolina Panthers
New Orleans Saints
Arizona Cardinals

Bucs QB Jameis Winston – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The 2017 season will mark the fourth time the Bucs have played the Bears, an old NFC Central foe, in as many years. After losing to Chicago in 2014 and ’15, the Bucs beat the Bears in 2016 at Raymond James Stadium, 36-10. That victory sparked Tampa Bay’s five-game winning streak that pushed the team’s record to 8-5 into December.

Tampa Bay will also have a return to the desert to face Arizona, which beat the Bucs 41-7 in Week 2 in Phoenix this year.

The Bucs used to play their in-state rivals, the Dolphins, each year in the preseason, but that practice ended in 2014, which is the last time Tampa Bay has faced Miami.