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. This week’s prompt: Which 2026 Bucs game should be in primetime?

Scott Reynolds: Bucs Should Play The Panthers In Primetime – Home Or Away

Through the years we’ve seen the Bucs play the Saints and the Falcons plenty of time in primetime, but its been a rare occurrence for the Bucs and Panthers. The last Monday Night Football game between the two teams was back in 2016, and the last Thursday Night Football meeting was in 2019. Tampa Bay and Carolina have never met on Sunday Night Football. With the fighting Dave Canaleses swiping the NFC South title away from Todd Bowles and Co. last year due to a tiebreaker, it’s time to put a game between the upstart Panthers and a Bucs team fighting to regain respect – and the division championship – in primetime.

And I really don’t care if it’s home or away, either. I would be fine with Tampa Bay starting the season on the road at Carolina on Monday Night Football in Week 1, as we know that won’t be a home game for the Bucs due to a Bruno Mars concert. Besides the Bucs always play well at the start of the season. Bowles is 8-0 in the first two weeks of the season since he took over as head coach in 2022 with six of those eight victories coming on the road to start the year.

Bucs HC Todd Bowles and Panthers HC Dave Canales – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Bob Donnan

Since Canales took over as head coach, the Bucs have been 3-1 versus his Panthers, but three out of those four games have been highly competitive. The Bucs prevailed 23-20 in overtime in a 2024 win at Carolina, and then finally beat the Bucs, 23-20 last year in Charlotte before Tampa Bay got revenge in Week 18 with a narrow 16-14 victory.

Both the Bucs and the Panthers made strides to improve their rosters this offseason, as did the Saints. I can’t say the same thing about the Falcons, who got worse in my opinion. So whether the game is in Carolina or Tampa Bay, and whether it’s on Thursday Night Football, Sunday Night Football or Monday Night Football, it’s time that the national spotlight shifts to the top two teams in the NFC South and gives this matchup its respect.

Canales vs. Bowles. Baker Mayfield vs. Bryce Young in a battle of two former No. 1 overall draft picks. Tetairoa McMillan vs. Emeka Egbuka. There are plenty of great storylines and matchups between the Bucs and the Panthers that the rest of the country should be clued into.

Matt Matera: Bucs Put On Bangers Against The Chargers

The Bucs have faced most of their 2026 opponents before over the past three to four seasons. They’ve gone against everyone in the division, plus the Lions, Ravens, Cowboys and Rams have all been on this list. There are some other good teams that the Bucs will see, including the Bengals, Packers, and Bears, but I have my eye on the Chargers coming to Tampa Bay as a matchup I’d like to see in primetime.

There are some fun storylines looking at in this matchup. It’s a great test for the Bucs defense to see if it has figured out its issues from a year ago. Los Angeles quarterback Justin Herbert is supposed to be a top quarterback in the league this year but his offensive line has let him down. What an opportunity it would be for Rueben Bain Jr. to dominate on a national spotlight. Also, let’s remember that Chargers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel chose Los Angeles over Tampa Bay. We’ll find out if he made the right decision.

Bucs LT Tristan Wirfs and QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Jeffrey Jones/PR

During their recent matchups, the Bucs tend to ball out against the Chargers. They had a thrilling, 40-17 dismantling of Jim Harbaugh and the Chargers two seasons ago out in L.A. in what was a very important game for the Bucs. The highlight was a four-touchdwon performance by Baker Mayfield. The prior matchup before that saw the Bucs winning, 38-31. Tampa Bay has defeated the Chargers in its last four meetings, although only two of them have been since the Chargers moved to L.A.

The Bucs had five nationally televised games last season. The first three were on the road, one was on Thursday Night Football at home, and then the season finale was placed on a Saturday when the stakes were a little higher. Three of the four primetime games they had the year before were also on the road. It’s about time that they get more primetime games at home. Between the Bucs history against the Chargers and the stars that each team has, this looks like a great bout to be nationally televised.

Adam Slivon: Bucs vs. Packers Would Be An Entertaining NFC Showdown

I completely understand the thought process of the Bucs playing in primetime against an NFC South opponent. Those games offer the most competitiveness and line up to be high-stakes matchups. Still, when I think of the games that are given a marquee designation, it is always entertaining to see them come against the best of the best. That is why a home game against the Packers should be given such scheduling.

Packers QB Jordan Love and Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Jeff Hanisch

Putting my Wisconsin bias aside here, Green Bay has built an impressive core of young talent while taking a big swing and trading for a star player last offseason in Micah Parsons. The offense, built around Jordan Love, finds ways to score and is a potent, balanced attack. On the other side, the defense has several high-end playmakers who would line up well against Tampa Bay’s collection of offensive talent.

Remember — the last time these two teams squared off in December 2023, Bucs fans were smiling ear to ear. Baker Mayfield had a perfect game at Lambeau Field, completing 22 of 28 passes for 381 yards and four touchdowns in a 34-20 win. That victory came in the middle of a four-game winning streak that gave the team some momentum in a late-season playoff push.

With the setting flipped to Raymond James Stadium this time around, it would give the team a chance at putting on a show for the home crowd. It would also be more of an old-school NFC Central rivalry. Perhaps some throwback uniforms would be in order? Compared to non-NFC South teams, the Bucs and Packers have some of the most history with each other. A primetime matchup would only add to that.

Bailey Adams: I Want Something Different – Bucs vs. Bengals In Primetime

I have a couple of reasons for wanting the Bucs and the Bengals to match up in primetime, and surprisingly, my admiration for Joe Burrow isn’t one of them.

On the one hand, I think Tampa Bay and Cincinnati has the potential to be a very fun game. Burrow and a Cincinnati offense that features Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Chase Brown going toe to toe with Baker Mayfield and a Tampa Bay offense that includes the likes of Chris Godwin Jr., Emeka Egbuka and Bucky Irving should make for some thrilling offensive action, and both defenses are looking to level up in 2026 after disappointing for long stretches over the last few years. Both head coaches enter 2026 on the hot seat, too.

Bucs HC Todd Bowles, Bengals QB Joe Burrow and Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Kareem Elgazzar

But beyond the excitement of the matchup itself, I like the idea of Bucs vs. Bengals in primetime because it’s something different. I’m tired of Tampa Bay playing Atlanta on Thursday Night Football. It hasn’t been that long since we saw the Bucs and Saints in primetime on a regular basis from 2020-2022. And seeing the Bucs against the Rams, Lions, Ravens and Cowboys doesn’t do anything for me given that we’ve seen those matchups under the lights plenty in recent years.

That leaves the Packers, Vikings, Bears, Browns, Steelers, Bengals, Chargers and Panthers as options for a fresh primetime matchup. I’m good with a Tampa Bay vs. Carolina primetime contest, and Green Bay and Los Angeles are both okay options, too. But Cincinnati presents a unique matchup for Tampa Bay – one that doesn’t happen all that often. The two sides haven’t met in the regular season since 2022, and the earliest it could happen again is 2028. So, why not do something different in primetime for once?

In my 2026 mock schedule, I was a tad bit hopeful in placing this matchup in primetime, doing so early on in the season on Monday Night Football to maximize the chances both teams are playing for something and trying to protect against injuries robbing this game of its star power. But if I know the NFL, we’ll see the same types of matchups for Tampa Bay in those prime spots. One can hope for now, though.

Josh Queipo: Give The Bucs A Revenge Game vs. The Saints In Primetime

The Bucs’ primetime games over the past few years have overwhelmingly been against non-division opponents. The NFC South has been a bit of a doormat for the rest of the NFL. That tide may be turning though. The Panthers just made the playoffs as division champs last year, the Saints went 4-1 in December of 2025, and the Bucs may be back in 2026.

And that last point is why I would love to see the Bucs host the Saints on Sunday Night Football.  The series has never lacked for intensity. Last year Baker Mayfield publicly accused the Saints of playing dirty before their Week 8 matchup. That’s not a rivalry that needs manufactured storylines. This story writes itself.

Bucs OLB Chris Braswell and Saints QB Tyler Shough – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The Saints aren’t a finished product, but they’re an ascending one – and quarterback Tyler Shough is the reason. After taking over for Spencer Rattler in Week 9, the rookie went 5-4 as a starter on a team that had won six of its previous 25 games before he got the keys. He finished as a PFWA All-Rookie selection, the December/January Offensive Rookie of the Month, and an AP Offensive Rookie of the Year finalist.

Shough’s 103.3 third-down passer rating led the entire NFL – not just rookies. That’s a young quarterback with a real chip on his shoulder entering Year 2, and primetime is where you want a quarterback like that on stage. And why not have him go head-to-head once more with Mayfield, but this time on a national stage?

An ascending team like the Saints versus a Bucs team with a track record of bad blood. Primetime is exactly where you want a matchup like that.