For the third year in a row, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' preseason is an all-AFC affair, and the majority of it will take place at Raymond James Stadium.
The Buccaneers will play host to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week One of the preseason and will welcome the Baltimore Ravens to town in Week Three. In between, they will visit the New York Jets in Week Two. Dates and times for all three of those games have not yet been announced but they will all be broadcast locally by WFLA-TV.
The NFL shortened the preseason to three games in 2021 when it added a 17th contest to the regular season schedule. The AFC and NFC alternate years in which their teams get nine home games during the regular season, and this year it is the AFC with the extra home date. That means all NFC teams get two of their three preseason games at home.
Here is Tampa Bay's 2023 preseason lineup, with the exact dates and times to be added later:
| Day | Date | Opponent | Time | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri. | Aug. 11 | PITTSBURGH | TBD | WFLA-TV |
| TBD | Aug. 17-20 | at N.Y. Jets | TBD | WFLA-TV |
| Sat. | Aug. 26 | BALTIMORE | TBD | WFLA-TV |
The Buccaneers have been matched up with nearly half of the AFC over the last three seasons, facing eight different opponents in that span. Prior to 2021, the last time the Bucs had all AFC opponents on their preseason slate was 2010.
All three of the Bucs' preseason games will involve visiting teams in relatively unfamiliar August locations.
The Buccaneers and Steelers last met in the preseason in 2019 but that contest, a 30-28 loss for Tampa Bay, was played in Pittsburgh. The Steelers have never played a preseason game at Raymond James Stadium; their last visit to Tampa in the preseason was in 1995, for a game won by the Buccaneers, 20-7. The Buccaneers and Steelers also met in the Hall of Fame Game in Canton in 1998 while construction on Tampa Bay's new stadium was being completed. Overall, Pittsburgh leads the preseason series, 3-2.
The Buccaneers have never played a preseason road game against the Jets, but the two teams have met in four different locations across seven warmup contests. The most recent preseason matchup between the two, won by the Bucs, 16-3, was at Raymond James Stadium in 2006. The Bucs and Jets also did preseason battle in Tokyo in 2003 and at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando in 1997. The other four games on the all-time head-to-head lists were all played at Tampa Stadium between 1987 and 1995. The Bucs lead the series, 4-3.
And this summer's contest will be just the second one in the preseason between Tampa Bay and Baltimore. The first was in 2013, with the Ravens securing a 41-16 win at Raymond James Stadium.
Single game tickets are now on sale! If you want to capture the magic of the Bucs' 2023 season with a front row seat to the action, click here to purchase your tickets starting Thursday at 8pm.
2023 Buccaneers' season passes are also on sale now! For Bucs' football fanatics, not only do season passes provide a seat at every home game at Raymond James Stadium but passes also come with an entire year of exclusive Krewe Member benefits including discounts at the team store and in-stadium concession stands, VIP access to Training Camp and the official Buccaneers Draft Party, and more. Click here to select your seats and join the Krewe!
