The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will finish their 2022 regular season on Sunday, January 8, in Atlanta. Kickoff against the Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET.
When the NFL released its 2022 game schedule in May, all of the precise dates and times for Week 18 were left unspecified. This allowed the league to lay out its final weekend in a way that highlights games with heavy postseason implications and matches kickoff times for teams fighting for the same playoff spots.
The Buccaneers removed any playoff-chase drama from their Week 18 game against the Falcons by clinching the NFC South on Sunday with a 30-24 win over the Carolina Panthers. The Buccaneers are locked into the fourth seed in the NFC field regardless of the result of their final regular-season game and the Falcons have already been eliminated from playoff competition.
The Buccaneers will kick off in the early-afternoon window for just the seventh time in 17 games this season, though it will be their second such start in a row. They have played five prime-time games plus a contest in Munich, Germany that had a kickoff time of 9:30 a.m. in the U.S. Eastern Time Zone.
The 8-8 Buccaneers will try to finish their regular season above .500 as they face the 6-10 Falcons. Tampa Bay has won five straight games in the head-to-head series, including a 21-15 decision in Tampa in the first meeting in Week Five.
