Joe’s not the kind of hardcore fan hoping for or expecting a mildly satisfying nine-win season to secure a shot in the playoffs.
Joe expects this Bucs team, barring freakish injuries, to raise the bar on last season and continue to be the team that finished the 2023 campaign winning six of eight games.
So tonight the NFL revealed the Bucs will open with three of their first four games at home, Washington, Denver and Philadelphia with a trip to Detroit sandwiched into Week 2.
With a short-week trip in Week 5 to Atlanta for Thursday Night Football followed by a Week 6 trip to the Slimy Saints, Joe sees the Bucs as desperately needing to open 3-1, just like they did last season.
Yeah, Joe thinks the Bucs can beat the Falcons, but it’s brutally difficult to win on the road on Thursdays. And that’s even harder after facing a physical club like the Eagles, which should be an emotional Week 4 game that will be a rematch of last year’s playoff game at The Licht House. Devin White will be trying to play out of his mind for Philadelphia, and the game will be sold out with far too much green in the crowd.
That, for Joe, is a must-win game.
Gotta find your way to 3-1.
Washington has a new head coach and QB and should be very beatable on opening day. Denver has issues and a new QB, too.
If the Bucs start 2-2, then there’s a great chance they land at 3-3, and that would make the road to 10-7 or 11-6 very difficult.
