The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, regarded mostly for the team's infamous cream-colored throwback uniforms and a lone Super Bowl title from almost two decades ago, have been around for quite some time with the NFC South franchise once again on the rise.
Although the Buccaneers have encountered some tumultuous portions of the team's history as Tampa Bay hasn't reached the postseason since all the way back in 2007-08, the NFC South franchise managed to turn things around in a hurry this offseason while most notably bringing in former New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.
Upon pairing Brady with a slew of talented players on both sides of the line of scrimmage, the Buccaneers quickly made more than a few enemies from around the league. With that in mind and the Buccaneers now true contenders in the NFC, it will be hard to find a franchise from around the league that won't treat matches against Tampa Bay like rivalry games.
Carolina Panthers
Because the Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers both reside in the NFC South division, it is hard not to build up a rivalry upon playing another franchise not once but twice per season. Unfortunately, though, the Buccaneers lack of success over the course of the last 10 years or so has made the majority of the team's late-season matchups meaningless with the Panthers serving as one of three NFC South teams to reach at least the NFC Championship Game in the last handful of seasons.
Not only that, but the Buccaneers are also the odd man out when it comes to reaching the Super Bowl as all three NFC South rivals have reached the Super Bowl by way of a NFC Championship since Tampa Bay last won a title. Nonetheless, the Panthers will need to make their way through Tampa Bay if Carolina has any hopes of reaching the postseason in 2020-21.
New Orleans Saints
As divisional rivals, there will always be a rift between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New Orleans Saints. However, things will have a little more of a intriguing angle in 2020-21 as former New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is now a member of the Buccaneers with another future Pro Football Hall of Fame signal caller in Drew Brees still under center in New Orleans.
With these two legendary quarterbacks slated to face off for NFC and NFC South supremacy in 2020-21, these surging franchises will meet twice this season as both matchups will surely become must-watch television and must-win games. When these two teams face off for the first time in 2020-21, it will also mark the first ever meeting between Brady and Brees.
Adding one extra wrinkle to the storyline between the Saints and Buccaneers this time around, former Tampa Bay starting quarterback Jameis Winston was replaced by Brady and is now serving as a backup to Brees in New Orleans. If Winston ever has to suit up against his former team, things could get interesting in a hurry.
Atlanta Falcons
With both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons possessing absolutely potent and riduclously talented offenses over the course of the last several seasons, matchups between these two divisonal foes always seem to be both intense and high scoring — which makes for some seriously entertaining television.
Such a team doesn't appear to be primed for a change any time soon, either. Even with the New Orleans Saints and Buccaneers slated to be near the top of the division in 2020-21, the Falcons could very well play spolier to one if not both of these teams as Atlanta could crack the postseason picture in the NFC if the team's defense can step up to the plate.
With a veteran quarterback in Matt Ryan, a newcomer in running back Todd Gurley and a perennial Pro Bowler in wide receiver Julio Jones still in the mix for the Falcons, Atlanta versus Tampa Bay may ultimately reach its peak in 2020-21 as the Buccaneers can seemingly go toe-to-toe with just about every high-powered offense in the league.
Las Vegas Raiders
Although this certainly wouldn't fall under the category of a true rivalry as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers play in the NFC with the newly minted Las Vegas Raiders playing in the AFC, matchups between these teams are still typically worthy of a tally mark on the calendar. Even though Tampa Bay and Las Vegas do not play one another too often, there is most definitely always a little bit of extra heat between the Raiders and Buccaneers as these two franchises infamously matched up in Super Bowl XXXVII back in 2002-03, a game that was won by the latter in blowout fashion.
In addition to the fact that these two teams squared off in a title game almost 20 years ago, current Raiders head coach Jon Gruden notably served as the head coach of the Buccaneers as the NFC South franchise steamrolled their opponent en route to the organization's sole Super Bowl title.
Adding to such a storyline, the Buccaneers acquired Gruden via trade from the Raiders just one season before the Super Bowl XXXVII matchup with the longtime NFL head coach only returning to the sidelines for the AFC West franchise in 2018.
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers will soon begin one of the few rivalries — in sports let alone the NFL — that has two teams matched up against one another at all times. Whether or not the Patriots and Buccaneers are playing against each other, these two franchises will continue to be held up alongside one another for years to come. There is no doubt about that.
With comparisons slated to run wild with the Patriots and Buccaneers already being featured in a lot of the same sentences, it all stems from the fact that future Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady infamously made his way from New England to Tampa Bay earlier this offseason.
Because Brady won six Super Bowl titles in nine tries as a member of the heralded Patriots, his move to the Buccaneers in his first ever instance of being an unrestricted free agent will surely define the latter part of his legacy as a professional signal caller — whether things go well or terribly in Tampa Bay. It also remains to be seen as to whether or not longtime Patriots head coach Bill Belichick can continue his seemingly impossible run of success in the absence of Brady.
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