The Tampa Bay Buccaneers open their 3-game preseason schedule tonight on the road against the New York Jets. Hereâs how to watch the Buccaneers open the preseason as they begin moving toward their regular-season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals on September 13.
The key to any preseason game is not expecting to see much of the stars but paying close attention to the backups competing for spots on the 53-man roster.
- Who: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New York Jets
- What: Preseason Game 1
- Where: MetLife Stadium (East Rutherford, New Jersey)
- When: Friday, August 14, 7 p.m. EST
- TV: NFL Network
- Odds: NYJ -6.5, Over/Under 35.5
How the Buccaneers & Jets Fared in 2025
It was a season of misery for both the Buccaneers and Jets in 2025.
The Buccaneers started the season looking like 1 of the NFL’s elite teams with a 5-1 record but stumbled to an 8-9 finish and missed the playoffs for the 1st time since 2019.
The Buccaneers did, however, defeat the Jets, 29-27, in a comeback win in Week 3 of the 2025 regular season.
The Jets, on the other hand, are arguably the worst-run franchise in all of North American professional sports, and their 15-year playoff drought is the longest out of all the teams in the NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL.
The Jets were never worse than they were in 2025, when they went 3-14 under 1st-year head coach Aaron Glenn and wound up with 3 1st-round picks in the 2026 NFL Draft.
While Glenn might not be long for the world of NFL head coaches â the Jets are going to be undoubtedly terrible again in 2026 â 1 thing we can count on that won’t change even when he’s gone is the Jets sucking.
Wild Week of Joint Practices Between Bucs-Jets
Buccaneers right offensive tackle Luke Goedeke, 6-foot-5 and 312 pounds, ended up getting in 2 fights â yes, 2 â during the 1st joint practice against the Jets on Tuesday.
The 1st fight came during 1-on-1 pass-rush drills against Jets edge rusher and 2026 No. 2 overall pick David Bailey.
âDavid Bailey and Luke Goedeke just swung at each other and started a fight,â The Athleticâs Zack Rosenblatt wrote on his official X account on Tuesday morning. âGoedeke kept jumping early on reps vs Bailey. They talked some smack after. Bailey smacked his helmet. Goedeke didnât like that.â
âFight! David Bailey was stopped on a pass rush attempt in 1o1,â Jets reporter Connor J. Hughes wrote on his official X account. âHe was stopped cold by Luke Goedeke. He then slapped him in the head. Goedeke retaliated. Then an eruption. Fiesty!â
Goedeke added an extra bit of flair in his 2nd fight, which came after Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield threw an interception.
âAnother HUGE fight just as Jets S Jarius Monroe picked off Baker Mayfield,â Fox Sports NFL reporter Ralph Vacchiano wrote on his official X account on Tuesday. âIt was an enormous scrum and at one point Bucs OT Luke Goedeke ripped a helmet off a Jets player and sent it flying. It took a while for the coaches to settle it all down.â
Goedeke seemed to regret the fights following practice.
âNot the smartest decision by me,â Goedeke told Tampa Bay Times reporter Rick Stroud following the joint practice.
Like HEAVY’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post Buccaneers Preseason Opener: Opponent, Time & TV for Tonight’s Game appeared first on HEAVY.