One thing you’re not going to find floating around right now are many predictions that land the Philadelphia Eagles back in the Super Bowl, much less winning it all again after they dominated the 2-time defending champion Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX.
The Eagles bring back their entire offense but they pretty much gutted their defense, so for all intents and purposes the NFC seems wide open.
The Athletic’s Jacob Robinson predicts the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be the NFC team who takes the field for Super Bowl LX on February 8, 2026, at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
“This year’s NFC winner isn’t the Eagles, Lions or Vikings,” Robinson wrote on July 17. “Instead, Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers represent the NFC in this year’s Super Bowl. A hot take? I’d like to think so. Reasonable? Definitely … a winnable division and one of the league’s easiest schedules should again position the Buccaneers to start the postseason at home. ”
If the Buccaneers seem like a far fetched pick to win the NFC, they shouldn’t be.
Tampa Bay has made the playoffs for 5 consecutive seasons, including 3 consecutive NFC South Division titles, and have a core group of players still on the roster who helped them win a Super Bowl following the 2020 season.
Mayfield: Key To Buccaneers Super Bowl Hopes
If we are trying to boil down Super Bowl hopes to a single stat for the Buccaneers, it’s obvious that it’s turnovers, and it’s obvious that it’s interceptions. As in interceptions thrown by Mayfield, who had 16 interceptions in 2024 but also threw for career highs of 4,500 yards and 41 touchdowns.
Mayfield’s 16 interceptions were the most since the 2018 No. 1 overall pick threw a career high 21 interceptions in his second season as starter for the Cleveland Browns in 2019.
“Since interceptions tend to regress, I’m hopeful Mayfield can limit the only issue plaguing the Buccaneers offense,” Robinson wrote. “He had fewer turnover-worthy plays in 2024 than Matthew Stafford (24 compared to Stafford’s 25), yet threw twice as many interceptions (16 to Stafford’s eight). If another year in the system helps Mayfield cut down on the turnovers — the Buccaneers ranked 25th in interceptions thrown— the league’s seventh-best offense (by DVOA) should be top five.”
One thing not helping Mayfield limit interceptions will be the fact he’s missing the best player on Tampa Bay’s offense — and his blind side protector — to start the season as left offensive tackle and 3-time NFL All-Pro Tristan Wirfs could miss the first month of the season after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery on July 8.
Evaluating How Buccaneers Schedule Plays Out
While the Buccaneers don’t have one of the league’s easiest schedules, they are pretty close.
According to NFL.com, the Buccaneers have the NFL’s 18th toughest schedule, with their opponents possessing an overall .481 winning percentage from one year ago.
The Buccaneers have their bye in Week 9 and should have a winning record if not be a couple of games above .500 by the time they hit that point.
In their first 8 games, Tampa Bay only faces 3 playoff teams and plays on the road 5 times, but 3 of those seem highly winnable on paper at Atlanta (Week 1), at Seattle (Week 5) and at New Orleans (Week 8).
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