2023 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season

The 2023 season was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 48th in the National Football League (NFL), their tenth under the leadership of general manager Jason Licht and their second under head coach Todd Bowles.

Tampa Bay improved on their 8-9 record from the previous season, and finished with a 9–8 record to win their third consecutive NFC South division title, a franchise best streak. They also made the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season, matching a franchise-best streak from 1999–2002.

This was their first season since 2019 without quarterback Tom Brady, after he announced his second retirement from the NFL on February 1, 2023. On March 15, the Buccaneers signed free agent quarterback Baker Mayfield, who subsequently earned the starting job during training camp. For the first time since 2012, Tampa Bay wore their orange throwback uniforms. The Buccaneers donned their "Creamsicle" jerseys and "Bucco Bruce" helmets against Detroit in Week 6.

Tampa Bay got off to a surprising 3–1 start, and sat in first place in the NFC South during their bye in Week 5. After their bye week, however, they lost six out of their seven games, including a brutal four game losing streak to quickly slip to 4–7. Despite this, the Buccaneers rebounded, winning five out of their last six games and won the tie-breaker against the division rival Saints to clinch the division.

In the playoffs, the Buccaneers hosted the defending NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card Round, a rematch of the Week 3 meeting, in a blowout 32–9 victory. They would end up losing in the Divisional Round against the Detroit Lions, in a close 23-31 loss.

Draft
Draft trades
 * The Buccaneers traded a fourth-round selection to the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for 2022 fifth and sixth-round selections (157th and 235th overall).
 * The Buccaneers traded LB Grant Stuard and a seventh-round selection to the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for a sixth-round selection.
 * The Buccaneers traded a 2022 sixth-round selection (206th overall) to the New York Jets in exchange for NT Steve McLendon and a seventh-round selection.
 * The Buccaneers traded G Shaq Mason and a seventh-round pick (230th overall) to the Houston Texans in exchange for a sixth-round selection.

Preseason
The Buccaneers' preseason opponents and schedule was announced in the spring.

Schedule
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Week 1: at Minnesota Vikings
Tampa Bay traveled to Minnesota in Week 1 with Baker Mayfield making his first start as quarterback. Mayfield threw for 173 yards and two touchdown passes, as the Buccaneers won on Opening Day for the third year in a row. Chase McLaughlin kicked a 57-yard go-ahead field goal with 5:10 left in regulation. Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins threw for 344 yards and two touchdowns, but lost two fumbles, and threw an interception at the goal line. With the upset victory over the Vikings, the Buccaneers started off the season 1-0.

Week 2: vs. Chicago Bears
Tampa Bay won their home opener and improved to 2–0 with a 27–17 victory over the Bears. Baker Mayfield threw for 317 yards and one touchdown pass. Baker connected with Mike Evans for a 70-yard reception early in the second quarter, which led to the first Buccaneers touchdown. He later found Evans for a 32-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter. With 2:12 left in regulation, the Bears were backed up at their own 6 yard line and trailing by 3 points. Justin Fields' pass attempt was tipped and intercepted by Shaquil Barrett who muscled his way into the endzone for a touchdown. Barrett's "pick-6" sealed the win for Tampa Bay.

Week 3: vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Tampa Bay hosted Philadelphia on Monday Night Football. Jalen Hurts threw for 277 yards and D'Andre Swift rushed for 130 yards as the Eagles defeated the Buccaneers 25–11. The Buccaneers defense gave up 201 yards on the ground. Baker Mayfield threw an interception (the team's first turnover of the season), and the offense did not reach the endzone until 9:22 remaining in the fourth quarter. Ronde Barber was honored at halftime after being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Tampa Bay picked up their first loss of the season, falling to 2–1.

Week 4: at New Orleans Saints
Tampa Bay defeated division rival New Orleans by the score of 26–9 and took over sole possession of first place in the NFC South. Quarterback Baker Mayfield threw three touchdown passes and Chris Godwin had eight catches for 114 yards. Derek Carr started at quarterback for New Orleans, and Alvin Kamara returned from a three-game suspension, but the Saints offense struggled, and failed to reach the endzone. Mike Evans caught three balls for 40 yards, but left the game around halftime with a hamstring injury.

Week 6: vs. Detroit Lions
Tampa Bay wore their orange throwback ("Creamsicle") uniforms and "Bucco Bruce" helmets against Detroit. The Buccaneers were unable to get much of anything going on offense. They were held out of the endzone, and managed only two field goals. Jared Goff put up 353 yards passing, and threw two touchdown passes as the Lions won 20–6. In the first quarter, at their own 8-yard line, Baker Mayfield had Mike Evans wide open down field for what could have been a 92-yard touchdown pass. Instead, the pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage by Isaiah Buggs and intercepted by Charles Harris. The Lions scored a field goal off of the turnover, and would never trail the rest of the game.

Week 7: vs. Atlanta Falcons
The Tampa Bay defense forced three turnovers in the red zone. In the final two minutes, the Buccaneers drove to the Falcons 8 yard line. Chase McLaughlin kicked a 36-yard field goal to tie the score at 13–13 with 45 seconds left. However, Younghoe Koo kicked a 51-yard field goal as time expired, and Atlanta won 16–13. YouTuber MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson) signed a 48-hour contract with the Buccaneers and appeared at the game.

Week 8: at Buffalo Bills
Tampa Bay traveled to Buffalo on Thursday Night Football. Trailing 24–10 in the fourth quarter, Baker Mayfield drove the Buccaneers 92 yards in 17 plays. The drive ate up over 7 minutes, but was capped off by a 24-yard touchdown pass to Mike Evans with 2:51 to go. With the score 24–18, Tampa Bay forced a punt, and got the ball back with just under 30 seconds left. Mayfield's hail mary pass to the endzone fell incomplete as time expired, and the Bills held on to win.

Week 9: at Houston Texans
Quarterback Baker Mayfield threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Cade Otton to take a 37–33 lead with 46 seconds left in regulation. But C. J. Stroud threw the game winning touchdown pass to Tank Dell with 6 seconds left to lift the Texans over the Buccaneers. Stroud threw five touchdown passes and threw for an NFL rookie record 470 yards passing.

Week 10: vs. Tennessee Titans
Tampa Bay snapped a four-game losing streak, defeating the Titans 20–6. Baker Mayfield threw for 278 yards and two touchdown passes. The Buccaneers defense sacked Will Levis four times, had an interception, and kept Tennessee out of the endzone. Tampa Bay took a 7–3 lead in the second quarter with a screen pass to Rachaad White, who then broke free for a 43-yard touchdown. Mike Evans dropped a sure touchdown catch in third quarter, but made up for it with a 22-yard touchdown pass on the next drive. Evans caught the ball at the 5 yard line, then dragged defenders into the endzone for the score. Evans moved into a tie for 16th on the NFL's all-time list for receiving touchdowns.

Week 11: at San Francisco 49ers
Brock Purdy threw three touchdown passes as the 49ers beat Tampa Bay 27–14. A fourth quarter rally attempt fell short as the Buccaneers twice were in the red zone, but could not score on either drive.

Week 12: at Indianapolis Colts
Trailing 27–20 with under two minutes to go, Baker Mayfield was sacked at the Tampa Bay 35 and fumbled. The Colts recovered, and ran out the clock to seal the victory.

Week 13: vs. Carolina Panthers
Heavy rain during the first half saw both teams struggle offensively early on. Trailing 10–7, Baker Mayfield found Mike Evans between two defenders, and Evans took off for a 75-yard touchdown pass. Evans joined Jerry Rice as the second player to have ten consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons. Chris Godwin then added a 19-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. With just over two minutes left, and trailing by 3, Carolina faced a 4th & 1 at their own 40 yard line. Bryce Young's pass was intercepted by Antoine Winfield Jr. Tampa Bay would run out the clock and secured the victory.

Week 14: at Atlanta Falcons
Trailing 25–22 with 3:23 left in regulation, Baker Mayfield drove the Buccaneers 75 yards in 12 plays for the game-winning score. Mayfield lofted an 11-yard touchdown pass to Cade Otton with 31 seconds left to lift Tampa Bay over Atlanta. With receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin blanketed by defenders all afternoon, Tampa Bay managed only 144 yards passing, and Mayfield had to count on Otton for the game-winner. The Tampa Bay defense came up strong, particularly in the first half. Carlton Davis intercepted Desmond Ridder, setting up a Buccaneers touchdown. Then Antoine Winfield Jr. forced a Ridder fumble in the endzone which resulted in a safety. With 4 seconds left, Ridder completed a pass deep to Drake London, but was tackled immediately at the 4 yard line, and time expired. Tampa Bay secured the win, and moved back into first place in the NFC South.

Week 15: at Green Bay Packers
Baker Mayfield threw for 381 yards and four touchdown passes as Tampa Bay defeated Green Bay 34–20. Chris Godwin had 10 receptions for 155 yards, while Mayfield threw touchdowns to four different receivers. Tampa Bay won their first regular season game at Lambeau Field since Week 3 of 2005. Mayfield also became the first visiting quarterback ever to register a perfect 158.3 passer rating against the Packers at Lambeau Field. The Tampa Bay offense racked up 452 total yards, and David Moore iced the game with a 52-yard catch and run touchdown with 6:30 left in the fourth quarter.

Week 16: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
Tampa Bay hosted Jacksonville on Christmas Eve. Tampa Bay built a dominating 30–0 lead, and cruised to a 30–12 victory. Baker Mayfield threw for 283 yards and Mike Evans caught two touchdown passes. The Tampa Bay defense sacked Trevor Lawrence three times, and Lawrence threw two interceptions, and lost one fumble. The Buccaneers won their fourth straight game, and moved into sole possession of first place in the NFC South.

Week 17: vs. New Orleans Saints
Tampa Bay hosted rival New Orleans on New Year's Eve in their final regular season home game. With a victory, the Buccaneers would clinch the NFC South division. With a loss, the Saints and Falcons remained in the hunt for the playoffs. The Buccaneers sputtered much of the day, turning the ball over four times. The Saints led by as much as 20–0 at the end of the third quarter. Baker Mayfield threw touchdown passes to Trey Palmer and Chris Godwin in the fourth quarter, but the rally fell short.

Week 18: at Carolina Panthers
Tampa Bay traveled to division rival Carolina for the final game of the regular season. Chase McLaughlin went three-for-three, kicking three field goals for a 9–0 victory. Quarterback Baker Mayfield, playing with sore ribs from an injury suffered the previous week, was held to only 127 yards passing, but committed no turnovers. The Tampa Bay defense held Carolina to only 199 yards of offense, and shutout the Panthers for the first time.

Mistakes doomed the Panthers. An apparent 43-yard touchdown pass from Bryce Young to D. J. Chark was snuffed out when Antoine Winfield Jr. punched the ball out at the 1 yard line, resulting in a touchback. Later, a 28-yard touchdown run by Raheem Blackshear was called back due to a penalty.

With the victory, the Buccaneers swept season series and clinched the NFC South division title for the third season in a row.

NFC Wild Card Playoffs: vs. (5) Philadelphia Eagles
This was the sixth postseason meeting between the Eagles and Buccaneers, with the Buccaneers winning three of the previous five. The most recent postseason meeting between two teams came in the 2021 NFC Wild Card Game, which the Buccaneers won 31–15 in Tampa. In the regular season, the Eagles defeated the Buccaneers in Tampa by a score of 25–11 during Week 3.

Tampa Bay built a 10–0 lead in the first quarter. After a field goal by Chase McLaughlin, quarterback Baker Mayfield found David Moore for a 44-yard catch-and-run touchdown. Moore eluded four defenders, cutting back and forth on his way to the endzone. The Buccaneers and Eagles traded field goals in the second quarter. With the score 16–3 in favor of Tampa Bay, Dallas Goedert scored a 5-yard touchdown catch for Philadelphia. After a penalty on the extra point, the Eagles elected to take the point off the board, and instead attempted a two-point conversion. Using their signature "tush push", they were denied by the Buccaneers defense.

Tampa Bay put the game out of reach in the second half. A safety on Jalen Hurts was followed by a touchdown from Trey Palmer, in which the Eagles' poor tackling efforts facilitated his 56-yard run to the end zone. Late in the fourth quarter, Chris Godwin's third down touchdown pass at the goal line sealed Tampa Bay's 23-point blowout of the defending NFC champions.

NFC Divisional Playoffs: at (3) Detroit Lions
This was the second postseason meeting between the Buccaneers and Lions. The Buccaneers won the first meeting, which came in the 1997 NFC Wild Card Game, by a score of 20–10 at Houlihan's Stadium in Tampa. In the regular season, the Lions won the meeting between the two teams by a score of 20–6 in Week 6 in Tampa.