NFL Schedule: Bucs rumored to be playing Bears in Primetime

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have had one of their biggest 2026 matchups leaked ahead of the NFL’s official schedule release. According to WFLA’s Aileen Hnatiuk, the Buccaneers are expected to head to Chicago in Week 9 for a Sunday Night Football showdown against the Bears on Nov. 9 as part of an NFL schedule leak ahead of Thursday’s official unveiling.

Tampa Bay could once again find itself on the national stage in what could be one of the more intriguing NFC matchups of the week. Baker Mayfield versus Caleb Williams will undoubtedly headline the storyline, while both teams enter the season with playoff expectations. But beyond the primetime spotlight, the Buccaneers may have quietly lucked out with the timing of the matchup.

Yes, Chicago in November will still be dozens of degrees colder than Tampa Bay typically deals with, but the Buccaneers avoided the far worse scenario of traveling to Soldier Field in the dead of winter. December and January games in Chicago can quickly turn into battles against brutal wind, snow, and freezing temperatures that completely change how games are played.

Tampa Bay gets a much more manageable early November road trip before conditions typically become unbearable for warm-weather teams. That could be a major break for a Buccaneers offense expected to lean heavily on speed, spacing, and timing under offensive coordinator Zac Robinson.

Avoiding a full-blown Chicago winter game is something Tampa Bay will not complain about. Chicago remains one of the NFL’s premier television markets, and with Williams continuing to draw national attention, it makes plenty of sense that the league would reportedly place this game in the Sunday night window, and the first official primetime game for the Buccaneers in 2026.