Bucs’ Week 6 Game Gets New Kickoff Time

With the Bucs off to a 3-1 start ahead of their Week 5 bye, their Week 6 matchup on Oct. 15 at Raymond James Stadium against the 3-1 Lions is a much bigger game in the landscape of the NFC. As a result, the NFL has flexed the kickoff time from 1:00 p.m. to 4:25 p.m., the league announced Monday. The game will be televised on FOX as part of that afternoon’s national doubleheader.

This Week 6 game is shaping up to be quite the occasion for Tampa Bay, as it will get a big spotlight while the team dons its throwback uniforms for this year’s “Creamsicle Game.” The Bucs will be wearing the orange and white of their past for the first time since 2012, and they’ll be doing so against a former NFC Central opponent.

The team unveiled its throwback uniforms back in July with a phenomenal video that featured Derrick Brooks, Ronde Barber and Mike Alstott, as well as some imagery of the late great Lee Roy Selmon. Current players Mike Evans, Lavonte David, Chris Godwin and Antoine Winfield Jr. also starred in the video, as did comedian Bert Kreischer and makeup entrepreneur Jaclyn Hill.

Our legacy continues. pic.twitter.com/HbkrvoAJDZ

— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) July 12, 2023

Bucs Have A Chance To Make A Big Statement In Week 6

Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown – Photo by: USA Today

This Week 6 game was already a big one for Todd Bowles and the Bucs, and now it’s been given a national stage. The Lions are one of the hottest teams in the NFL dating back to the second half of last season. With a win over them at Ray-Jay on Oct. 15, the Bucs could make a statement.

Under head coach Dan Campbell, they made a strong run down the stretch in 2022 and just barely missed out on the playoffs. Even after being eliminated earlier in the day in Week 18, Detroit played spoiler in its season finale by beating Green Bay at Lambeau Field to finish off a 9-8 regular season and keep the Packers out of the playoffs.

The way they finished last season made the Lions a popular pick to make the playoffs and potentially win the NFC North this year, and they’re playing like a team ready to run away with its first division title since the division was reclassified as the NFC North in 2002. In fact, the Bucs have won that division more recently than the Lions have, winning it in 1999 while Detroit last won it in 1993.

History aside, the Lions have started out this new season with wins over the Chiefs (in Kansas City), Falcons and Packers (in Green Bay on Thursday Night Football). Their lone loss was a 37-31 overtime defeat against the Seahawks in Week 2. They’ll play the 0-4 Panthers in Week 5 before coming to Tampa Bay to face the Bucs, who will have a chance to steal some of the NFC spotlight with a home win.

The Bucs were written off all offseason after losing Tom Brady to retirement, with some picking them to finish last in the NFC South and potentially land a top-five pick in the 2024 Draft. So far this season, Tampa Bay has been showing that reports of its demise have been greatly exaggerated.

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles – Photo by: USA Today

The Bucs beat the Vikings and Bears to start off the season before a rough Monday night showing against the defending NFC champion Eagles. But coming off that game, they took it to the Saints in the Superdome to hit their bye week as the NFC South leaders.

So, this Week 6 matchup will now feature two division leaders, and the Bucs will be looking to unseat the Lions as one of the more talked-about teams in the conference outside of Philadelphia and San Francisco. The good thing for Bowles and his team, too, is that they’ll be at home and fresh off a week of rest.

The bye will serve as a chance to get the likes of Mike Evans, Calijah Kancey, Vita Vea, Devin White, Carlton Davis, Jamel Dean and Ryan Neal fully healthy and ready to go for what will be a long rest of the season with 13 straight game weeks.

This won’t be the last time the Bucs are in the national spotlight either, as they have a road Thursday Night Football game in Buffalo a week and a half later against the Bills.

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