National Football League

Into the Fire

Updated Jul. 17, 2020 6:15 p.m. ET

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Talk about being thrown right into the fire.

In Week 1 of the 2020 NFL season, Tom Brady – second all-time in completions, passing yards and passing touchdowns – will lead the Tampa Bay Buccaneers into New Orleans to face the Saints, led by Drew Brees – first all-time in completions, passing yards and passing touchdowns.

It's an NFC South showdown for the ages.

The major difference between the two legendary quarterbacks is that while Brees will enter his 15th season with the Saints, Brady will enter his first with the Buccaneers.

With Thursday's NFL schedule release, the NFL world was eager to see what lied ahead for Brady and the Bucs, and their calendar features a number of big games in addition to the season-opener at New Orleans.

Naturally, the chatter Monday morning has revolved around how the Bucs will fare in Brady's first season under center, and opinions are across the board.

Skip Bayless anticipates a 13-win season for the Buccaneers behind Brady, mainly because he sees an opening night loss to New Orleans as the motivation Brady needs to get Tampa on a roll early in the season.

"You saddle him with one loss and then, sit back and watch what happens. What's going to happen after that loss ... is they're going to win eight straight games, including a revenge game over the New Orleans Saints back in Tampa ... I'll go 13 wins for Tom Brady."

Six times in Brady's career has he led his team to 13 or more regular season wins – in 2003, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2011 and 2017.

The last time a Brady-led team won under 10 games in a season in which he started at least 10 games was way back in 2002, when New England finished the regular season 9-7. In 2019, the Patriots finished 12-4.

Former NFL cornerback Ryan Clark went through the Buccaneers schedule, game by game, and he has Tampa Bay landing at 11-5.

In Clark's estimation, the Bucs will lose in Week 1 at New Orleans before winning seven straight. However, he has Brady and Co. going 4-4 over their last eight, including a second loss to New Orleans, this time at home.

"I think the Saints go to Tampa and get another win. I picked the New Orleans Saints to win the NFC South, even with all the things that have gone on in Tampa, all the different additions."

One seemingly positive aspect of the Buccaneers schedule – one that Tom Brady isn't used to – is that Tampa Bay has no games projected to take place in cold weather.

Former NFL executive Mike Tannenbaum said that avoiding unpredictable weather in Florida will be critical for the Buccaneers, as they attempt to build an offensive rapport while managing high expectations in the NFC.

"That's really big ... That's one of the reasons he signed with Tampa Bay ... They're going to need to play well down the stretch because it's going to take them awhile to get going ... Think about all the years and the reps that Drew Brees and Sean Payton have together. Now compare that with [Buccaneers head coach] Bruce Arians and Tom Brady. Going down the stretch, having those games in warm weather, they're going to have to play well."

Some, however, are not as high on the Buccaneers schedule, particular the early parts of it, including former NFL safety Louis Riddick.

"Right off the bat, the fact that they have two divisional games, back to back ... [the NFL] could not have put them in a tougher position as far as starting the season off ... Then they play against some very good defenses as well. They play against the Denver Broncos ... They play against the Los Angeles Chargers ... This new offense in particular ... they're going to face some stiff competition."

In terms of divisional play, in 2019, the Buccaneers beat Carolina on the road and lost to the Panthers at home, lost both games to the Saints, and defeated Atlanta on the road and lost to the Falcons at home.

Shannon Sharpe has the Bucs reaching double digit victories, but he's not high on their chances to win the NFC South due in large part to the second half of their season, which features matchups with the Chiefs, Vikings and two games against the Falcons.

"I said 9-7 at the very beginning. Looking at this schedule, it's tougher, especially coming down the home stretch ... The bottom half of the schedule looks like it's going to be very, very difficult ... I believe the Saints will win that division. That division is going to be really tough between them, the Saints and the Falcons."

One thing is for sure about the 2020 version of the Buccaneers – we'll be seeing a lot of them.

Tampa Bay will have five primetime games, the maximum a team can have.

Head coach Bruce Arians is excited about putting a show for football America.

"I love it. I love the expectations and the excitement that that brings. I think our players will enjoy it and as coaches you have to embrace it."

Tampa Bay's primetime games will take place Week 5 at Chicago, Week 7 @ Las Vegas, Week 8 at the New York Giants, Week 9 vs. New Orleans and Week 11 vs. the Los Angeles Rams.

The stage is set for Brady and the Bucs.

We'll see if their performance matches their publicity.

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