Top Takeaways from Bucs' 2020 Schedule

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers officially announced their full schedule for the 2020 season, and there's tons of newsworthy material in their 17-week slate.

Here are our biggest takeaways from this year's Bucs schedule:

Welcome to Prime Time

Talk about the Tom Brady effect.

After being a national afterthought for most of the past two decades, the Bucs are loaded with prime-time games this season, thanks in large part to the offseason addition of the best quarterback in NFL history (and his trusty steed, Rob Gronkowski).

The Bucs currently have five prime-time games scheduled, including a pair of Monday Night Football matchups. They'll play on Thursday night once (at Chicago), and twice on Sunday night (at Las Vegas, home vs. New Orleans).

Not bad for a team that hasn't won a playoff game in 18 years.

QB Showdowns

It won't just be Brady getting all the attention on a weekly basis when the Bucs are on the field. They'll also be facing off against some of the league's best quarterbacks.

Brady will face another future first-ballot Hall of Famer in Drew Brees twice (Week 1, Week 9), and another one in Aaron Rodgers when they host the Green Bay Packers in Week 6. Former league MVP Patrick Mahomes and the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs come to Tampa Bay in Week 12.

Among the other quarterbacks Brady will face in 2020? Matthew Stafford, Kirk Cousins, Jared Goff, Matt Ryan (twice), Teddy Bridgewater and Derek Carr.

Bye, Later

Tampa Bay won't get a week off until Week 13, the latest bye week the team has had in 30 years.

It'll be a grind to get through the first 12 weeks without a break, but the late bye week will give the Bucs a chance to refuel before the homestretch, a point in time where they hope to be pushing for a playoff spot instead of draft positioning.

After facing Mahomes and the Chiefs in Week 12, the Bucs will get their off week before closing the 2020 season with a four-game stretch against the Minnesota Vikings, Atlanta Falcons (twice) and Detroit Lions.

Not So Homesick

Last year, the Bucs experienced a ridiculous stretch away from home, going seven weeks without playing at Raymond James Stadium.

Stacked road games combined with a bye week, and the fact that last year's trip to London to play the Carolina Panthers technically counted as a "home" game, sent the Bucs on an unbearable road trip. They played at home in Week 4 against the New York Giants in late September, and didn't return to play in front of their home crowd until November, when they beat the Arizona Cardinals.

No such craziness for the Bucs this year, who don't have any road trips longer than two games.