3. Green Bay (Home)
I told you there would be a theme here, and this is yet another pairing of two of the NFL's best quarterbacks over the last dozen years or so. Brady and Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers combined to win four of the 10 NFL MVP awards in the last decade, and they are considered two of the most intense competitors in the league.
Brady and Rodgers have only faced each other two times since the latter took over from Brett Favre as Green Bay's starter, and they've each one once. The first was a 26-21 Green Bay victory at Lambeau Field in 2014. The most recent one, in 2018, was at Gillette Stadium, where the Patriots won, 31-17. Neither quarterback threw an interception in either of those games and both have excellent combined stat lines. Brady completed 44 of 70 passes for 539 yards, three touchdowns and a 100.8 passer rating. Rodgers hit on 48 of 81 passes for 627 yards, four touchdowns and a 100.2 rating.
That seems like a tie that needs breaking before these two MVPs hang up the cleats, and there may not be too many more opportunities. Brady and Rodgers are on a collision course in 2020, why not start the season with that hard-to-beat matchup?
4. Los Angeles Rams (Home)
I've tried my hand at these predictions each of the last three years, most successfully when I included Miami and Chicago among my four choices in 2017. Miami was originally the choice and then the Bears became the Bucs' actual opening opponent after Irma. Generally, I try to pick two games each from the team's home and road slates. This year, however, I'm purposely choosing three home games under the theory that the NFL will try to let Brady make his Buccaneer debut in front of a home crowd.
This game would be a Super Bowl rematch of sorts, which makes it an interesting place to start the season and Brady's run in Tampa. The Rams and Patriots met at the end of the 2018 season in Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta, with Brady's team hoisting the Lombardi Trophy after a 13-3 win over Jared Goff and L.A. Many expected another offensive shootout like the one from the previous year in which the Eagles upended the Patriots in a rollicking score-fest, but this one defied expectations. Brady and company did roll up 406 yards but neither team scored a touchdown until midway through the fourth quarter.
It would be a surprise if that happened again in Tampa. I've covered the Buccaneers' offensive prowess several times above, but the Rams were also quite effective on offense last year, ranking fourth in passing yards and seventh in total yards. Goff saw his passer rating dip a bit to 85.6 after two straight years in triple digits, but he still threw for 4,638 yards and 22 touchdowns. That offense has since replaced Todd Gurley and Brandin Cooks with rookies Cam Akers and Van Jefferson and is otherwise unchained so it still has the pieces to be explosive. The last time the Bucs and Rams met, a year ago in Los Angeles, it was the highest-scoring game in Tampa Bay's franchise history, a 55-40 Bucs victory.
This game would also pit former teammates and interior-line dominators Aaron Donald and Ndamukong Suh against each other. The Buccaneers have perhaps the NFL's best starting receiver duo in Evans and Godwin but the Rams have added star cornerback Jalen Ramsey since the last time the two teams met.
Brady is new to the Bucs-Rams rivalry, but it has quite a few high points. In addition to last year's 95-point affair, the two teams also met late in the 2000 season for perhaps the best non-playoff game in Bucs history. That 38-35 shootout featured the likes of Kurt Warner, Warrick Dunn and Marshall Faulk but the two current squads are just as star-studded. The Rams also beat the Buccaneers in the NFC Championship Game in both 1979 and 1999.
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Bring it On! Four Potential Week One Foes for Bucs The NFL's 2020 schedule will be - Buccaneers.com
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