The schedule has been released, and the Bucs finally return to Monday Night Football. They will play the Indianapolis Colts on Monday Night Football on Monday October 3rd, in Tampa Bay. The last time the Bucs and Colts met in a prime time game it was in Tampa as well. That time the Colts managed to win one of the most bizarre games in Bucs history, as they managed to eke out an overtime win in a 38-35 contest. It featured a famous call of 'leaping' against Simeon Rice for landing on one of his own players in an attempt to block a field goal. The missed field goal was re-taken, and Mike Vanderjagt's field goal was good on a retry. This sparked a series of losses for the Bucs as they failed to recapture the magic of the 2002 season. Hopefully the 2011 Bucs will have more luck against the Colts than the 2003 Bucs did.
The second prime time game will be an affair against the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday December 17th, again in Tampa. With these two games, the Bucs get their first prime time games since 2008. It's interesting that both these games will be played in Tampa, despite the lack of sellouts in 2010.
The full schedule:
Week 1 Detroit Lions at the Bucs 1:00 PM (Sunday 9-11) FOX
Week 2 Bucs at Minnesota Vikings 1:00 PM (Sunday 9-18) FOX
Week 3 Atlanta Falcons at the Bucs 1:00 PM (Sunday 9-25) FOX
Week 4 Indianapolis Colts at the Bucs 8:30 PM (Monday 10-3) ESPN
Week 5 Bucs at San Francisco 4:05 PM (Sunday 10-9) FOX
Week 6 New Orleans Saints at the Bucs 4:15 PM (Sunday 10-16) FOX
Week 7 Chicago Bears at the Bucs 1:00 PM (Sunday 10-23) played in London, United Kingdom FOX
Week 8 bye week
Week 9 Bucs at New Orleans Saints 1:00 PM (Sunday 11-6) FOX
Week 10 Houston Texans at the Bucs 1:00 PM (Sunday 11-13) CBS
Week 11 Bucs at Green Bay Packers 1:00 PM (Sunday 11-20) FOX
Week 12 Bucs at Tennessee Titans 1:00 PM (Sunday 11-27) FOX
Week 13 Carolina Panthers at the Bucs 1:00 PM (Sunday 12-4) FOX
Week 14 Bucs at Jacksonville Jaguars 1:00 PM (Sunday 12-11) FOX
Week 15 Dallas Cowboys at the Bucs 8:30 PM (Saturday 12-17) NFL Network
Week 16 Bucs at Carolina Panthers 1:00 PM (Saturday 12-24) FOX
Week 17 Bucs at Atlanta Falcons 1:00 PM (Sunday 1-1) FOX