Ranking the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Rivalries

It's been bugging me for awhile, ever since I'd gotten into arguments here and elsewhere with other Bucs fans about which team - New Orleans Saints or Carolina Panthers - were our biggest rivals.

I realized that sports rivalries are serious business, revolving around city/metro identities as much as the success/failure of the teams themselves. Cleveland fans walk on air every time their Browns defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers. Buffalo Bills fans are more prone to smash tables whenever it's New England getting beat, and so on.

Given the relatively short history of the Buccaneers - starting in 1976 in a league that reaches as far back as 1898 (with the CARDINALS?!) - there's been enough years to where Tampa Bay ought to be able to claim another team as Most Hated in the rivalry matter.

So out of the 31 other current teams in the NFL, which one is the biggest Rival for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers?

I've decided on creating a scoring rubric, based on the most common elements - Division opponents, Conference opponents, historic losses/wins, matters of honor and bad blood, etc. - of figuring out which team matters most (or worst). So let me get the scoring straightened out first:

Divisional Rivals? - This IS where most rivalries begin and end, against the teams you play the most and against teams competing for the division title and playoff spots.

CURRENT = 15 points
PREVIOUS = 5 points
NEVER = 0 points

Conference Rivals? - Given how the conferences have gone through various divisional realignments, there may yet be teams within the NFC where playing Tampa Bay matters a bit more than divisional matchups could. The AFC doesn't matter too much over the team's history - despite that first year when Tampa WAS an AFC team - other than facing off for the postseason (meaning Super Bowls!), and those matchups can be graded elsewhere.

CURRENT (NFC) = 5 points
PREVIOUS (AFC) = 2 points

Geographic Rivals? - Interstate rivalries in terms of bragging rights if Tampa Bay is better than the other sports metros (Miami/South Florida, Orlando, Jacksonville) in the glorious Sunshine State. No, college towns don't count. Past that, regional sports bragging rights kind of matter if only we're arguing with fans from Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, or Louisiana.

In-State = 5 points
Regional (Southeast) = 2 points
Too Far to Drive = 0 points

Postseason Rivals? - In the few years the Bucs have reached the playoffs, there's been certain teams that have either flummoxed us when it matters most, or where the Bucs have brilliantly humiliated them on the global stage in ways that echo through NFL history for ALL TIME (Yes, I am talking Ronde's Pick-Six closing out the Old Vet vs. the Eagles). Granted, something specific like Ronde's big play should count under Intangibles as Bonus Points, but it helps explain how certain scoring will play out.

Super Bowl = 15 points per matchup

NFC Championship = 10 points per matchup

NFC Playoff = 5 points per matchup

Intangibles? - This is the bonus points portion of the ranking where special events against a team, such as a defining win/loss, bad blood, or just plain evilness of the other team comes into consideration. This is open to interpretation, and points can be added - or even deducted out of sheer sympathy - entirely on a whim. I would give each item at least 2 points per tidbit, and may come under review if anybody provides serious argument for or against what I determined.

So, with that all figured out, here's the team rankings listed in alphabetical order, with a final Top Ten list at the end:

Atlanta Falcons = 26 points

Divisional = CURRENT 15

Conference = NFC 5

Geographic = REGIONAL 2

Postseason = 0

Intangibles =
Additional consideration for geographic rivalry as Georgia is a bordering state, as well as the cultural rivalry of everybody in the Southeast hating on Atlanta as a godless Delta Hub(tm). 2 points.
Atlanta once beat Tampa Bay on a Thursday night game that was one of the worst routs in NFL history, which still stings for longtime Bucs fans. 2 points.
For a brief time, Falcons were the South team to beat, but after their humiliating loss to the Patriots and Tom Freaking Brady (28-3!!!) in a Super Bowl they should have won and didn't, the team has imploded and been in rebuild mode the last 2-3 seasons. This might add an additional 2 points except it's really only Brady who can revel in that.

Arizona Cardinals = 7 points

Divisional = NEVER 0

Conference = NFC 5

Geographic = NOPE 0

Postseason = 0

Intangibles =
A team with a longer history (literally one of the last original pro football teams ever) of losing and suffering than Tampa Bay has ever known, and has repeatedly relocated (Chicago, St. Louis, finally Arizona) due to indifferent fan bases. Of the other NFL teams out there, the Cards would be a team we could consider brothers but not rivals.
They did reach a Super Bowl that Tampa hosted, so that counts for something. 2 points.

Baltimore Ravens = 4 points

Divisional = NEVER 0

Conference = AFC 2

Geographic = NOPE 0

Postseason = 0

Intangibles =
Considering team is basically the ghost of Cleveland reborn to haunt the graveyards of Baltimore, there's very little history against the Ravens that makes them anything like a rival. Even having the Ravens win a Super Bowl with ex-Buc QB Trent Dilfer (AAAAAAH) doesn't count for much.
Hating them for evil ownership that moved a beloved franchise away from Cleveland is the only thing to award points for. 2 points.

Buffalo Bills = 6 points

Divisional = NEVER 0

Conference = AFC 2

Geographic = NOPE 0

Postseason = 0

Intangibles =
Buffalo is one of the few teams that Tampa Bay has a winning record against - actually the best with an 8-4 (.667 percent) record - as of 2022. 2 points.
Buffalo lost the first of its four-straight SB losses at the old Big Sombrero in 1991, so they have that to hate us for. 2 points.

Carolina Panthers = 28 points

Divisional = CURRENT 15

Conference = NFC 5

Geographic = REGIONAL 2

Postseason = 0

Intangibles =
Serious bad blood with Carolina involving dirty play, topped by one of the dirtiest hits in league history by Dante Wesley on Bucs returner Clifton Smith (it was so bad there were calls for Wesley to get arrested). 2 points for general history and another 2 points re: the Smith hit.
Animosity over the success they enjoyed as a new franchise - reaching the playoffs their second year! - while the Bucs had to suffer under worse expansion rules. 2 points.
Past all that, they're just a standard divisional foe.

Chicago Bears = 10 points

Divisional = PREVIOUS, from the days of the NFC Central (1977-2001) 5

Conference = NFC 5

Geographic = NOPE 0

Postseason = 0

Intangibles =
It would be nice to think the Bucs ever had a serious rivalry among some of the oldest and most storied franchises in the NFL, but given the intense and long history between the other four Central teams Tampa Bay was like the Cousin Oliver, barely tolerated and often mocked.
If the Bears even think of the Bucs, it's about how often they've beaten us.

Cincinnati Bengals = 4 points

Divisional = NEVER 0

Conference = AFC 2

Geographic = NOPE 0

Postseason = 0

Intangibles =
One of the few teams the Bucs have a winning record (7-5 as of 2022) against. 2 points.
The Bengals themselves are a team with some glory in the modern era but still no Super Bowl wins in three visits. Their divisional rivalries - especially Cleveland and Pittsburgh - takes higher value to them.

Cleveland Browns = 2 points

Divisional = NEVER 0

Conference = AFC 2

Geographic = NOPE 0

Postseason = 0

Intangibles = Even with Cleveland being one of the oldest and most storied franchises in the league, their current cycle of misery and self-destruction (Factory of Sadness!) is so bad even BUCS FANS can feel sympathy for them. There's never been a chance at a Postseason grade because the Browns have yet to reach a Super Bowl, currently the only way the Bucs could meet them in such circumstance.

Dallas Cowboys = 21 points

Divisional = NEVER 0

Conference = NFC 5

Geographic = Not really, Texas is a little too far. 0

Postseason = Two postseason matchups (5x2), not NFC Championship (0), 10 total

Intangibles =
Essentially one of the most arrogant teams in the whole league, which would be a 2 point bonus for any other team - even ones not their rivals - making this grade.
The reason why Tampa Bay was pushed into the NFC Central back when our franchise began was because Dallas refused to move away from the NFC East which they felt gave them more prime-time opportunities for TV viewers, so on that spiteful thing alone that's 2 more points.
For the longest time, THIS was the team Bucs were desperate to win a game against... and couldn't, not until 2000 (!) so that's 2 points.

Denver Broncos = 7 points

Divisional = PREVIOUS, from the first year when Tampa Bay was AFC West (!). 5

Conference = AFC 2

Geographic = NOPE 0

Postseason = 0

Intangibles =
Very little history with Denver outside of the Bucs inaugural winless season, which is something the team would like to forget. That's about it.

Detroit Lions = 17 points

Divisional = PREVIOUS, from the days of the NFC Central (1977-2001) 5

Conference = NFC 5

Geographic = NOPE 0

Postseason = Surprisingly, yes! One Wild Card round. 5

Intangibles =
Along with Chicago, this is a team we've had a lot of games against due to being in the NFC Central, but nothing that rose to the level of rivalry. The Bucs DID achieve a major win against them in the final game of 1981 that clinched a playoff spot at their expense, so that's worth 2 points.
If there's anything of note, it's how the Lions were once a respected franchise with league championships, but they haven't tasted ANY of that since the 1950s. They are one of the few teams to never even reach a Super Bowl, and arguably fewer playoff appearances in the last 40 years compared to Tampa.
The Lions even went winless 0-16 in 2007, doing worse in some respects than the woeful 0-14 Bucs of 1976. There are Bucs fans who feel pity for these guys. I considered giving them -2 points for the sympathy factor, but decided not to.

Green Bay Packers = 31 points

Divisional = PREVIOUS, from the days of the NFC Central (1977-2001) 5

Conference = NFC 5

Geographic = NOPE 0

Postseason = One divisional, 5. One NFC Championship, 10. 15 total

Intangibles =
Of the NFC Central not-rivals, Green Bay is the one with the most history and most ire vs. the Bucs. Hark back to the glory days of ESPN Gameday with Chris Berman eagerly declaring "The Battle of the Bays" (Tampa Bay vs Green Bay, get it), and when both teams were bad labeling them "The Bay of Pigs". 2 points.
It always seems that when both teams are good, there is a lot of animosity among Bucs fans over Green Bay's arrogant QB (previous Favre, currently A.A. Ron). 2 points.
The victory over the Packers in the 2020-21 NFC Championship came with a lot of flavorful schadenfreude. 2 points.
Packers are one of the most storied and most successful NFL teams of the Super Bowl era, so they got that going for them. Because of that, Pack fans carry more hate towards the other NFC North teams - and other big-name teams like the Cowboys - than towards us. So a lot of rivalry may seem one-sided.

Houston Texans = 2 points

Divisional = NEVER 0

Conference = NEVER (this Houston team didn't exist in 1976, so) 0

Geographic = Not really, Texas is a little too far. 0

Postseason = 0

Intangibles =
Due to this team being the youngest NFL franchise to date, and given the long rotation of NFC teams playing AFC divisions (once every four years), the Bucs have yet to really build up any animosity towards the Texans.
The only thing of note is that of the five times we've played them, Houston's beaten us four of the five, owning us in head-to-head. 2 points.
Texans would love to have a serious rivalry with somebody, but outside of being an occasional contender in the AFC South they've yet to establish themselves as a force, and even then in that division their best rival may be the Jacksonville Jaguars (which is bad).

Indianapolis Colts = 6 points

Divisional = NEVER 0

Conference = AFC 2

Geographic = NOPE 0

Postseason = 0

Intangibles =
Originally in Baltimore when the Bucs started, the Colts made an acrimonious split with the city by leaving at night for Indianapolis. It doesn't establish much of a rivalry, but the ownership is evil, so 2 points.
In the few times the Bucs have played them, one particular Monday Night matchup in 2003 is painful as the Bucs blew a 21-point lead in the 4th quarter, ending our post-Super Bowl euphoria and signaling the end of the Dungy-formed era. 2 points.
Dungy ironically was the coach that game, and did go on to win a Super Bowl with them, and as Dungy is still fondly remembered in Tampa Bay, we can't begrudge them that.

Jacksonville Jaguars = 9 points

Divisional = NEVER 0

Conference = NEVER (team entered AFC in 1997 years after the Bucs had switched out) 0

Geographic = IN-STATE 5

Postseason = 0

Intangibles =
If the Bucs were the Cousin Oliver of the NFC Central, the Jags are the Fredo of the entire state of Florida for pro teams. A third wheel franchise added to the growing Florida market only because the competing bids in 1994 from St. Louis and Baltimore fell through, Jacksonville has had to cope with playing in a stadium TOO BIG for their fan base and in a metro TOO SMALL compared to other metros still lacking an NFL team. For a while in the early 2000s, the Jags were respectable but never serious postseason contenders, and ownership issues kept wrecking the team's chances at stability.
The best thing Jacksonville has going for it is their head-to-head winning record over Tampa Bay (2 points), and the fact that they became a running gag on a great modern-era sitcom The Good Place (2 points for BORTLES!!! as a battle cry).

Kansas City Chiefs = 26 points

Divisional = PREVIOUS, from the first year when Tampa Bay was AFC West (!). 5

Conference = AFC 2

Geographic = NOPE 0

Postseason = One Super Bowl, 15

Intangibles =
Never exactly any blood feud type of hatred between the fanbases as our AFC West history (0-14!) is one we'd like to avoid, so there's not much to say.
In terms of recent history, our stomping on them in a Super Bowl they were slightly favored to win counts a little bit, especially as it crushed their bid to make it a back-to-back for dynastic claims. 2 points.
Antoine Winfield rubbing it in Tyreek Hill's face earns an extra 2 points.

Las Vegas Raiders = 28 points

Divisional = PREVIOUS, from the first year when Tampa Bay was AFC West (!). 5

Conference = AFC 2

Geographic = NOPE, even after all the moves they've made 0

Postseason = One Super Bowl, 15

Intangibles =
Of the four teams that made up the AFC West, Oakland/LA/Vegas Raiders is the team the Bucs fans would feel more hatred for. The Raiders ownership (Al Davis in particular) railed against the Bucs "stealing" the pirate theme from them, and even sued the Bucs over the Bucco Bruce design. 2 points.
Raiders history tied inexorably to Bucs after the trade for head coach Jon Gruden, which garners 2 points, and who famously broke his former team in the following Super Bowl in one of the most lopsided blowouts ever, so 2 points for that.
Then it gets freakier after the Raiders re-signed Gruden to bring them back to glory, which he failed to do before losing his job over leaked racist emails, but the Bucs had no hand in that so zero points.

Los Angeles (really San Diego) Chargers = 9 points

Divisional = PREVIOUS, from the first year when Tampa Bay was AFC West (!). 5

Conference = AFC 2

Geographic = NOPE 0

Postseason = 0

Intangibles = A little bit like Denver to us, in that any fan rivalry with them is too obscure to consider.
If anything, they have an evil owner who ILLEGALLY moved the Chargers from San Diego in a fight over getting a new stadium on taxpayers' expense, so there is that. 2 points.

Los Angeles Rams = 38 points

Divisional = NEVER 0

Conference = NFC 5

Geographic = When they were in St. Louis it still wasn't close enough. 0

Postseason = One divisional matchup, 5. TWO NFC Championships (10x2), 20. 25 total

Intangibles =
This is where it gets brutal. For a team that's never been a divisional foe, the Rams are the one team that has broken Bucs fans' hopes over and over. When the 1979 Buccaneers reached their first NFC Championship (daring to go WORST TO FIRST), the L.A. Rams shut us out. 2 points.
When the 1999 Buccaneers - at the height of the Dungy Tampa 2 Era - reached our second NFC Championship, the St. Louis Rams eked out a win because of bad reffing and the injury loss of our heralded OT Paul Gruber hampering our offense. 2 points.
When the Bucs were looking to go back-to-back Super Bowls in 2021-22, the L.A. Rams gained an early lead our Brady-led offense couldn't overcome, en route to the Rams' second Super Bowl win. 2 points.
We've yet to beat the Rams in the postseason, which makes them more hated than Philly (whom we have beaten) in that regard, 2 points.
If there's any good news about the rivalry situation for Tampa Bay, it's that during both teams' heyday between 1999 to 2003 - the Greatest Show on Turf vs. The Tampa Two - our games were THE must-watch marquee matchups of those years. 2 points.
The 2000 Monday Night game where the Bucs won 38-35 is arguably the most intense win in Tampa Bay's history (also arguably the best non-playoff game ever won). 2 points.
While the Bucs fans may feel this way, the Rams arguably look to San Francisco and New England as more hated foes, so take back 2 points for each (-4 total).

Miami Dolphins = 13 points

Divisional = NEVER 0

Conference = AFC 2

Geographic = IN-STATE 5

Postseason = 0

Intangibles =
Even with Miami / South Florida as the state's biggest metro, there's never really been a lot of direct cultural competition with the market (that would be Orlando for us). Given the scheduling rotation, we still haven't played Miami often enough to make a rivalry meaningful. At most, the two teams play a lot of preseason games but those never matter. Barely worth 2 points.
While the Bucs have been woefully inconsistent at best as a franchise, the Dolphins were one of the more successful ever since their back-to-back Super Bowl wins in 1972 and 1973, including their one perfect undefeated year, a feat they still rudely celebrate every year when NFL teams end their season winning streaks. This still technically makes them the "best" NFL team in Florida. 2 points.
This is in spite of the reality that ever since Dan Marino retired in the late 1990s the team has been miserable the last 25 years. The Phins fanbase is notoriously bandwagon: two losses in a row and the fans stop showing even if the team ends up with a winning season overall. Compared to long-suffering Bucs fans, they're pussies. 2 points.

Minnesota Vikings = 10 points

Divisional = PREVIOUS, from the days of the NFC Central (1977-2001) 5

Conference = NFC 5

Geographic = NOPE 0

Postseason = 0

Intangibles =
There may be some lingering rivalry vibes with Minnesota, but again for much of the NFC North (once Central) the Bucs were the unwanted Cousin Oliver hanging around at tailgate parties. There have not been many games of note between Vikings and Bucs, even when both teams were winning/relevant to postseason hopes. I could not think of a single intangible factor that could give this matchup more points.

New England Patriots = 8 points

Divisional = NEVER 0

Conference = AFC 2

Geographic = NOPE

Postseason = 0

Intangibles =
A team that was not as prominent an opponent when the Bucs entered the league back in the 1970s, they've risen since 2001 to be the most dominant, consistent winning threat, and as such became insufferable bastards - worse than Dallas - to where hating them is not an option it's MANDATORY. 2 points.
The ties between New England and Tampa Bay expanded when Tom Freaking Brady, the GOAT QB that helped turned the Patriots into the juggernaut they've been since 2001, left the Pats to play for the Bucs... and promptly won a Super Bowl with us while the Pats slid into Loserville status. 2 points.
Our team owners made the insane decision to take head coach Belichick's advice to hire Schiano as our head coach, playing into the Hooded One's evil machinations (FIRE SCHIANO! Ahhh, dammit, flashbacks...). 2 points.

New Orleans Saints = 45 points

Divisional = CURRENT 15

Conference = NFC 5

Geographic = REGIONAL 2

Postseason = One divisional playoff, 5

Intangibles =
A team that shares so many similarities with us - an expansion team of the Super Bowl era, Gulf Coast metro, incredibly long stretches of losing seasons that achieved infamy, with perhaps one or two notable moments of greatness - that we were meant to be rivals even when the Saints and Bucs were in different divisions (West and Central) before the NFC South joined us together in unholy bickering in 2002. 2 points.
When the expansion years Bucs finally won their first game after going 0-26, THESE were the butt monkeys we finally beat (2 points), and it was a loss so humiliating they fired the head coach (2 points) and then kicked their QB off the roster (2 points).
Where the Bucs can be the Yucs, the Saints can be the Aints, and their fans promoted the Paper Bags of Shame protesting to memetic levels. (Just saying, Bucs fans empathize) Saints did not achieve superteam status until they won over Drew Brees as a free agent QB to play for them, and Brees quickly became a HoF-caliber leader for the Saints franchise, becoming the most dreaded QB our team ever faced (more than Matty Ice and Cam put together), so 2 points for him.
For all the regular season losses we've endured against New Orleans (which is 2 points itself), the single (so far) playoff game between the two was a nail-biting victory for Tampa - Brady over Brees - in a game that clearly ended the Brees Era for the Saints, earning more enmity there. 2 points.
With our former "franchise QB" of Jameis Winston (someone we allegedly tanked a season for) now starting for the Saints, expect a lot of smack talk about that, 2 points.
Just to note, New Orleans and Tampa Bay are cultural rival metros to some degree, with Awlins a center of French Creole style and Tampa a major Cuban-Caribbean hub. 2 points.

New York Giants = 10 points

Divisional = NEVER 0

Conference = NFC 5

Geographic = NOPE 0

Postseason = One wild card, 5

Intangibles =
One of the major East Coast market franchises with a long history in the NFL, hating the Giants should be akin to hating Dallas, Philly, and Washington as well. 2 points for each for 6 points total.
Except that the Giants won't hate us the way they hate Dallas, Philly, and Washington, so those points for our rivalry status negate themselves (-6 total).
Otherwise, there's not a lot of hostility or rivalry between the teams or fan bases. If there's a postseason game on the line, then yeah BOOOOOOO SUCK IT NEW YAWK. Otherwise, we hate the Yankees more.

New York Jets = 2 points

Divisional = NEVER 0

Conference = AFC 2

Geographic = NOPE 0

Postseason = AHAHAHAHAHA 0

Intangibles =
Yes, the Jets won a Super Bowl once, the historic upset that proved the AFL teams could beat NFL teams before the big merger. But that was before the Bucs were even a possibility, and ever since 1976 the Jets have almost been as bad a franchise - at times even worse - as the Bucs have been.
One of the most annoying fan bases on the planet, who so abused the televised NFL rookie drafts when EPSN popularized it that the NFL decided to rotate the event to other cities so that we don't have to deal with their booing their own team picks anymore. I would give them 2 points for that, but moving the Draft to other cities is a good idea to begin with, so...
Two words: Butt Fumble. It's gotten to where Bucs fans feel sorry for THEM.

Philadelphia Eagles = 35 points

Divisional = NEVER 0

Conference = NFC 5

Geographic = NOPE 0

Postseason = 4 (!) divisional (4x5, 20 total), 1 NFC Championship (10), 30 total

Intangibles =
As yet another East Coast team that's overhyped and overwatched, there should be 2 points guaranteed on that alone. Except, again, we're not a high rivalry priority, so we actually LOSE points for each NFC East team (Dallas -2 New York -2 Washington -2) for -6 total.
What's surprising as hell is how THIS is the team the Bucs have faced most often in the postseason, including our very first playoff game and our first playoff win in 1979, which gives this 2 points.
There was a three-year stretch (2000, 2001, 2002) where we played them, and they stomped us those first two times, leading to Tony Dungy's firing in 2001, 2 points there.
What makes this playoff rivalry notable for Bucs fans is how BEATING the Eagles in 2002 - with the epic Ronde Pick-6 that LITERALLY closed out the old Veterans Stadium - not only got the Bucs to their first Super Bowl but also ended a lot of other team jinxes at the same time. That Pick-6 is something the Philly fans have not forgotten, even 20 years later, and it's one the Bucs fans consider the greatest play in team history (even outpacing big plays of our Super Bowl wins). 2 points for that.

Pittsburgh Steelers = 2 points

Divisional = NEVER 0

Conference = AFC 2

Geographic = NOPE 0

Postseason = There was that hope in 1979, alas 0

Intangibles = The Steelers are one of those Super Bowl era franchises that operates at a level of success that teams like the Bucs can only envy, there should be some animosity for their fan base arrogance but there really isn't.
Their dominance in the 1970s made them a sports dynasty for the ages among ALL the pro league sports in the United States, akin to the Yankees or the Lakers, and yet the team retains a "blue collar" aesthetic - they show a lot of faith in their coaches and key players - that makes them respectable.
Given their traditional rivalries with Cleveland and the Raiders (wherever they park for a few years), and with other teams across the league - Dallas and Green Bay as Super Bowl opponents of note - it doesn't even seem likely Tampa could ever claim a chance at rivalry with Pittsburgh.

San Francisco 49ers = 10 points

Divisional = NEVER 0

Conference = NFC 5

Geographic = AHAHAHAHAHA NOPE 0

Postseason = One divisional, 5

Intangibles = San Francisco is one of those teams that is just so far away from Tampa it doesn't even feel like we're on the same continent. The Niners are also a franchise with so much success since the 1980s that the Bucs don't feel like we're in the same league. And yet any jealousy over that success seems mitigated as the Bucs have it worse against the Rams, the Niners natural rival on the West Coast (again).
Any animosity over being a "Bay area" team is undercut by the Bay area rivalry being against Green Bay already.
If there are any current issues between franchises it's how former Buc great John Lynch is currently the GM for the Niners team, but that doesn't feel like it deserves any points.

Seattle Seahawks = 9 points

Divisional = NEVER

Conference = NFC (eventually in 2002) 5

Geographic = AHAHAHAHAHA NOPE 0

Postseason = 0

Intangibles =
The franchise that entered the league with the Bucs in 1976, so in that regard we are tied to the Seahawks by destiny, 2 points.
For most of our team histories, however, we were in different conferences, which mitigated any head-to-head reasons to hate each other. The Bucs fans do wonder why the Seahawks go with more garish uniform colors than we do (and hell we had creamsicle unis until 1997 and those godawful alarm clock number jerseys between 2015-2019), so that earns 2 points.
In terms of postseason glory the Bucs (2-0) are up on Seattle (1-2) in Super Bowl wins, so there's that. 2 points.
The Seahawks don't seem to have a natural rivalry due to getting kicked from one division (AFC West) to another (NFC West) with little disruption to other teams: It's not like the Chargers or Broncos miss playing them, nor the Rams or Cardinals thrilled to play them.

Tennessee Titans = 4 points

Divisional = NEVER 0

Conference = AFC 2

Geographic = Almost counts as an AFC South opponent, but Tennessee is a bit too far, 0

Postseason = 0

Intangibles =
Originally the Houston Oilers, a lot of the team's history of that earlier franchise makes this current Titans lineup a historic rival of sorts. In terms of head-to-head, Oilers/Titans have the best winning record against us, gives them 2 points on us.
We were briefly tied to them in the Rookie Franchise QB war between Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota, which they won in humiliating fashion in 2015, making this 2 points.
That both Winston and Mariota failed to achieve lasting success with either team negates that 2 points, so there.
If the Titans have any true rivals, it's with the equally displaced AFC South Indy Colts, as a natural rivalry with the Houston Texans has yet to solidify.

Washington Football Team = 18 points

Divisional = NEVER 0

Conference = NFC 5

Geographic = Not close enough, 0

Postseason = 3 divisionals (3x5, 15), 15 total

Intangibles =
One of the most hated franchises in the league, not just for being an overhyped and arrogant East Coast team (2 points that I am giving out of spite) but also due to the racist history of its original nickname, earning another 2 points on that.
Switching to a banal and laughable "Commanders" nickname does not help, it makes them more pitiful than before. Team currently jinxed by literally the worst owner in all of sports - Snyder is evading congressional subpoenas by hiding on a yacht in the Mediterranean! - accused of sexual harassment (and possible sex trafficking!), various acts of business fraud, and general assholery. Snyder makes Culverhouse look like a saint, for God's sake. It's gotten to where you feel bad for Skins uh WFT uh Commander um Commie fans as they're forced to sit in a stadium that's raining sewage water on their heads (-2 points).
The Bucs don't have much of a natural rivalry due to Dallas (-2) New York (-2) and Philly (-2) being bigger deals for DC fans...
But Washington IS the team the Bucs would love to see more often in the postseason (having beaten them two out of three), 2 points for that.

So with the math done:

TAMPA BAY'S TOP TEN RIVALS!

New Orleans Saints: 45 points

Los Angeles (St. Louis) Rams: 38 points
Philadelphia Eagles: 35 points

Green Bay Packers: 31 points

Carolina Panthers: 28 points

Las Vegas (Oakland/LA) Raiders: 28 points

Atlanta Falcons: 26 points

Kansas City Chiefs: 26 points

Dallas Cowboys: 21 points
Washington No-Names: 18 points

What do you think sirs?