2005 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The 2005 Tampa Bay Buccaneers went 11–5, finishing 2nd in the NFC South, and lost in the Wild Card round. They scored 300 points and allowed 274.
- Record
- 11–5
- Home
- 6–2
- Road & neutral
- 5–3
- Points
- 300–274
- NFC South
- Place 2 of 4
- Postseason
- Lost Wild Card
Where the season ranked
They scored 300 points, the 13th-fewest among the 32 teams, and allowed 274, the eighth-fewest. Their point differential was +26.
How the season unfolded
The Buccaneers opened with four straight wins and were 5–3 after eight games. They went 3–1 over the final four weeks to finish 11–5.
Their longest winning streak was four games, from Week 1 to Week 4.
Best and worst games
Their biggest win was 19–3 over the Buffalo Bills in Week 2 (September 18, 2005).
Their heaviest loss was 28–0 to the New England Patriots in Week 15 (December 17, 2005).
They scored a season-high 36 points against Washington in Week 10 (November 13, 2005), winning 36–35.
In games decided by eight points or fewer, they went 6–3.
They played one overtime game and won it.
Division and playoff opponents
They went 5–1 against the NFC South, sweeping the Falcons and the Saints and splitting with the Panthers.
Against teams that reached the playoffs, they went 2–3 in the regular season.
Postseason
In the Wild Card round, they lost to Washington 17–10 at home.
Before and after
That was a six-win improvement on 2004, when they went 5–11.
It was the franchise’s first playoff appearance since 2002.
In 2006, they went 4–12 and missed the playoffs.
2005 schedule and results
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Sep 11, 2005 | at Minnesota Vikings | W 24–13 |
| Week 2 | Sep 18, 2005 | vs Buffalo Bills | W 19–3 |
| Week 3 | Sep 25, 2005 | at Green Bay Packers | W 17–16 |
| Week 4 | Oct 2, 2005 | vs Detroit Lions | W 17–13 |
| Week 5 | Oct 9, 2005 | at New York Jets | L 12–14 |
| Week 6 | Oct 16, 2005 | vs Miami Dolphins | W 27–13 |
| Week 8 | Oct 30, 2005 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 10–15 |
| Week 9 | Nov 6, 2005 | vs Carolina Panthers | L 14–34 |
| Week 10 | Nov 13, 2005 | vs Washington | W 36–35 |
| Week 11 | Nov 20, 2005 | at Atlanta Falcons | W 30–27 |
| Week 12 | Nov 27, 2005 | vs Chicago Bears | L 10–13 |
| Week 13 | Dec 4, 2005 | at New Orleans Saints | W 10–3 |
| Week 14 | Dec 11, 2005 | at Carolina Panthers | W 20–10 |
| Week 15 | Dec 17, 2005 | at New England Patriots | L 0–28 |
| Week 16 | Dec 24, 2005 | vs Atlanta Falcons | W 27–24 (OT) |
| Week 17 | Jan 1, 2006 | vs New Orleans Saints | W 27–13 |
| Wild Card | Jan 7, 2006 | vs Washington | L 10–17 |
Counted by WHYNFL from the final score of every 2005 game. Division place uses win percentage, then point differential; the NFL's full tiebreaker procedure is not applied.