Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-0) vs New York Jets (0-0) August 14, 2026 7:00 pm EDT The Line: New York Jets -6; Over/Under 35.5 (Get latest betting odds)
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New York Jets meet Friday in NFL preseason action from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford. Here’s a Jets vs Buccaneers prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Jets vs Buccaneers pick.
Last year the Buccaneers were looking pretty good at the start of the campaign, coming into the season as four-time defending NFC South champs. It was also their fourth straight season with a new offensive coordinator, though, and despite a nice 6-2 start right out of the gate, the team couldn’t sustain the momentum. Tampa Bay ended up going just 8-9 overall, thanks mostly to a slew of key injuries and defensive breakdowns. When the proverbial dust settled, the Bucs would miss the playoffs for the first time since 2019.
Tampa Bay comes into the 2026 season looking quite a bit different. There have been plenty of changes to the roster, most notably considering the departures of Mike Evans (49ers) and Lavonte David (retired). The Buccaneers also have yet another offensive coordinator, their fifth in five seasons. If Tampa Bay is going to rebound from last year’s disappointing campaign, first and foremost they’ve got to stay healthy.
On the Jets’ side, they’ve firmly cemented their status as one of the most consistently disappointing teams in professional sports. New York began 2025 with their fourth head coach in eight years and failed to improve on an ugly 5-12 record from 2024. The Jets lost their first seven games before finally taking out the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 8, then were officially eliminated from playoff contention in a blowout loss to the Miami Dolphins in Week 14. Needless to say, New York’s 3-14 record saw them finish in the basement of the division and kept them out of the postseason for the 15th straight year.
New York only has to win a handful of games this season in order to point toward some semblance of progress. The Jets are still in rebuild mode during head coach Aaron Glenn’s second season, and a large chunk of the staff was replaced. Veteran quarterback Geno Smith returns to the team, and the defense looks pretty good on paper.
I’m going to take a stab at the Jets. That said, anything can happen in the first week of preseason considering the absence of first-string presence. In any case, New York appeared to get better in the offseason with all of their staff revamping and player additions. In particular, the defensive line has some nice depth, and star safety Minkah Fitzpatrick should make a big impact. The over/under for wins has been hovering around six or so, which would probably be considered a success.
As for the Bucs, they’ll have a chance to set the tone early if they can get the new-look chemistry going. Tampa Bay has their work cut out for them in a competitive NFC South, but they’ll be in the mix if all goes well. Once again, however, avoiding the injury bug will be key to the Buccaneers’ fortunes in 2026.