Buccaneers–Packers rivalry

The Buccaneers–Packers rivalry is an American football rivalry between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Green Bay Packers. The Packers entered the National Football League (NFL) in 1921 and saw significant periods of sustained success under Curly Lambeau in the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in the 1960s under Vince Lombardi. However, the Packers entered the 1970s in a sustained slump. They only made the playoffs once from 1968 to 1976. The Buccaneers entered the NFL in 1976 as part of an agreement to expand the league after the AFL–NFL merger. The Packers and Buccaneers played their first game during the 1976 NFL season, with the Packers shutting out the Buccaneers 13–0. The loss was part of the Buccaneers 0–14 record in 1976, the first time an NFL team lost every game in a 14-game season.

In 1977, the NFL realigned the divisions, creating a new NFC Central division that featured the Packers, Buccaneers, Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears. After this realignment, the Packers and Buccaneers were guaranteed to play each other twice a year according to the NFL scheduling rules. The Packers and Buccaneers would continue their poor form throughout the 1970s, 1980s and the early part of the 1990s, with the Packers only making the playoffs once before 1992 and the Buccaneers making it three times before 1996. However, starting in the mid-1990s, both teams made significant personnel moves that led to on-field success. Both teams became perennial playoff contenders, with the Packers winning Super Bowl XXXI in 1997 and the Buccaneers winning Super Bowl XXXVII in 2003. The Packers continued their on-field success in the 2000s and 2010s, while the Buccaneers slumped again. In 2002, the NFL realigned divisions again, and the newly created NFC North no longer included the Buccaneers, who moved to the NFC South. The Packers and Buccaneers stopped playing each other twice a year, although they did meet in the 2021 NFC Championship game, where the Buccaneers beat the Packers 31–26 in route to their subsequent victory in Super Bowl LV in 2021.

The rivalry between the Buccaneers and Packers was most pronounced from 1977 to 2002, when both teams were division rivals. The rivalry was called the Battle of the Bays but was also known derogatorily as the Bay of Pigs, a play-on-words referencing each team having Bay in it, the actual failed invasion of Cuba during the Cold War of the same name and the consistently poor play of both teams at the beginning of the rivalry. As of the 2022 NFL season, the Packers lead the overall series 34–24–1, with each team winning one of the two playoff games against each other. The rivalry was evenly matched through the 1970s and 1980s, although the Packers dominated the 1990s. Since the 2000s, the rivalry has returned to a more evenly matched series. The most recent game between the two teams was a 34–20 Buccaneers victory during the 2023 NFL season.