New look Bucs get their chance in season opener vs. Minnesota Vikings

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers kick off their season today with the envious task of rebuilding after saying goodbye to the greatest quarterback of all time.

Driving the news: The Bucs open the season on the road against the Minnesota Vikings. Kickoff is at 1pm on CBS.

Catch up quick: Todd Bowles is entering his second year as head coach. Last year, he took the team to the playoffs despite an 8-9 regular season record.

• The team was also led by seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady. But they never got into a groove and were eliminated in the wild-card round of the playoffs.

What we're watching: What is the identity of this team? Tampa Bay hired a new offensive coordinator this offseason, Dave Canales, to replace Byron Leftwich after the offense looked stagnant much of last season.

• They also have a new signal caller in Baker Mayfield who, despite being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 draft, has a career 31-38 record.

Reason for hope: The NFC South isn't projected to be a strong division. All four teams finished with a losing record last year. Tampa Bay was the only team to make the playoffs with more losses than wins.

Plus: The Bucs should have a relatively easy schedule. The combined record last season of the teams they play against this year equals a .483 winning percentage, good for 11th easiest in the league.

Yes, but: All three of their division rivals — the Falcons, Saints and Panthers — have an even softer schedule.

💭 Our thought bubble: Expectations for Tampa are low and rightfully so. Anytime a team goes through a quarterback transition, you can expect it to be a rocky year or two. But that gives the Bucs a lot of space to prove people wrong.

Who wins: The Vikings are 5.5-point favorites in this one. But games aren't played on paper.

Go deeper: Four must-watch games this season