Falcons and Buccaneers set for a rare uniform matchup on Thursday night that almost never happens

On paper, the Thursday night battle between the Falcons and Buccaneers definitely isn't the best game of Week 15, but it will definitely be worth watching for at least one reason and that's the game will feature something that is rarely seen in the NFL: Both teams will be wearing a colored jersey.

In almost every NFL game, one team has to wear a white jersey, but that won't be the case when these two teams kickoff at 8:15 p.m. ET on Amazon Prime. The Buccaneers will be wearing their Creamsicle jerseys on Thursday night, which will mark the only time during the 2025 season that Tampa Bay will be breaking out its iconic uniform. 

The Buccaneers are wearing the uniforms as part of their 50th anniversary celebration. 

With the Buccaneers wearing a colored jersey, the opposing team would normally wear white, but that won't be the case in this game. The Falcons will also wearing a throwback uniform in Week 15. The throwback look will feature Atlanta's red helmets combined with the team's black jersey. 

This matchup will mark the first time in two years that a game will happen without a team wearing white. The last time it happened came in Week 8 of the 2023 season and that also involved the Falcons in a game against the Tennessee Titans. There was also an all-color game when the Chicago Bears wore orange in Week 8 of the 2022 season against the Dallas Cowboys, who were suited up in their navy blue jerseys. 

It's rare that you'll see a color vs. color game in the NFL. Although the league embraced the theme during the Color Rush years from 2015-2018 -- a span where there were multiple color vs. color games -- the Buccaneers-Falcons game will mark just the third time since the start of the 2021 season that we've seen a color vs. color game where neither team was wearing a Color Rush uniform. 

The fact that the Bucs are celebrating their 50th season is also kind of interesting. The Thursday night game is being played on Dec. 11, which is notable, because that will mark the 48th anniversary of the Buccaneers' first win in franchise history. The Bucs, who played their first season in 1976, started 0-26 before winning their first game in December 1977.