TAMPA BAY vs DETROIT 

LIONS WIN 24 – 9

• Story of the Game – Baker and the Bucs fall flat offensively as Detroit wins an ugly game at home 

Despite the Lions owning the LOS on both sides of the ball, breaking open a number of explosive plays on offense, and holding the Buccaneers to only 58yds of offense in the 1st half they never truly broke the game open until late in the 4th Quarter as the Bucs found ways to hang in the game defensively. Ultimately Goff, St. Brown, and Gibbs having the games that they did proved to be too much for the Buccaneers as their offense looked like a shell of what they’ve been early on this season. The Buccaneers offense clearly didn’t have the same punch that its had all year with the WR room and really all of the offensive units being banged up. Baker was having to fight through a number of pressures all game long with a lack of separation at times, especially down the field from his WR core, which led to them having to fight for every single yard against a Detroit defense that was playing aggressive as they could all game long. Even through an ugly first half and having to fight for every single yard throughout the entire game the Bucs found a way to put up 251yds of offense and stick around in this game late into the 2nd half. It was a valiant effort from both teams that fought their way through injuries and battled all game long but the Lions aggressive defense and offense that continually found a way to create explosives proved to be too much for a Buccaneers team that had little to nothing left on their offense.

• Key Notes for the Lions 

While St. Brown tore apart the Buccaneers secondary in the first half and Gibbs broke off a number of explosive runs all game long the Lions offense struggled to find much of any success on 3rd downs and overall sustain drives. Tampa Bay threw a number of unique looks and blitzes at Detroit on 3rd downs/crucial downs overall and the OL struggled to sort through it which forced rushed throws and sacks that killed drives for Detroit. It was very strong performance from Goff and company once again but I think they still have another level to go as they continue to gets reps together a long the OL and in turn open up more time for explosives.

The young players that were forced to play in big roles tonight due to injuries and a suspension to Brian Branch (Erick Hallett + Nick Whiteside) really stepped up and filled crucial roles on this defense. While they may not have been Kerby Joseph or Brian Branch out there they played at a level that was extremely impressive for what was expected and did more than enough to contribute to a winning defensive performance. This defense from secondary down continues to impress as they play with such a high level of energy, effort, and aggression that shows no matter where they stand on the depth chart. From Hallett to Whiteside to Wheat along the DL this group is tied together and may even be playing at a higher level than they did last season.

• Key Notes for the Buccaneers 

The Buccaneers inability to consistently move the ball on 1st and 2nd down killed any chance of starting let alone sustaining successful drives in the first half especially. While the pass protection wasn’t great and the Bucs receivers struggled to separate against a disciplined Lions secondary at times Baker also had an off day as he had multiple passes batted at the LOS which I think affected his accuracy later on in the game where he was missing throws high fairly often. Overall it was an uncharacteristic day for the large majority of the offense and while you’d like to see better pass protection, accuracy from Baker, and play from the receivers the injuries are the bigger concern to me as they’ve taken quite the toll on this roster despite it being so early in the season. 

While the defense struggled with guarding St. Brown early on and consistently gave up 15+ yard gains to him through the air they were able to adjust with inside and out brackets and limit his effect through the rest of the game. As they slowed St. Brown down the passing game became limited especially on 3rd downs as this Bucs defense showed and brought a number of unique pressures to speed up Goff and while Goff did a solid job of managing it the Lions offense wasn’t successful enough to sustain drives in those situations. The back breaking part was they lost the LOS and in turn the control in the run game for a large majority of this game which proved to be too much. This wasn’t a perfect showing but had the offense had a normal Buccaneers offensive showing I believe they did enough to get them a win.

• Standout Performers 

DET

Jared Goff – 20/29  241yds  1/1

Jahmyr Gibbs – 17/136  2 TDs – 3/82 rec

Amon-Ra St. Brown – 6/86  1 TD

Jack Campbell – 8 Tackles (3 Solo) 1 Sack  2 TFLs  1 PBU

Tyrus Wheat – 2 Tackles (1 Solo)  1.5 Sacks  1 TFL  1 FF 

Nick Whiteside – 1 Tackle  3 PBUs

Erick Hallett – 8 Tackles (6 Solo) 

Alim McNeil – 1 Tackle 

• Wrecked the middle of the line in his limited snaps 

TB

Cade Otton – 7/65 

Tez Johnson – 4/58  1 TD

• A few miscommunications throughout the game but overall another very solid showing from the rookie 

Tykee Smith – 13 Tackles (8 Solo)  1 Sack  2 TFLs 

Antoine Winfield Jr. – 8 Tackles (6 Solo) 

• Incredible tackle in space on Gibbs with Sewell as a lead blocker 

Yaya Diaby – 5 Tackles (2 Solo)  1 Sack  2 TFLs  1 FF