For the third time in eleven months, the Buccaneers and Lions are set to face off. It was a 20-6 Lions win in Raymond James back in week six before the two met in the Divisional Round at Ford Field where the Lions came away with a 31-23 win. You’d be hard pressed to find someone with a more bitter taste in their mouth from that game than Baker Mayfield.
With just over 90-seconds to play and the ball in his hands, Mayfield had a chance to march the Bucs down the field for a potential game winning score. Instead, an interception by Lions linebacker Derrick Barnes ended the comeback bid and sent the Lions to the NFC Championship. Now, Mayfield has a chance to go back to the stadium where his season ended and get the Buccaneers off to a 2-0 start for the third straight season.
Standing in their way, besides Dan Campbell and the Lions, are the massive amount of injuries that have piled up - especially on the defensive side of the ball. Calijah Kancey, Antoine Winfield Jr., Josh Hayes, and Luke Goedeke have all been ruled out, Zyon McCollum and Logan Hall are questionable, Bryce Hall is out for the year, and the Bucs had to re-sign Keenan Isaac just to have some depth at cornerback.
McCollum, luckily, appears on track to play. He was a full participant in practice Thursday and Friday but hasn’t been officially cleared from concussion protocol and he still has some tests to pass on Saturday according to head coach Todd Bowles. Hall was also a full participant Thursday and Friday but Bowles told the media they would see how he felt on Saturday before making any decisions.
The big blow on offense is of course right tackle Luke Goedeke. As half of one of the top tackle duos in the league, Goedeke has done some impressive things against top tier pass rushers. Now, Justin Skule will get the start which will certainly impact what the Bucs are able to not only do in the run game, but how well they’ll be able to protect Baker Mayfield.
The Lions have their own share of injury problems. Safety Ifeti Melifonwu and wide receiver Isaiah Williams have both been ruled out already while defensive lineman Marcus Davenport is doubtful. Davenport didn’t practice all week with a groin injury and seems unlikely to play - but even that wouldn’t be the biggest blow. Right tackle Penei Sewell missed practice Wednesday and Thursday before returning as a limited participant on Friday with an ankle injury. If Sewell can’t go or is limited in his ability, that might be the break this beaten up Bucs defense needs to get after Jared Goff.
Goff, in two games against the Bucs last year, completed 69% of his passes for 660 yards and four touchdowns with zero turnovers. For the Bucs to get an upset, that can’t happen this time around. The pass rush, while it did a decent job of getting pressure against Jayden Daniels in week one, has to finish plays and get Goff on the ground in week two. Goff isn’t going to be able to run wild through the Bucs defense when the pressure closes in the way Daniels did, so if the Bucs are going to take some of the pressure off of their M*A*S*H* unit secondary, they have to keep the pressure on Goff all afternoon.
As for the Bucs’ offense, their best plan of attack is to funnel the offense through Chris Godwin all afternoon. Last week he had eight receptions on eight targets - five of which resulted in first downs. If you take a look at what the Los Angeles Rams were able to do with Cooper Kupp, that could be a solid indicator of what Godwin’s role this week could - and should - be. Kupp went in motion more than any player in a single game in the last ten years, then racked up 21 targets, finishing with fourteen receptions for 110 yards and a touchdown. Now, Godwin doesn’t need nor should he get 21 targets, but he needs to be the engine that drives the offense.
Coen’s offense is a spin-off of McVay’s, and Godwin is in that Kupp role. If the Bucs are able to target him early and often on that opening drive, then do it again on the second drive, it’s going to force Campbell to pull resources from other spots on the field to shut him down. That opens up one-on-one opportunities for Mike Evans and Jalen McMillan as well as spots in the flat to get Rachaad White and Bucky Irving the ball in space. That’s where the Bucs are going to be able to create problems.
Something else to keep an eye on is how early Mayfield tries to get Mike Evans into the end zone. With his next touchdown, Evans will become the all-time franchise leader in points, passing Martin Gramatica’s 592 points. Evans is currently sitting at 590, but not only that, he’s just three receiving touchdowns away from 100 - something only accomplished by ten wide receivers in NFL history. He will easily surpass that this season and may wind up in the top eight which is currently held by Tony Gonzalez with 111. By time his contract is up, Evans could be knocking on the top five where Marvin Harrison is fifth with 128 and Cris Carter is fourth with 130.
The last two meetings, Detroit only had to worry about two receivers and one running back. Now they have to worry about at least three receivers on any given play as well as two dynamic backs - and we didn’t even talk about Cade Otton, yet. Five receptions on eight targets for 65 yards and a touchdown in the playoff matchup. There’s a lot more for the Lions defense to account for this time around - and that’s where the Bucs might just be able to pull off the upset, even short handed.
Detroit leads the all-time series 33-29 and have won two straight, three of the last five, and six of the last nine meetings. That said, the Bucs have won seven of the last ten in Detroit dating back to 2000.
The Bucs are 7.5-point road underdogs with an over/under of 51.5 against the Lions on Sunday. The two teams will kick off at 1:00 p.m. ET on FOX with Kevin Kugler and Daryl “Moose” Johnston on the call once again.
For the third time in eleven months, the Buccaneers and Lions are set to face off. It was a 20-6 Lions win in Raymond James back in week six before the two met in the Divisional Round at Ford Field where the Lions came away with a 31-23 win. You’d be hard pressed to find someone with a more bitter taste in their mouth from that game than Baker Mayfield.
With just over 90-seconds to play and the ball in his hands, Mayfield had a chance to march the Bucs down the field for a potential game winning score. Instead, an interception by Lions linebacker Derrick Barnes ended the comeback bid and sent the Lions to the NFC Championship. Now, Mayfield has a chance to go back to the stadium where his season ended and get the Buccaneers off to a 2-0 start for the third straight season.
Standing in their way, besides Dan Campbell and the Lions, are the massive amount of injuries that have piled up - especially on the defensive side of the ball. Calijah Kancey, Antoine Winfield Jr., Josh Hayes, and Luke Goedeke have all been ruled out, Zyon McCollum and Logan Hall are questionable, Bryce Hall is out for the year, and the Bucs had to re-sign Keenan Isaac just to have some depth at cornerback.
McCollum, luckily, appears on track to play. He was a full participant in practice Thursday and Friday but hasn’t been officially cleared from concussion protocol and he still has some tests to pass on Saturday according to head coach Todd Bowles. Hall was also a full participant Thursday and Friday but Bowles told the media they would see how he felt on Saturday before making any decisions.
The big blow on offense is of course right tackle Luke Goedeke. As half of one of the top tackle duos in the league, Goedeke has done some impressive things against top tier pass rushers. Now, Justin Skule will get the start which will certainly impact what the Bucs are able to not only do in the run game, but how well they’ll be able to protect Baker Mayfield.
The Lions have their own share of injury problems. Safety Ifeti Melifonwu and wide receiver Isaiah Williams have both been ruled out already while defensive lineman Marcus Davenport is doubtful. Davenport didn’t practice all week with a groin injury and seems unlikely to play - but even that wouldn’t be the biggest blow. Right tackle Penei Sewell missed practice Wednesday and Thursday before returning as a limited participant on Friday with an ankle injury. If Sewell can’t go or is limited in his ability, that might be the break this beaten up Bucs defense needs to get after Jared Goff.
Goff, in two games against the Bucs last year, completed 69% of his passes for 660 yards and four touchdowns with zero turnovers. For the Bucs to get an upset, that can’t happen this time around. The pass rush, while it did a decent job of getting pressure against Jayden Daniels in week one, has to finish plays and get Goff on the ground in week two. Goff isn’t going to be able to run wild through the Bucs defense when the pressure closes in the way Daniels did, so if the Bucs are going to take some of the pressure off of their M*A*S*H* unit secondary, they have to keep the pressure on Goff all afternoon.
As for the Bucs’ offense, their best plan of attack is to funnel the offense through Chris Godwin all afternoon. Last week he had eight receptions on eight targets - five of which resulted in first downs. If you take a look at what the Los Angeles Rams were able to do with Cooper Kupp, that could be a solid indicator of what Godwin’s role this week could - and should - be. Kupp went in motion more than any player in a single game in the last ten years, then racked up 21 targets, finishing with fourteen receptions for 110 yards and a touchdown. Now, Godwin doesn’t need nor should he get 21 targets, but he needs to be the engine that drives the offense.
Coen’s offense is a spin-off of McVay’s, and Godwin is in that Kupp role. If the Bucs are able to target him early and often on that opening drive, then do it again on the second drive, it’s going to force Campbell to pull resources from other spots on the field to shut him down. That opens up one-on-one opportunities for Mike Evans and Jalen McMillan as well as spots in the flat to get Rachaad White and Bucky Irving the ball in space. That’s where the Bucs are going to be able to create problems.
Something else to keep an eye on is how early Mayfield tries to get Mike Evans into the end zone. With his next touchdown, Evans will become the all-time franchise leader in points, passing Martin Gramatica’s 592 points. Evans is currently sitting at 590, but not only that, he’s just three receiving touchdowns away from 100 - something only accomplished by ten wide receivers in NFL history. He will easily surpass that this season and may wind up in the top eight which is currently held by Tony Gonzalez with 111. By time his contract is up, Evans could be knocking on the top five where Marvin Harrison is fifth with 128 and Cris Carter is fourth with 130.
The last two meetings, Detroit only had to worry about two receivers and one running back. Now they have to worry about at least three receivers on any given play as well as two dynamic backs - and we didn’t even talk about Cade Otton, yet. Five receptions on eight targets for 65 yards and a touchdown in the playoff matchup. There’s a lot more for the Lions defense to account for this time around - and that’s where the Bucs might just be able to pull off the upset, even short handed.
Detroit leads the all-time series 33-29 and have won two straight, three of the last five, and six of the last nine meetings. That said, the Bucs have won seven of the last ten in Detroit dating back to 2000.
The Bucs are 7.5-point road underdogs with an over/under of 51.5 against the Lions on Sunday. The two teams will kick off at 1:00 p.m. ET on FOX with Kevin Kugler and Daryl “Moose” Johnston on the call once again.
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