After a quick return home last week to beat the 49ers, the 5-1, NFC-leading Bucs embarked on a two-game road swing, starting Monday night with a primetime game against the 4-2 Lions in Detroit.

Tampa Bay came in looking for a third straight win, and it had the benefit of having Mike Evans, Emeka Egbuka and Zyon McCollum all suited up and ready to go. With that said, the offense was still without Chris Godwin Jr. and Bucky Irving, as well as right tackle Luke Goedeke. Meanwhile, Detroit got Alim McNeill back, but it came into the night missing its entire starting secondary.

For the Bucs, this game felt eerily similar to the one they played on Monday Night Football against the Ravens almost a year ago to the day. Just about nothing went right for Todd Bowles and Co., who struggled from start to finish – especially on offense – on their way to a 24-9 loss to the Lions.

With the loss, the Bucs dropped to 5-2 and lost their grip on the top spot in the NFC. Meanwhile, the Lions are 5-2, making for a crowded picture near the top of the conference.

Here is a recap of all the action from Monday night’s ugly loss at Ford Field in Detroit:

Lions 24, Bucs 9

It didn’t take long for the Lions offense to get on the board, with a 30-yard catch and run by Jahmyr Gibbs – the result of a missed tackle by SirVocea Dennis – getting things started before a third-down illegal contact penalty on Jacob Parrish extended the drive. From there, Jared Goff found Amon-Ra St. Brown for a 27-yard touchdown, with Parrish falling down in coverage, to put Detroit up 7-0.

Kameron Johnson returned the ensuing kickoff into Detroit territory, only for a holding penalty on Kaevon Merriweather to bring the ball all the way back to the Tampa Bay 15-yard line. That was a bad omen for the offense, as a quick three-and-out sent the ball right back to Goff and the Lions offense.

Goff and St. Brown picked up right where they left off, linking up for a 24-yard gain. But on an eventual third down, the Bucs pass rush got to Goff, with Yaya Diaby knocking the ball loose for a sack fumble. Elijah Roberts recovered the loose ball.

Bucs OLB Yaya Diaby and Lions QB Jared Goff – Photo by: USA Today

Baker Mayfield and the offense still couldn’t get going on their ensuing possession, leading to a second Riley Dixon punt in two drives.

St. Brown took advantage of a Benjamin Morrison missed tackle to get 16 yards to start the next Detroit drive, then Goff and Gibbs linked up again for a 24-yard gain to the Bucs’ 23. But after a tackle for loss by Diaby and Vita Vea, the Lions had their third-down play come up short of the sticks. But Dan Campbell opted to go for it on fourth down and Goff’s pass sailed beyond Isaac TeSlaa, giving the ball over to Mayfield and the offense just as the first quarter came to an end with the home team up 7-0.

Tampa Bay still couldn’t get anything going on offense as the second quarter began, leading to a third punt in three drives.

The two teams traded punts from there, keeping it a defensive battle at 7-0 halfway into the second quarter. But after another third-down illegal contact penalty – this one on Jamel Dean – the Lions doubled their lead with a 78-yard touchdown run by Gibbs. At that point in the game, Detroit had a 266-36 advantage in total yards and a 10-2 advantage in first downs.

Things went from bad to worse for Tampa Bay’s offense on its next drive as Mike Evans went down hard on a deep incompletion and struggled to get back to his feet. Soon after, he was taken to the locker room and ruled out for the remainder of the game with a concussion and a shoulder injury. By the end of the night, it was feared that Evans’ injury may unfortunately be season-ending.

Bucs WR Mike Evans – Photo by: USA Today

The Bucs and Lions traded punts from there, but a Sterling Shepard fumble then set up Goff and the Detroit offense to add to their two-score lead. Only the visitors managed to keep hanging in, with an eventual Jake Bates 54-yard field goal attempt going wide left to keep it a 14-0 game.

Tampa Bay’s next offensive possession also ended in disaster, with what looked like a Cade Otton catch bizarrely getting overturned and called an Arthur Maulet interception. But once again, the Buccaneer offense stood tall in response. First, Tykee Smith got to Goff for a sack, then Jamel Dean picked off a Goff pass, getting his career-high third interception of the season.

And for the first time, the Bucs got some momentum on their side offensively as there was just enough time for Mayfield to find Shepard and Tez Johnson on back-to-back passes. That set up a 53-yard Chase McLaughlin field goal to end the half, getting Tampa Bay within 14-3.

Out of the break, the Bucs offense finally looked like the real Bucs offense. Mayfield found Emeka Egbuka for 18 yards and Tez Johnson for 12 before a fourth-down conversion by Rachaad White kept the drive going. Mayfield then found Johnson again on a screen, and the rookie followed some great blocking in for a 22-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion try failed, but Tampa Bay still got within 14-9 with a six-minute drive out of halftime.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

For all the good Tampa Bay’s defense did to keep the team in the game, though, it essentially undid it on the first Detroit possession of the second half. Jahmyr Gibbs continued to eat the Bucs alive both as a runner and a pass-catcher, with a 15-yard run preceding a 28-yard catch and run. That set up a 5-yard touchdown run and with the PAT, the Lions were back up by two scores at 21-9.

The two defenses traded stops from there until the Lions benefitted from another laughable sequence from the officiating crew. On a fourth down in Bucs territory, Cade Otton was initially ruled to have reached the line to gain for a first down. But Dan Campbell challenged the catch and initially lost it, only for the officials to come back and say that “after a second look,” the runner was short of the marker… despite that not being what was even challenged in the first place.

That set up a four-play, zero-yard drive that resulted in a 58-yard Jake Bates field goal, which extended the Lions’ lead to 24-9 with 10:18 to go.

Tampa Bay’s offense then went to work down 15 and eventually worked its way into the red zone, but killed far too much time in the process. And by the time Mayfield misfired on a do-or-die 4th & 8, the game was all but over with just over four minutes left.

There wasn’t much left in the game from there, with the Lions going on to close out their 24-9 win over the Bucs.

Baker Mayfield was off all night, putting together his worst game of the season. He finished 28-of-50 for 228 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Despite facing a depleted secondary, the offense simply couldn’t push the ball down the field, nor could it run the ball against Detroit’s tough front seven. Rachaad White only ran 10 times and got 38 yards, while Sean Tucker had just one attempt for four yards.

Cade Otton was Tampa Bay’s leading receiver with seven catches on nine targets for 65 yards. Emeka Egbuka had just four catches on 12 targets for 58 yards, while Tez Johnson brought in four of his nine targets for 58 yards.

Considering the Lions came in averaging 31.8 points per game and 43 points per game at home, the Bucs defense did a solid job on the night in holding them to 24 points and a 3-of-13 mark on third downs. When you add in the context of Tampa Bay’s offense continuing to leave the defense out to dry time and again, it was a pretty heroic effort by the defense to make it a game at all. Outside of the 78-yard touchdown run by Jahmyr Gibbs, the Detroit offense wasn’t overly deadly.

Tykee Smith, SirVocea Dennis, Yaya Diaby and Anthony Nelson all tallied sacks, while Diaby had the forced fumble with his sack that was recovered by Elijah Roberts. Jamel Dean also added a career-high third interception only seven weeks into the season.

The Bucs (5-2) will now head to New Orleans to take on the Saints (1-6) on Sunday. Kickoff is set for 4:05 p.m.