The Bucs have gotten used to playing in marquee games week in and week out as of late, having met the Eagles in Week 4, the Seahawks in Week 5 and the 49ers in Week 6. The schedule doesn’t slow down for them in Week 7, as they’ll head to Detroit for a Monday Night Football matchup with the Lions. Tampa Bay comes in leading the NFC at 5-1, but Detroit is among the pack of teams right behind Todd Bowles and Co., coming in at 4-2.

The Bucs could be getting some key players back from injury in this game, with Mike Evans on track to return and play for the first time since Week 3, while cornerbacks Zyon McCollum and Benjamin Morrison could be in line to come back as well. Meanwhile, the Lions are without several key players in their secondary, with D.J. Reed and Khalil Dorsey on injured reserve, Terrion Arnold out and Brian Branch suspended for a game after sparking an end-of-game brawl against the Chiefs last Sunday.

Detroit will be looking to bounce back from a loss to Kansas City that ended a four-game winning streak, while Tampa Bay will be looking for its second three-game winning streak of the season, one that would set the team up at 6-1 ahead of a trip to New Orleans next weekend.

Let’s dive into what might decide this matchup, as well as some key players to watch in this primetime NFC matchup between two teams that have gotten plenty familiar with each other in recent years:

What Might Decide This Bucs-Lions Matchup?

For the Bucs offense, this game will come down to Baker Mayfield continuing to play mistake-free football and the offensive line, which still features two reserves on the right side, managing to keep Tampa Bay’s quarterback upright. Mayfield has done a great job of taking care of the football this season, having thrown just one interception over the first six games.

He has been sacked 10 times over six games, but he has escaped several more, including one on a key 3rd & 14 last week that resulted in a 15-yard run for a first down. He may need another Houdini act or two against a strong Lions pass rush that has 19 sacks in six games this season.

The big worry for the Bucs has to be with that right side of the line. The right guard position is in flux, with Cody Mauch out for the season and his replacement as of late, Luke Haggard, out with a shoulder injury. Mike Jordan, who was elevated from the practice squad to step in at left guard earlier this season, has been dealing with a knee injury and could be back this week to replace Haggard at right guard. If not, Elijah Klein or Dan Feeney could be in play for the spot between center Graham Barton and right tackle Charlie Heck.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield and former RT Justin Skule and Lions DE Aidan Hutchison – Photo by: USA Today

Speaking of Heck, he may be the biggest concern on Monday night. That’s not even a knock on him, especially considering he played a pretty solid game against the 49ers in Week 6. It’s just that the Bucs have seen this story before, as they had to play without Luke Goedeke at right tackle against the Lions last year and Aidan Hutchinson took advantage of it, racking up 4.5 sacks. Three of those came against Justin Skule, who started in Goedeke’s place. Heck can’t let that kind of performance happen again from Detroit’s star pass rusher, who has bounced back nicely from a season-ending broken leg last year to record six sacks in six games this year.

The other path to victory for the Tampa Bay offense – and perhaps one that is likelier than fully shutting down Hutchinson and the Detroit pass rush – is to neutralize the Lions front seven with some quick passing game concepts. Getting the ball out quickly to Rachaad White and Cade Otton could be a good recipe for moving the ball on Monday night. Keeping the front on its heels with a well-established run game between White and Sean Tucker would help, too, and there should still be some room to possibly go max protect and try to get the likes of Mike Evans (assuming he plays), Tez Johnson and Sterling Shepard some favorable matchups against the Lions’ short-handed secondary.

The Bucs defense will need to do its part to keep this game from getting into shootout territory, as that’s where the Lions can thrive. They’ve won games 52-21, 38-30 and 37-24 at different points this season, and their offense is plenty capable of putting up points, especially at home. So, Tampa Bay needs to keep building on the takeaway run it has been on in the last two weeks. Tykee Smith recovered a fumble and Lavonte David recorded an interception in Seattle, then Kindle Vildor and Jamel Dean picked off passes last week. More of that could make the difference in this game.

Bucs CB Zyon McCollum – Photo by: USA Today

Another big difference-maker would be a repeat performance by the Buccaneer pass rush, which got to Mac Jones six times in last week’s 30-19 win over the 49ers. Yaya Diaby had a two-sack game and Vita Vea continued to dominate up front. More out of Haason Reddick and some of Todd Bowles‘ patented well-timed blitzes from the likes of Lavonte David, SirVocea Dennis, Antoine Winfield Jr. or possibly Jacob Parrish or Tykee Smith could force Jared Goff into a mistake or two.

Speaking of Goff, he has long had Bowles’ number. He faced the Bucs twice when he was with the Rams and Bowles was Tampa Bay’s defensive coordinator, and while the Bucs won the first matchup, it was a 55-40 shootout that still saw Goff throw for 517 yards and two scores. Bowles’ defense did get three interceptions and forced a fumble in that game, which laid a blueprint that was hard to follow up on in subsequent meetings.

In 2020, Goff and the Rams beat the Bucs 27-24, with Goff throwing for 376 yards and three touchdowns. He once again threw two interceptions, but he completed 76.5% of his passes in the win. After being traded to the Lions, Goff found more success against Bowles and the Bucs over two games in the 2023 season. In a win at Raymond James Stadium, he threw for 353 yards and two touchdowns to zero interceptions on 68.2% passing, then he completed 69.8% of his passes for 287 yards and two touchdowns when beating Tampa Bay in the playoffs.

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles and Lions QB Jared Goff – Photo by: USA Today

Bowles and his defense finally stopped a three-game losing streak to Goff when the two sides met last year, with Goff throwing two interceptions and zero touchdowns in a 20-16 loss. For his career, Goff has 1,840 yards and nine touchdowns to seven interceptions over five games against Tampa Bay. In his two losses to Bowles and Co., he has thrown a combined five interceptions. Now, if he can stay turnover-free and put together another masterfully efficient performance against this year’s Buccaneer defense on Monday night, he’ll put Detroit in position to win the game.

Goff is off to a phenomenal start, and it helps that he has a cast of Amon-Ra St. Brown, Sam LaPorta, Jameson Williams, Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery all playing at elite levels around him. St. Brown has been one of the NFL’s most productive receivers this season, while LaPorta has been a top-five tight end in the league.

Williams can take the top off the defense and will threaten to exploit any coverage breakdowns the Bucs have, and there’s the backfield duo of Gibbs and Montgomery that is among the league’s best. If Detroit’s stars play like stars on Monday, it’ll be tough for Tampa Bay to slow them down.

What might decide this game from a Lions defense standpoint is how well they can mask their injury-riddled secondary. Detroit’s defensive front is extremely productive and will have an impact on this game, especially given the uncertainty and lower level of play on the right side of the Tampa Bay offensive line. Hutchinson is the top threat, obviously, but the return of Alim McNeill could be huge, plus linebackers Jack Campbell, Derrick Barnes and Alex Anzalone are all playing extremely well thus far in 2025.

But will that be enough to cover for the absences of key defensive backs? D.J. Reed, Khalil Dorsey, Ennis Rakestraw Jr., Daniel Thomas and Dan Jackson are all on injured reserve, while Avonte Maddox, Kerby Joseph and Terrion Arnold are all question marks for the game. Oh, and Brian Branch‘s suspension will loom large. That’s like two Lions secondaries that are out this week. Can Detroit overcome that, or will Tampa Bay’s passing offense take advantage and keep hitting on big plays? That might be the deciding factor this week.

Key Players To Watch

Bucs RB Rachaad White – Photo by: USA Today

As big as it’ll be if the Bucs have Mike Evans back, Rachaad White could be an X-factor on Monday night. White has three touchdowns in the last two weeks and has filled in well for Bucky Irving. However, the run game could be more efficient and there’s still room for White to be a contributor as a pass-catcher. He only has 16 targets through six games, and while he’s caught 15 of them, they have only gone for 5.7 yards per catch. Getting him some quick passes in the screen game could neutralize the Detroit pass rush, and as an elite pass protector, he’ll also factor into this matchup in that department as well.

Yaya Diaby needs to be a factor again in Monday night’s game. Sacks, especially on third down, can and should be drive killers. And the way Diaby and the Buccaneer pass rush racked them up last week was a huge reason why Tampa Bay finally got over the hump against San Francisco. Diaby had two sacks and four total pressures in the game, and he now has a team-high three sacks. His 22 pressures are second-most on the team behind Haason Reddick‘s 25. Getting big games out of both edge rushers is the kind of thing that could make the Bucs hard to beat, even for the Lions in their home stadium.

Outside of Puka Nacua, Amon-Ra St. Brown has probably been the NFL’s top wide receiver this season. Tampa Bay’s Emeka Egbuka is up there, too, but Detroit’s WR1 is on another level right now. Before Ja’Marr Chase’s massive game on Thursday night, St. Brown’s 44 catches were tied for third in the NFL, and his 452 yards were sixth. His six touchdowns are tied for the league lead, too. The Bucs having Zyon McCollum, Jamel Dean and Benjamin Morrison all healthy and available will help, but even then, it may be a matter of limiting St. Brown rather than fully shutting him down.

Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown and Bucs CB Zyon McCollum – Photo by: USA Today

The key on the Lions defense is Aidan Hutchinson. Buccaneer fans (and the Buccaneers themselves) wouldn’t be blamed for still having that 4.5-sack game on their minds heading into Monday night, especially considering the fact that Luke Goedeke will be out again for this matchup. Charlie Heck has his work cut out for him, and when Detroit runs its games up front with Hutchinson, the fill-in right guard will have to be up to the task as well. Tampa Bay may deploy Cade Otton as an extra blocker in an effort to keep Hutchinson from adding two or three sacks to his season total, which is already at 6.0, good for fourth in the league.