It did not go as expected for the Bucs on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium, as they fell to the Lions 20-6. It was a culmination of the offense failing to get into a rhythm and put together a touchdown drive, and for the defense, it was a case of giving up too many big plays.

Here is the full breakdown of what was most disappointing in Tampa Bay’s defeat that dropped the team to 3-2.

Mike Evans

After being praised by LeBron James before the game, Evans did not ball out as expected. In the first half, he was held without a catch on three targets. One of them was a dropped pass that would have given the Bucs a key first down.

In the second half, Evans was on his way to righting the ship after he made his first catch for 18 yards, but it was not to be. Later on the same drive, he was called for offensive pass interference in the end zone. That pushed the offense back 10 yards and forced the Bucs to settle for a field goal after starting their drive with much promise. He had a mostly quiet performance as he was held to just four catches for 49 yards.

It was not the veteran wideout’s best day.

Bucs’ Secondary

Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown – Photo by: USA Today

It was smooth sailing for Jared Goff, who was able to distribute the ball to his receivers all day, especially Amon-Ra St. Brown. Late in the second quarter, St. Brown caught a short pass up the middle and was able to turn it into a 27-yard touchdown reception. There were a lot of Tampa Bay defenders in pursuit, but no one was able to bring down St. Brown as he out-maneuvered the secondary.

As a whole, the group let Detroit’s receivers find open space regularly and gain yards in bunches. Their collective tackling effort on the day was disappointing, as they failed to bring down the Lions and were often left chasing them down. Six different Lions players had receptions of 19 yards or greater, which let them keep momentum throughout the game.

Bucs’ Run Game

Another game, another disappointing showing for the stable of Bucs’ running backs. They have been a continuous weekly entry and the run game failed to get much going again. Rachaad White had just seven carries for 26 yards, missing much of the game after hobbling off the field after a catch-and-run in the first half. Meanwhile, Ke’Shawn Vaughn averaged just 1.5 yards a carry on six carries and was completely ineffective.

While the offense is running a different run scheme under Dave Canales from the one they had with Byron Leftwich, the results have been eerily similar so far this season. It was surely not the “statement game” Canales was hoping for.

Baker Mayfield

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

It was not an impressive showing for the Bucs’ quarterback rocking the creamsicle jersey. Early in the game, Mayfield had Mike Evans open on an RPO concept play and – under duress – threw an errant pass that was deflected and intercepted by Will Harris. 

With less than two minutes in the half, he had a wide-open Trey Palmer downfield for a would-be touchdown and overthrew him. It was largely a case of what could have been for Mayfield and the rest of the offense against the Lions.

After being largely efficient through four games, he completed just 51.4% of his passes and did not look accurate. All the blame should not be placed on Mayfield, as he had little run game to support him, but for the first time as the Bucs’ starter, he did not impress.

Outside Linebacking Group

Lavonte David and Calijah Kancey had the only true takedowns of Jared Goff, as Joe Tryon-Shoyinka was credited with the other sack after he forced Goff to scramble out of bounds. Tryon-Shoyinka and the rest of the outside linebackers failed to get much pressure at all, with YaYa Diaby and Cam Gill failing to have much of an impact with more snaps.

Shaq Barrett played despite battling an illness, but he failed to enter the sack department either, leaving Goff to have plenty of time to air it out and throw for 353 yards.

Ryan Neal

In the third quarter, Detroit wide receiver Jameson Williams beat Ryan Neal for a 45-yard touchdown. Neal was in a position to bat down the ball on what was a 3rd-and-10, but he never got his head around. While he did have his arm in on the play, it wasn’t enough and he surely could’ve done better on what was an underthrown ball by Jared Goff. Williams adjusted and he didn’t, marking what was the lowest moment of another unimpressive game for the new addition to the safety room.