For the fourth straight year, the Bucs have started the season 1-0 with a Week 1 victory. This time around, it came in a resounding 37-20 win over the Commanders at home. Now, Tampa Bay will look to do what it managed the last three years and follow up its Week 1 win with another victory in Week 2.

It’ll be a tall task for Todd Bowles and the Bucs, as they have to head up to Detroit, where their 2023 season ended in the NFC Divisional Round last January. The Lions knocked them out of the playoffs, which also completed a sweep for the season as they also won when they visited Raymond James Stadium in Week 6.

So, the Bucs will be looking to exact a bit of revenge over a team that proved to have their number twice last year. Making matters more difficult is the fact that Bowles’ defense is already badly banged up at this early stage of the season. It played without defensive linemen Calijah Kancey and Logan Hall in Week 1, then it lost Zyon McCollum (concussion), Josh Hayes (ankle) and Bryce Hall (fibula/ankle) over the course of the game. Bryce Hall’s injury is obviously the most serious, but it remains to be seen whether the two defensive linemen or the other cornerbacks will be available in Detroit.

The bad news didn’t end there, though, as All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr. injured his ankle/foot late in the game and will miss at least a few weeks.

The Last Time…

Bucs DT Calijah Kancey and Lions QB Jared Goff – Photo by: USA Today

As mentioned above, these two teams last met eight months ago in the NFC Divisional Round. The Lions ended the Bucs’ season that day with a 31-23 victory in front of a raucous crowd at Ford Field. It was an evenly matched game over the first three quarters, with a Baker Mayfield-to-Rachaad White touchdown late in the third quarter sending the game to the fourth with the score tied at 17-17.

It was the home team that won the fourth quarter, scoring two straight touchdowns — one from Jahmyr Gibbs and the second from Amon-Ra St. Brown — to go up 31-17. Tampa Bay got within 31-23 on a touchdown catch by Mike Evans, but a Mayfield interception on the final drive sealed the deal and sent the Bucs into the offseason as the Lions went on to the NFC Championship Game.

The two interceptions hurt, but Mayfield otherwise put up some good numbers in that playoff loss. He completed 26 of his 41 attempts for 349 yards and three touchdowns, with Mike Evans going off to the tune of eight catches for 147 yards and a touchdown. But Todd Bowles still couldn’t solve Jared Goff, who finished 30-of-43 for 287 yards and two touchdowns.

The Lions have a 32-28 edge in the all-time series between the former NFC Central rivals, with the two sides splitting their two postseason meetings.

How The Bucs And Lions Are Trending

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield and OC Liam Coen – Photo by: USA Today

The Bucs couldn’t have gotten out to a much better start than they did in Week 1, save for the injuries they suffered on defense. The story of their 37-20 win over the Commanders was the offense, which not only scored 37 points but managed to score on every one of their drives outside of two — with one being the end of the game when they kneeled out the victory.

It was an outstanding debut for new offensive coordinator Liam Coen. In the passing game, Baker Mayfield threw for four touchdowns and didn’t turn the ball over, Mike Evans hauled in two touchdowns, Chris Godwin led the way for the receivers and racked up seven first downs in addition to scoring a touchdown and rookie Jalen McMillan’s first career catch went for a 32-yard touchdown. Rachaad White played a big part in the pass game as well, while rookie Bucky Irving got going on the ground later in the second half.

Defensively, Todd Bowles’ group withstood the injuries it suffered to the secondary and held rookie quarterback Jayden Daniel in check — at least through the air. Daniels still did damage with his legs, but even still, Washington’s offense never really found a rhythm and only had 14 points up until the 1:12 mark in the fourth quarter.

After this Week 2 matchup with the Lions, the Bucs will return to Raymond James Stadium for back-to-back home games in Week 3 and Week 4, hosting the Broncos and Eagles.

Lions QB Jared Goff – Photo by: USA Today

On the home side, the Lions opened their 2024 season in thrilling fashion. After blowing a 17-3 lead at home against the Rams and falling behind 20-17 with 4:30 left in the fourth quarter, Jared Goff led Detroit down the field to tie the game up and send it to overtime. Once they won the coin toss in overtime, the Lions pummeled the Rams into submission. They threw the ball just once on their game-winning eight-play, 70-yard drive as David Montgomery took over and ran all over the Los Angeles defense.

It was a good start for Dan Campbell’s team, which is looking to retain its spot near the top of the NFC in 2024. Detroit won the NFC North a year ago and fell just short of the Super Bowl, losing to the 49ers in the NFC Championship game after beating Tampa Bay the previous week. The Lions are the favorites in their division again this year, and there’s little reason to doubt their ability to make another run in the postseason this year.

Following this Sunday’s game, the Lions will hit the road for the first time in Week 3, traveling west to face the Cardinals.

Here’s how the Bucs and Lions stack up heading into Week 2:

Bucs Offense: 2nd in scoring offense (37.0 PPG), 7th in total offense (392.0 yards per game), 4th in passing offense (280.0 yards per game), 17th in rushing offense (112.0 yards per game)

Lions Offense: T-13th in scoring offense (26.0 PPG), 10th in total offense (363.0 yards per game), 13th in passing offense (200.0 yards per game), T-7th in rushing offense (163.0 yards per game)

Bucs Defense: T-12th in scoring defense (20.0 points allowed per game), 16th in total defense (299.0 yards allowed per game), 14th in passing defense (161.0 yards allowed per game), 21st in rushing defense (138.0 yards allowed per game)

Lions Defense: T-12th in scoring defense (20.0 points allowed per game), 25th in total defense (387.0 yards allowed per game), 31st in passing defense (304.0 yards allowed per game), 8th in rushing defense (83.0 yards allowed per game)

The Lions are currently 7-point home favorites over the Bucs, with the Over/Under set at 52 (per MyBookie.ag).

What Might Decide This Bucs-Lions Matchup?

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield and WRs Mike Evans and Jalen McMillan – Photo by: USA Today

For the Bucs offense, Sunday will be all about maintaining the consistency it had in Week 1 while doing what it can to avoid turnovers once again. Tampa Bay will need Baker Mayfield to be at his best again, and it’ll need Jalen McMillan, Trey Palmer and/or Cade Otton to step up and add another layer to a passing attack that features three big threats in Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Rachaad White. Turning some of those field goal drives into touchdowns wouldn’t hurt either, especially given the state of the Buccaneer defense heading into this contest.

Speaking of that banged-up defense, getting any of their injured starters back would obviously be huge. Their statuses are up in the air, but if the likes of Calijah Kancey and Zyon McCollum can suit up — and be effective — it would take some of the stress off the reserves. But whether they get those two back or not, how well Tampa Bay copes (survives?) its injuries will determine whether the team has a chance in this one.

No matter who is on the field for Todd Bowles‘ defense, a lot of this game’s outcome will also ride on the answer to one question: Will Bowles be able to figure out Jared Goff? Even dating back to his time with the Rams, Goff has been a kryptonite of sorts against Bowles, who is widely known throughout the league as a defensive mastermind. The veteran quarterback was extremely effective against Tampa Bay in the two meetings last year, completing 69% of his passes for 640 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. The Bucs can’t let him maintain that level of efficiency if they want to come out of Detroit with a win on Sunday.

Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs Photo by: USA Today

As good as Goff has been against Tampa Bay, Detroit’s run game can make life even easier for him if it can be as effective as it was in Week 1. The Lions ran for 163 yards against the Rams, with David Montgomery leading the way (thanks in large part to his overtime dominance). Montgomery ran for 91 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries (5.4 avg.), while Jahmyr Gibbs ran for 40 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries (3.6 avg.). Wide receivers Jameson Williams and Kalif Raymond also got a carry each, taking getting 13 and 12 yards, respectively.

Run game aside, the Lions will certainly look to exploit the absence of Antoine Winfield Jr. and any other members of the Bucs secondary who can’t suit up due to injury. If Zyon McCollum and Josh Hayes aren’t able to play, it’ll leave rookie Tyrek Funderburk, the recently re-signed Keenan Isaac, and emergency cornerback Christian Izien in a tough spot. Detroit will surely want to get wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (1,515 yards, 10 touchdowns in 2023) and tight end Sam LaPorta (889 yards, 10 touchdowns in 2023) more involved than they were in Week 1.

With the state that the Buccaneer defense is in, the team’s offense may need to take it to Detroit’s defense and win a shootout on Sunday afternoon. The Lions’ best chance at stopping that is to contain Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. They haven’t been able to stop Evans in recent meetings, and Godwin is coming off an outstanding 2024 debut last week. How well will the secondary hold up for Aaron Glenn‘s defense that features rookie Terrion Arnold and former Buc Carlton Davis III, as well as second-year stud Brian Branch?

Key Players To Watch

Bucs WR Mike Evans – Photo by: USA Today

Mike Evans has been a menace in recent matchups with Detroit. In his last three games against the Lions, he has averaged 125.7 yards per game, with 22 catches for 377 yards (17.1 avg.) and three touchdowns. He’ll look to build off that success, as well as the big two-touchdown game he had in the Week 1 win over the Commanders. His chemistry with Baker Mayfield is off the charts, and another big-time game for the two of them on Sunday could help the Bucs offset some of the losses they’re facing on defense.

If there’s one man who deserved a sack against Washington who couldn’t quite manage one, it was Yaya Diaby. The second-year outside linebacker returned from the injury that cost him the preseason and won pretty consistently, just barely missing quarterback Jayden Daniels on two different occasions. If he can pressure Jared Goff with some regularity — even in the face of a tough matchup — it will ease some of the pressure the secondary is facing.

As much as David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs were key in Sunday’s win over the Rams, wide receiver Jameson Williams‘ big night might’ve been the biggest factor for the Lions offense. He caught five passes for 121 yard (24.2 avg.) and a touchdown — which was a 52-yarder from Goff. He also ran once for 13 yards, and Detroit is likely to get the ball in his hands in the run game this week too. Williams has really come into his own over the last year or so, and his continued growth will set Detroit up well given it has Amon-Ra St. Brown leading the way at receiver already.

Bucs RG Cody Mauch RT Luke Goedeke and Lions DE Aidan Hutchinson – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

There are plenty of playmakers to worry about on the Detroit defense, but a big focus needs to be on defensive end Aidan Hutchinson. He unsurprisingly had a sack in Sunday night’s win over the Rams, and that sack went along with four quarterback hits and six hurries for an insane 95.7 PFF pass rush grade. He’s a problem off the edge, and Tampa Bay knows that. He had a sack and five hurries in the playoff win over the Bucs back in January, and he’ll need to be held in check this time around if Baker Mayfield is going to operate at the same high level he did in the season opener.

Bucs at Lions Game Information

When: Sunday, September 15
Where: Ford Field (Detroit, MI)
Kickoff: 1:00 p.m. ET
TV: FOX – Kevin Kugler (Play by Play), Daryl Johnston (Analyst), Laura Okmin (Reporter)
Bucs Radio: 98Rock – Gene Deckerhoff (Play by Play), Dave Moore (Color), T.J. Rives (Reporter)
Spanish Radio: 96.1 Caliente – Carlos Bohorquez (Play by Play), Martín Gramática (Analyst)

Pewter Pulse: Revenge Game vs. Lions Lurking For Bucs In Week 2

The #Bucs have a big-time rematch against the #Lions in Detroit in Week 2 and Tampa Bay is out for revenge. With both teams 1-0, Scott Reynolds previewed the game in a recent Pewter Pulse. https://t.co/BbJTeKPEvG

— PewterReport 🏴‍☠️ (@PewterReport) September 10, 2024