A new Pewter Report Roundtable debuts every Tuesday during the Bucs’ regular season. Each week, the Pewter Reporters tackle another tough question. This week’s prompt: Which Lions player must the Bucs tame on Sunday?

Scott Reynolds: Lions Offense Starts With Jared Goff

There’s no doubt that the Lions like to run the ball. Head coach Dan Campbell loves physicality and has created a very tough team that starts in the trenches with good run blocking up front from three former first-round picks. But what makes Detroit’s really offense dangerous is the play of quarterback Jared Goff and the deadly use of play-action.

Bucs co-defensive coordinator Larry Foote said that Goff is right up there with the legendary Tom Brady and Peyton Manning in terms of using play-action fakes so effectively. In his second season with the Lions, Goff had the best TD:INT ratio of his career with 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions in 2022.

Lions QB Jared Goff – Photo by: USA Today

This year, Goff is off to an even hotter start with nine TDs and three picks while completing a career-high 69.8% of his passes. The former No. 1 overall pick of the Rams in 2016 is coming off a four-TD performance in a 42-24 win over the Panthers in which he tossed three scores and ran for a touchdown, while completing 71.4% of his throws.

The Lions have put some capable weapons in the passing game around him in wide receivers Josh Reynolds, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams, who will return to action against the Bucs on Sunday, as well as rookie tight end Sam LaPorta, who likes like a future Pro Bowler. Goff does a great job of not locking on to one target and will throw to the open receiver.

Goff has been a thorn in the Bucs’ side before, completing 45-of-68 passes for 517 yards and three TDs with the Rams in a 55-40 Tampa Bay win in Los Angeles. The next year, Goff got revenge as the Rams beat the Bucs in Tampa, 27-24, with the QB completing 39-of-51 passes for 376 yards with three TDs. The Bucs’ goal will be to stop the run and make Goff beat them with his arm. But as he’s proven in the past, he’s quite capable of lighting up Todd Bowles’ secondary. Pressuring Goff and forcing him to turn the ball over will be critical to Tampa Bay’s chances of beating Detroit.

Matt Matera: Bucs Must Stop Aidan Hutchinson From Taking Over

He’s only in his second NFL season but Aidan Hutchinson is quickly showing that he can be a game-wrecking pass rusher in this league. It is a necessity that the Bucs keep him under wraps during Sunday’s matchup. Hutchinson has been on quite a run recently with 4.5 sacks, a forced fumble and an interception over the last three games. His 34 pressures are the most in the NFL.

We’re not even at the halfway point of the season and it looks like Hutchinson will blow the 9.5 sack total he had last year right out of the water. He does a little bit of everything, which is shown by his three interceptions last season and grabbing another pick last week against the Panthers.

Bucs RT Luke Goedeke – photo by Cliff Welch P/R

An important key to the Bucs finding early success to a 3-1 start has been the offensive line’s ability to protect Baker Mayfield. Through four games they’ve only allowed four sacks. The most times that Mayfield has been sacked in a game is twice, so Tampa Bay is keeping him clean.

With Mayfield being upright, that’s helped the Bucs win the turnover battle in three out of their four games. To the surprise of no one, the Bucs are undefeated when they’ve won the turnover differential. Shutting down Hutchinson avoids the risk of a strip-sack or a rushed throw. The Lions can score a ton of points, so the Bucs can’t be giving them more opportunities.

In a perfect world, the Bucs would love for Hutchinson to line up against left tackle Tristan Wirfs and fight fire with fire. Unfortunately, Hutchinson is usually on the left side, meaning he’ll face off against right tackle Luke Goedeke. Also, it would be silly for Detroit to deploy Hutchinson with Tampa Bay’s best tackle in Wirfs, who’s arguably the best tackle in the league.

To Goedeke’s credit, he stonewalled Cam Jordan last game and came through looking fantastic. But this is an entirely different challenge facing Hutchinson. This will be Goedeke’s toughest test of the season, but if he holds his own it can go a long way for the Bucs finding success.

Bailey Adams: Bucs Need To Cover Once-Coveted Tight End

The Bucs’ brass was high on Iowa tight end Sam LaPorta in the pre-draft process (he was one of Pewter Report’s Bucs Best Bets), but Detroit grabbed him early in the second round. And while rookie tight ends can take time to develop, that hasn’t been the case with LaPorta. It’s safe to say the rookie is already a major player in the Detroit offense. And it’s why he’s the Lion that Tampa Bay will need to tame come Sunday.

Lions TE Sam LaPorta – Photo by: USA Today

Through four games, the 22-year-old ranks second on the Lions in receptions (25) and targets (31), plus he’s third in receiving yards (289) and fourth in yards per catch (11.6). Amon-Ra St. Brown and Josh Reynolds lead with 16 first downs each, but LaPorta is right behind with 14. His three touchdowns also tie him for the team lead.

LaPorta’s 4.59 speed helps him get separation and makes a big difference when it comes to yards after catch. The Bucs will have to limit him on Sunday and keep him from moving the chains and factoring in in the red zone.

While he is seeing most of his snaps in-line, LaPorta will see some time out wide and in the slot, too. He has double-digit snaps out wide in three out of five games this season, and he has two games of double-digit snaps in the slot (and nearly had a third in Week 5).

Tampa Bay has done a decent job with tight ends this season. The volume was there for TJ Hockenson in Week 1, but his eight catches went for just 35 yards (4.4 avg.) with a long of 14 yards. Cole Kmet’s 9.5 yards per catch in Week 2 was slightly better, but his longest catch was only 11 yards. Dallas Goedert had a modest output in Week 3, averaging 8.2 yards per catch on five receptions, while Saints tight ends did essentially nothing in Week 4.

If the Bucs can handle LaPorta in a similar way, they’ll be happy. Doing so may give them a chance to pull off a home upset.

Josh Queipo: Bucs Must Get Pressure From The Edge And Beat Penei Sewell

Most games are won and lost in the trenches. If the Bucs hope to beat the Lions, they will need for their defensive front to win against an excellent Lions offensive line. The Lions boast three first-round picks who have all panned out in left tackle Taylor Decker, right tackle Penei Sewell and center Frank Ragnow. Shaq Barrett and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka continue to rotate through both the right and left side, so both should see time against Sewell.

Bucs OLB Joe Tryon-Shoyinka – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

They will need to team up to beat Sewell and create pressure on Lions quarterback Jared Goff. Goff is enjoying a career renaissance in part because he has not had to work under pressure much this year. He has only been under pressure on one-third of his drop backs, which is one of the better marks in the NFL.

Sewell, in his third season, is already one of the best tackles in football. His 84.2 pass block grade is third-highest among tackles this season according to Pro Football Focus. Barrett and Tryon-Shoyinka have been solid as pass rushers this year, but neither has fully taken over a game yet. They will need to against Sewell in order to create negative plays to get the Lions’ offense off track.

If Sewell and the rest of the offensive line are able to win against the Bucs’ defensive line, forcing head coach Todd Bowles to send blitzers out of necessity rather than as a creative layering of the defense, Goff and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson will most likely be able to dial up creative plays that work the ball downfield for scores that will put pressure on the Bucs offense to keep up.

Adam Slivon: Josh Reynolds Is Jared Goff’s Secret Weapon

Should wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown miss another game due to an abdominal injury, one Lion the Bucs will need to tame is someone who has been Detroit’s most successful receiver besides St. Brown this season – Josh Reynolds.

Lions WR Josh Reynolds and QB Jared Goff – Photo by: USA Today

Reynolds led the team in receptions and yards during the Lions’ 42-24 win over the Panthers along with scoring a touchdown. On the season, he has 16 receptions for 291 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 18.2 yards per catch. Per Pro Football Focus, Reynolds’ 83 offensive grade ranks 12th out of 110 wide receivers and half a point higher than St. Brown, who places 13th. 

With second-year speedster Jameson Williams still working his way back into offensive coordinator Ben Johnson’s gameplan, it will be Reynolds who is the primary beneficiary of some deep shots and added targets. The Lions have had a potent offense this year led by quarterback Jared Goff, who instead of once looking like a bridge quarterback has solidified himself as their long-term answer.

Reynolds and Goff have a longstanding rapport, dating back to their four seasons together with the Rams.

After the Panthers game, Josh Reynolds talked about the trust he and Jared Goff have in each other and how it has translated into production.

“Just making plays, baby,” Reynolds said. “That’s the rapport we’ve had for a long time. It’s awesome to be able to get to clicking on it for real, and we’re just going to keep it rolling.” Reynolds added that, “I think I’m a good safety cushion for him. I’m just hoping to keep making plays for him so he keeps throwing me the ball.”

He may not be the first name you think of on a Lions’ offense with plenty of weapons, but it is evident that Josh Reynolds is a Lion that sneaks up on his prey and can put up a big day. The only thing standing in his way is a Bucs’ secondary that is still working back to full health.