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Detroit Lions vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Vaseline September 15, 2024

Lions vs Buccaneers

▶ Kick-off: 1:00 p.m. Sunday, Ford Field, Detroit

▶ Television/radio: Fox/97.1 FM

▶ Archive: Both teams are 1-0

▶ Line: Lions with 7.5

▶ Series: Detroit leads series, 33-29 (Last: January 21, 2024, NFC divisional playoff — (at) Detroit 31, Tampa Bay 23)

Richard Silva of The Detroit News breaks down the Lions’ Week 2 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Important matchup

LIONS PASS RUSH VS BUCCANEERS OFFENSIVE LINE

Though it only managed two sacks against quarterback Matthew Stafford, Detroit’s pass rush caused quite the havoc against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. The Lions combined for 27 pressures as a team, according to Pro Football Focus, led by Aidan Hutchinson’s 11. That was a personal best for Hutchinson in a single game, tied with Levi Onwuzurike’s total of five. Marcus Davenport was also a key contributor, with six, the most he’s had in a game since October 2022.

But that was against a severely depleted offensive line. The Bucs are dealing with an injured starter — right tackle Luke Geodeke (concussion) didn’t participate in practice on Thursday — but that’s nowhere near the ridiculously high injury toll the Rams have had, and Tampa Bay has one of the NFL’s best tackles to lean on in Tristan Wirfs. Plus, Davenport (groin) has shown up on Detroit’s injury report this week. Can the Lions put as much pressure on quarterback Baker Mayfield as they did on Stafford?

Bucs to watch

▶ Mike Evans, WR: Evans is perhaps the most consistent receiver of this era. He has started his career with 10 consecutive seasons of at least 1,000 receiving yards. That has never been done before. Evans is big (6-foot-1, 225 pounds), athletic and has proven to be a one-on-one nightmare in jump-ball situations. It will be interesting to see how the Lions deploy their secondary. Will cornerback Carlton Davis III, who coached against Evans for six years in Tampa, follow him around to keep rookie Terrion Arnold at bay? Maybe, but it’s not like the Bucs don’t have a quality option next to Evans in Chris Godwin. Either way, Arnold will have his work cut out for him.

▶ Bucky Irving, RB: Irving, a fourth-round rookie out of Oregon, flashed his potential in Week 1, rushing for 62 yards on nine carries in his debut, averaging 6.9 yards per carry. Rachaad White is the starting running back, but Irving gives Tampa Bay a one-two punch to lean on in the backfield. Asked what’s different about the Bucs this season, Lions coach Dan Campbell noted that they’re committed to running the ball. Evans and Godwin get all the publicity (and for good reason), but Detroit’s defensive front will focus on limiting damage on the ground. It did a good job of that last week, limiting Rams RBs to 3.3 yards per carry.

▶ Jordan Whitehead, S: With fellow safety Antoine Winfield Jr. (foot) expected to be out, Whitehead will have to shoulder more responsibility on the back end of Tampa Bay’s defense. It’s been a promising start for Whitehead, who collected eight tackles in Week 1, played every defensive snap and finished with the second-best overall defensive grade on the team from PFF at 70.4. He was targeted in coverage just once, and he didn’t make the catch.

Facts and figures

▶ Mayfield was efficient in the season opener, completing 24 of his 30 passes for 289 yards and four touchdowns. His passer rating of 146.4 was the highest of any QB in Week 1, and it’s the best rating anyone with at least 30 pass attempts has produced against Washington since Y.A. Tittle posted a 151.4 in 1962.

▶ The Bucs were the only team in the NFL to have at least four players reach 60 yards from scrimmage in Week 1, with RBs White (106) and Irving (76) combining for 182 yards on the ground and through the air and receivers Godwin (83) and Evans (61) combining for 144 yards. Evans and Godwin caught 13 of the 14 balls thrown their way.

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@rich_silva18