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    • Campbell and Goff get bad grades
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    Campbell and Goff get bad grades

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    Dave Birkett assesses the Detroit Lions’ performance after their 20-16 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday at Ford Field.

    Quarterback

    MORE FROM BIRKETT: Jared Goff must improve, Lions’ big mistakes cost them 20-16 loss to Buccaneers

    Jared Goff’s day started off badly, when he intercepted a pass intended for Jameson Williams that should have resulted in a pass interference penalty. He didn’t do himself any favors with his performance the rest of the day, though. Yes, Goff threw for 307 yards, but he threw a bad interception with the Lions in field-goal range in the fourth quarter and was lucky to avoid two more interceptions. Several of Goff’s mistakes came when he was applying pressure up the middle, including a wobbler on a throw he made that Jordan Whitehead nearly intercepted. Goff threw a couple of dimes late in the game, including one to Amon-Ra St. Brown for a third-and-9 conversion with just over two minutes left in the game, but he’s going to have to get better if this offense is going to climb out of the slump it’s been in for the past two weeks. Grade: C-minus

    Backrunners

    David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs started Sunday’s game together and again split the workload. Montgomery (11 carries, 35 yards) scored the Lions’ lone touchdown on a 1-yard run, while Gibbs (13 carries, 84 yards) looked electric at times with the ball in his hands. Gibbs showed his strength when he broke two tackles on a 16-yard run in the third quarter, and Montgomery took a page out of Gibbs’ book with some slick open-field moves on a 15-yard catch in the fourth. Gibbs did allow a squeeze up the middle on Goff’s second interception, but the duo combined for 119 yards rushing and 11 catches against one of the league’s best run defenses. Grade: A-minus

    Receivers/tight ends

    St. Brown caught 11 passes for 119 yards, giving him 31 catches in his three games against the Bucs in the past 11 months. His biggest play, however, may have been the interception he broke up for the second straight week with a huge play. Williams’ speed is a key weapon on offense, and he’s quickly become a crowd favorite. He had a 50-yard catch on the Lions’ second offensive play. Williams missed a block when Gibbs was thrown for a short loss just before the 2-minute warning, but he, Brock Wright and Graham Glasgow made key blocks on Gibbs’ fourth-down pickup on the same drive. Sam LaPorta (two catches, 13 yards) had another quiet day, but made the key block when Goff converted a third-and-2 with a play-action quarterback keeper. The Lions didn’t have many yards after the catch as a receiving group, but Tim Patrick used his size to get by defenders on both catches. Grade: B-minus

    Offensive line

    WHAT A DAY IN THE CENTER: Tigers won, Lions didn’t, but Detroit fans were real winners of Sunday’s double header

    The Lions averaged 5.1 yards per carry against a good Tampa defense and didn’t allow a sack all day, but I didn’t think the unit was as sharp in pass protection as it was last week. Taylor Decker allowed pressure on one of Goff’s near picks, and Frank Ragnow and Kevin Zeitler appeared to have a miscommunication up front on Goff’s second INT. Ragnow, Zeitler and Penei Sewell created the rush up front on Montgomery’s 1-yard touchdown run, and Sewell, Zeitler and LaPorta had key blocks on another Montgomery first down pickup. Ragnow was flagged for holding the play for Goff’s interception. Grade: B

    Line of defense

    Aidan Hutchinson had a monster day against reserve right tackle Justin Skule. Hutchinson had drive-stalling sacks on each of Tampa’s first two possessions, spinning inside on a fumble with Alim McNeill for his first and driving through Skule to hit Baker Mayfield two plays after Goff’s first interception. Hutchinson finished with 4.5 sacks — he split a sack with Levi Onwuzurike — and he wasn’t the only defensive lineman who rushed effectively. Hutchinson, McNeill and DJ Reader nearly combined for a sack midway through the fourth quarter, when Mayfield shoved the ball to his tight end for a loss of 4 yards just before hitting the ground, and McNeill had a rush in the third quarter that led to a tackle-for-loss by Jack Campbell on the play before Hutchinson’s fourth sack. The Lions didn’t get much out of their second defensive end position with Marcus Davenport sidelined, but Reader got some nice runs in on a day when Tampa managed just 70 yards. Grade: A-minus

    Linebackers

    Derrick Barnes had five tackles and made two big plays in pass coverage. He forced Mayfield to eat the ball on Hutchinson’s first sack, when he fell into a passing lane on the goal line and leaped to block a quick slant late in the game that could have secured the Bucs’ victory without giving the Lions one final chance to win. Alex Anzalone (four tackles) left the game with a brain injury in the second half, so Campbell (six tackles, two TFL) saw a tick in playing time, though he still split snaps with Malcolm Rodriguez for the second straight week. Rodriguez caught Mayfield off guard when he had a chance for an open-field tackle, but then couldn’t make a block on the next play on what turned out to be the game-winning 11-yard touchdown run. Grade: B

    Defensive backs

    Rookie cornerback Terrion Arnold was assessed two costly penalties for the second straight week. Arnold was assessed a pass interference penalty when he got too handsy on a deep ball on Tampa’s opening possession, and he was assessed a facemask penalty on the Bucs’ final touchdown drive. The Lions managed to take Mike Evans out of the game (three catches, 42 yards), but they had a miscommunication of sorts on Chris Godwin’s 41-yard touchdown catch when Amik Robertson read the play as a bubble screen and Godwin crept up the sideline with Arnold and Campbell in pursuit. Brian Branch had a strong game (six tackles, two PBUs and an interception), and Carlton Davis III made a first-down-saving tackle on Godwin on a bubble screen to force a field goal on Tampa’s second drive. Grade: B-minus

    Special teams

    The Lions proved once again that they’re not afraid to fake a punt in any situation, converting a 17-yard Jack Fox pass to Sione Vaki from their own 20-yard line. Fox also had a nice punt to pin Tampa at the 9-yard line early in the fourth quarter, when Dan Campbell connected on a 59-yard field goal attempt. Jake Bates made all three of his field goals from 22, 35 and 32 yards, and Kalif Raymond’s 9-yard punt return in the fourth quarter put the Lions in plus territory on their final possession. The Lions left points on the board at the end of the half, but Campbell said he took some of the blame for that foolishness, so that’s not reflected in this review. Grade: A-minus

    MORE ABOUT THE FAILURE: Dan Campbell Takes Blame for Detroit Lions-Bucs Mistake: ‘Completely Ruined My Team’

    Accompaniment

    Campbell said he made the mistake of sending up the field goal team when Goff attempted to drive the ball on the final play of the second quarter, which led to a 10-yard penalty that included a run-off and the end of the half. Campbell didn’t shed much light on the mechanics of how the mistake happened in his postgame press conference, but it was an inexcusable error. I would have liked to have seen the Lions throw at least one pass into the end zone with a four-point deficit late in the game. Goff said they were trying to gain yards by making their throws to the goal line more high-percentage plays, but they ran four plays from inside the Tampa 20 on their next-to-last possession and scored 2 yards. Ben Johnson did have some creative play designs, including a 15-yard end-around to Williams loaded with eye candy. I thought Campbell was wise to punt instead of attempting the 59-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter given the way Aaron Glenn’s defense has played the last two weeks. Grade: D

    Dave Birkett is the author of the new book “Detroit Lions: An Illustrated Timeline.” Pre-order now from Reedy Press.

    Contact him via [email protected]Follow him on X and Instagram via @davebirkett.

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