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Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Detroit Lions Stock Report: 7 Gainers, 6 Fallers
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Detroit Lions Stock Report: 7 Gainers, 6 Fallers

The Detroit Lions won both games against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season, but third time was the charm for the Bucs. They held off the Lions’ attempt at late-game heroics and walked away with a 20-16 victory at Ford Field to tie the Lions at 1-1. Let’s take a look at your movers for the week:

Restocking: Aidan Hutchinson, EDGE

Statistics: 5 tackles, 4.5 sacks

If you were watching this game without any knowledge of either team, it would be hard for anyone to jump off the screen more than Hutchinson did. He had three sacks in the first ten minutes of the game and would finish the day with 4.5, including a forced fumble. Hutchinson made quick work of any tight end or running back who tried to chip him and slow down his pass rush, and gave Tampa Bay’s right tackle a long afternoon to boot.

We’ve been saying all offseason that Hutchinson is good, and the Lions need him to be great, and he was great on Sunday.

Stock Down: Terrion Arnold, DB

Statistics: 1 equipment

Nearly every time something bad happened to the Lions defense on Sunday, Arnold was there. He was targeted from the opening drive and was given a 41-yard pass interference penalty, which I thought was a poor call, but no matter.

The Bucs didn’t let it go after that, looking at Arnold a lot the whole game and the rookie corner making stupid mistakes, like a facemask penalty in the third quarter. Arnold is young and will undoubtedly make rookie mistakes, but the first returns weren’t pretty.

Restocking: Derrick Barnes, LB

Statistics: 5 tackles, 1 pass defense

After trying his hand at various positions on defense since last season, Derrick Barnes has finally found his home. He’s looked phenomenal in two weeks as the Lions’ defensive edge-setter, especially in the run game. Barnes shows a very high level of intellect by not snapping at play fakes and maintaining edge discipline, which is the kind of thing we normally don’t appreciate until it doesn’t happen. There were several runs by the Bucs on Sunday where Barnes was the last line of defense at the first level, and he stopped them for little to no gain thanks to his discipline.

Of course, Barnes also made a key pass breakup on the Bucs’ final offensive drive to give the Lions another timeout when they got the ball back. It’s really hard to teach that kind of play recognition, and Barnes is quickly becoming a key part of this defense.

Stocks Down: Jared Goff, QB

Statistics: 34/55, 307 yards, 2 INT; 2 carries, 5 yards

The box score won’t tell the whole story today, with Jared Goff spending yet another Sunday forcing his receivers to split time playing defensive back. Goff looked shaky and unsure, committing to receivers too early instead of taking what the defense gave him.

Like last week, Goff was more aggressive with the ball, pushing it toward the sideline and occasionally down the field. The problem is that he seems completely uncomfortable with it, and it’s a toss-up whether those passes go to a wide-open receiver or a wide-open defensive back. There were multiple instances of the latter on Sunday, and Goff was lucky that most of them were dropped.

I will say there was some good in Goff. He can’t really be faulted for the first interception, as Jameson Williams was cowlined in the middle of the route. Goff didn’t hesitate to get back to Jamo and found him deep down the sideline on a perfect throw for a gain of 50 yards. However, Goff grew impatient as the game went on and any goodwill he had built up was wiped out when Goff threw his wide open receivers in the dirt on the final offensive play of the game.

Stocks Down: Ben Johnson, OC

Goff didn’t look great on Sunday, but Ben Johnson didn’t do him much good either. Johnson struggled in Week 1, letting his infamous “turd quarter” extend into the second half of the game, and he did the same this week.

The Buccaneers lost Vita Vea to injury early on and instead of focusing on the run game, Ben Johnson often threw short passes that usually ended up as dump-offs to running backs. As Goff grew shaky, Ben Johnson did little to change the game plan.

There wasn’t much creativity in the red zone either. The Lions finished with just one touchdown on the day despite seven(!) trips to the red zone, and that falls squarely on Johnson’s shoulders.

Restock: Jameson Williams, WR

Statistics: 5 receptions, 79 yards; 1 carry, 15 yards

It was another strong and, more importantly, versatile performance from Jamo on Sunday. He continues to add to his toolbox and shows strength and intellect in the way he plays. The most impressive play of the game for me was his 50-yard reception in the first quarter, where he showed an ability to track the deep ball that he simply did not have last year.

The next most impressive play came on the Lions’ late fourth down conversion, where Jamo picked off two Bucs defenders, one of whom was former All-Pro linebacker Lavonte David. If Jamo doesn’t double his blocks, there’s a good chance David will find Jahmyr Gibbs in the gap.

Jamo continues to live up to preseason expectations and is already working his way up from No. 2 receiver status to No. 1B receiver status.

Stocks Down: Frank Ragnow, C

It wasn’t Ragnow’s best game, and when Ragnow isn’t at his best, it shows. The Lions struggled to create space in the interior run game, even after Vita Vea’s departure. Ragnow was especially a pain in the ass at the end, picking up a holding penalty in the red zone in the fourth quarter and then missing a block on a screen that would have given Jahmyr Gibbs a clear path to the end zone.

Quick hits

Replenish stock

Sione Vaki, RB: Vaki was the recipient of the fake punt, which shows a tremendous amount of confidence from the coaching staff in his early career.

Brian Branch, DB: Branch was probably the Lions’ third-best defender that day, which is amazing because he flew all over the field and was the only one to make an interception for the Lions defense.

Jake Bates, K: Bates led the Lions in scoring, with 3/3 on the day. Debating whether or not to interpret the decision not to attempt a 58-yarder in the fourth quarter.

Jahmyr Gibbs, RB: Gibbs looked much stronger after contact than he did in Week 1, and the box score reflected that. I feel much better about his hamstring healing now that he looks like he’s in shape.

Equities neutral

Tim Patrick, WR: It was good to have Patrick’s presence, as the offense didn’t feel as condensed when he was on the field. Goff’s final interception looked like it was meant for Patrick, who was nowhere near the ball, but that’s not certain.

Stock down

Dan Campbell, Head Coach: Campbell took responsibility for the personnel management failures late in the half, wasting a Brian Branch interception. Hard to say whether that falls on him or Dave Fipp or someone else, but it doesn’t look good.

Malcolm Rodriguez, LB: Rodrigo didn’t play much defense, but his low point of the day was missing bad on a Baker Mayfield battle where he gives up a late first down.