The Detroit Lions are still playing football in the middle of January. This season, the Lions qualified for the playoffs and defeated the Los Angeles Rams last week to win their first postseason game since 1991. Even if they would have preferred to savor their postseason triumph longer, Detroit must now focus on their upcoming opponent, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
This season, Detroit has already faced Tampa Bay; the Lions trounced the Bucs 20-6 on the road. This week, the roles are turned when Tampa Bay visits Detroit to play the Lions at Ford Field in an NFC divisional match.
With improved health and a different situation since their Week 6 meeting, both teams will be different going into the rematch.
Now let’s get into the Detroit Lions vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFC Divisional scouting report.
Week 1: 20-17 victory over the Minnesota Vikings
Week 2: 27-17 victory over the Chicago Bears
Week 3: Philadelphia Eagles defeat, 25-11
Week 4: 26-9 victory over the New Orleans Saints
Week 5: Goodbye
Week 6: 20-6 loss to the Detroit Lions
Week 7: 16-13 loss to the Atlanta Falcons
Week 8: 24-18 loss to the Buffalo Bills
Week 9: 39-37 loss to the Houston Texans
Week 10: 20-6 victory over the Tennessee Titans
Week 11: 27-14 loss to the San Francisco 49ers
Week 12: 27-20 loss to the Indianapolis Colts
Week 13: 21-18 victory over the Carolina Panthers
Week 14: 29-25 victory over the Atlanta Falcons
Week 15: 34-20 victory over the Green Bay Packers
Week 16: 30-12 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars
Week 17: 23-13 loss to the New Orleans Saints
Week 18: 9-0 victory over the Carolina Panthers
NFC Wild Card: 32-9 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles
scoring 20th and allowing 7th in points
18th place in DVOA
offensive DVOA ranking of 20th (16th in pass DVOA, 28th in run DVOA)
eighth in run DVOA and fourteenth in pass DVOA for the defense.
18th place for special teams
Even though the NFC South is mocked as the worst football league at the moment, the Bucs didn’t have an easy time winning the division. The Bucs had a 3-1 record going into their break week, but they were severely hit by the post-bye slump. They came in at 4-7 and were still in the running for the division after winning just one of their next six games. The Bucs took advantage of their advantageous schedule to end the year and went 5-1 overall, winning the division title in Week 18 with a 9-0 victory over the Panthers.
The Bucs hosted the Philadelphia Eagles, the reigning NFC champions, in the playoffs. With quarterback Baker Mayfield still playing despite a hamstring issue, the Eagles were facing injury problems. In front of their home fans, the Bucs dominated the Eagles early on and never let up, winning 32-9. Every member of the team contributed, as all three phases performed admirably.
The Bucs had thoughts of payback as they headed into the playoffs. The Bucs exacted revenge on the Eagles on Monday after losing to them 25-11 earlier in the season. Tampa Bay is now playing Detroit, a team they also lost to during the regular season, and they want to get retribution.
Shaq Barrett, a linebacker with the Bucs, told reporters he was “looking forward” to the club’s game against the Lions on Sunday. This is another opportunity for the team to make up for what went wrong earlier in the season. “I know it’s been a while since Detroit has hosted playoff football, but it’s back, and they defeated us early in the season, so it’s another stop on our revenge tour, and I’m excited about it.”
Notes on Injuries
Important players excluded: C Russell Gage, WR, and Ryan Jensen (IR)
QB Baker Mayfield (ankle/ribs), LB K.J. Britt (calf), and DL are the key guys to keep an eye on. Mike Greene, the calf
Tampa Bay has a reasonable injury list going into the divisional round. The team is accustomed to Jensen and Gage not playing because they have already missed the entire season. I expect Mayfield and Britt to play this week unless something goes wrong in practice, as they did in the victory over the Eagles last week.
Mike Greene, a defensive lineman who was placed on injured reserve in early December and has not yet returned, is the lone new addition. On December 27, he was activated, beginning a three-week period during which he may return. He has until this week to make a comeback, and Tampa Bay head coach Todd Bowles will decide whether to have him play on or sit out the remainder of the season. This season, Green has made 10 appearances, starting two of them, and totaling six tackles.
Chief advantage: wide receivers
The secondary of the Detroit Lions continues to take hits. They now have to contend with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, another explosive wide receiver tandem. The fact that Detroit’s secondary has encountered these players previously is encouraging, but it does not guarantee that they will slow them down.
However, Godwin, who finished the season with 1,024 yards and two scores, was the wide receiver who led the club against the Lions. He caught six passes for 77 yards on seven targets against the Lions. Godwin is another wide receiver Detroit should be cautious around because he is a skilled possession catcher with some impressive grabs.
CHRIS GODWIN IS DOWN THERE SOMEWHERE
pic.twitter.com/hJeHARXKbW— PFF (@PFF) January 16, 2024
Though Evans and Godwin are the primary targets in this passing game, don’t overlook the other cunning wide receiver on the team. Trey Palmer, a rookie, has made progress this year; at the end of the regular season, he had 39 catches for 385 yards and three touchdowns. On Monday night, he caught a 56-yard touchdown pass against the Eagles.
The main flaw is that Rushing Attack
What a fantastic chance for the defense of the Lions to win this week. With only 1,509 running yards allowed and the third-best yards per carry allowed in the NFL (3.7), the Lions boast the second-best run defense in the league. Tampa Bay ended with 1,509 rushing yards and 3.4 yards per carry, both of which were lowest in the NFL, therefore they will be facing the weakest run offense in the league. With eight rushing touchdowns, they are also tied for fourth-fewest in the league. Even if the offensive line hasn’t played well this season, it doesn’t help when the players behind the line are mediocre.
sprinting back The only back in Tampa Bay who has the ability to close this game on the ground is Rachaad White. With 990 rushing yards and six touchdowns, he leads the club in this category, although his average carry count is a meager 3.6. While White isn’t a particularly good running back, he is the only one on this team who can cause problems. There won’t be much support behind White if he goes down because Chase Edmonds is only 176 yards behind him.
Lions offensive line versus. Bucs defensive line is a key clash.
It’s not the first time in a long time that the secondary is the Lions’ crucial opponent. The main fight will take place in the trenches, despite the fact that it is an issue for this game. Detroit is well-known for their rushing attack; with 2,311 rushing yards at average of 4.6 yards per carry at the end of the season, they finished fifth in the NFL. With 27 rushing touchdowns, they tied for first place in the league.
The fifth-best run defense in the NFL, Tampa Bay, will present a challenge for the Lions’ running offense. With 3.8 rushing yards per carry allowed, Tampa Bay is tied for fourth place in the NFL. This season, they have only allowed 11 rushing touchdowns. Detroit may run into a brick wall in this game as they attempt to run their bread and butter on Tampa Bay. The Lions’ offensive line must exploit its potent ground game in this contest because, should Detroit be able to run on Tampa Bay, the offense will become more lethal.
Jahmyr Gibbs, the rookie running back, was sidelined for the first game against the Lions due to injury, while fellow running back David Montgomery also departed the game with a rib injury. The Lions were without left guard Jonah Jackson, therefore the offensive line was also depleted. Detroit managed just 1.8 yards per carry while amassing 40 rushing yards on 22 attempts. Jared Goff, the quarterback, passed for 353 yards and two touchdowns as Tampa Bay pushed the Lions to air it out.
Therefore, Detroit’s running game will advance in this game with Jackson, Montgomery, and Gibbs all back in the lineup and healthy, making the Bucs defense’s job more difficult than it was in October. The last time it worked, the Lions won’t mind if they have to pass the ball a lot. However, this squad wants to pound the rock, so how Detroit does that will dictate how they approach this game.
