TAMPA BAY, Fla. – The Detroit Lions’ defense suffocated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their latest impressive road victory -- this one between two first-place teams.
Detroit and Tampa Bay both came into the game as first-place teams -- the Lions in the NFC North and the Buccaneers in the NFC South.
Once again, it was the defense that set the tone for the Lions, keeping Tampa Bay out of the end zone for 60 minutes in a 20-6 victory.
Defenses dominate early
The Lions got on the board first thanks to Isaiah Buggs, who tipped a Baker Mayfield pass inside the Tampa Bay 10-yard line. Will Harris caught the ball at the 12, setting up the offense with excellent field position.
Detroit couldn’t move the ball, though, getting zero yards on three plays and settling for a 30-yard field goal from Riley Patterson. The drive was capped by an ineffective inside run on 3rd and 8.
That lead held up through the end of the first quarter, thanks to the defense holding Tampa Bay to just 48 total yards. But the Lions weren’t doing much on offense, either, picking up just three first downs on three drives and failing to capitalize on great field position.
Those offensive struggles continued into the second quarter. After Mike Evans dropped a 3rd and 12 pass that would have given the Buccaneers a first down in Lions territory, Jared Goff and company went 3-and-out from their own 5-yard line and punted it right back.
Tampa Bay started the following drive around midfield and moved into Lions territory with a 21-yard completion from Mayfield to Trey Palmer. Then, a critical holding penalty on Harris kept the drive alive after it appeared the Lions had gotten a third-down stop.
As the Buccaneers entered the red zone, Jerry Jacobs made a key play to break up a pass on 3rd and 3, forcing them to settle for a game-tying field goal.
Lions finally break through
Detroit finally broke the touchdown ice on its final drive of the first half.
It started with a screen pass to David Montgomery that went for 19 yards to Detroit’s 44-yard line. Montgomery walked gingerly off the field, though, and later went to the locker room with a ribs injury. He did not return.
A big catch from Josh Reynolds helped the Lions get deep into Tampa Bay territory, but a false start penalty, a sack, and a short run set up a 3rd and 13 from the Tampa Bay 27-yard line.
Goff hit Amon-Ra St. Brown with a short pass over the middle, and he sprinted toward the sideline to try to find some running room. Craig Reynolds, who had come in for Montgomery, delivered a devastating block on Carlton Davis III that allowed St. Brown to turn the corner and tiptoe down the sideline all the way into the end zone.
Buccaneers pull within 4
The third quarter hasn’t been kind to the Lions this season -- they had been shut out in the third each of the past three games.
Those struggles continued Sunday, at least initially, as the Lions got the ball after the break and failed to take advantage. Craig Reynolds caught a screen pass for 21 yards, but the drive stalled at the 34 and Patterson missed a 52-yard field goal attempt. It was his first try over 38 yards, and his first miss of the season.
As a result, the Buccaneers started the next drive on their own 42, and two long pass plays later, they were inside Detroit’s 20. That’s where the defense stiffened, and an offensive pass interference penalty helped hold Tampa Bay to a field goal.
Jameson Williams touchdown catch
With a 4-point lead and the offense struggling, the next Lions drive felt like a potential tone-setter for the final 20 minutes.
It got off to a good start, as Goff hit St. Brown to move the chains. A holding penalty on 3rd and 1 set the Lions back, but Kalif Raymond made a critical catch into Buccaneers territory.
After back-to-back drops by Jameson Williams (it would have been a tough catch) and Sam LaPorta (right in his hands) set up a 3rd and 10, Goff launched a 45-yard jump ball to Williams. The young speedster came back to the ball and made an incredible catch right at the goal line to give the Lions a 17-6 lead.
4th quarter
Kerby Joseph knocked down a third-down pass to start the fourth quarter, and the Buccaneers were forced to punt.
The Lions responded with a 9-play, 53-yard drive that ate up 4:05 and ended with a 36-yard field goal from Patterson.
Mayfield missed a wide open Palmer deep downfield on the next Buccaneers drive, and Tampa Bay elected to punt on 4th and 2 while trailing by 14 points.
The Lions’ offense smelled blood. St. Brown made a pair of early catches to move the chains, and Craig Reynolds gained eight yards on the next play. St. Brown made his 12th catch on the next play as the clock ticked down to seven minutes.
Devine Ozigbo, who was just called up from the practice squad because of the Gibbs and Knight injuries, even got in on the action with a 7-yard grab.
Tampa Bay could have gotten the ball back with about five minutes remaining and all three timeouts, but Goff hit LaPorta on 3rd and 5 to move the chains. That conversion allowed the Lions to run the clock under four minutes before Jack Fox pinned the Buccaneers on their own 2-yard line.
The Buccaneers drove across midfield, but with 53 seconds left, the Lions forced four straight incomplete passes to put the game away.
Why this win means so much
If Detroit and Tampa Bay both win their divisions this season, the head-to-head matchup could come into play as a tiebreaker for playoff seeding.
There’s still a lot of football to play, but Detroit already owns the tiebreaker over two-thirds of the contenders in the South -- Tampa Bay and Atlanta.
With a 5-1 record, the Lions stretched their lead in the NFC North to 2.5 games, as the Green Bay Packers have a bye week.