Lions stifle Bucs 24-9 as offense falters, Evans injured
Everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong in Detroit as the Buccaneers fall to 5-2
DETROIT — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-2) were stifled by the Detroit Lions (5-2) 24-9 on Monday night.
Tampa Bay’s offense had its worst showing of the year, mustering just nine points after scoring 20 or more in its first six contests.
Much of the pregame attention centered on Detroit’s banged-up secondary. The Lions had no Week 1 starters active for their matchup against the Bucs. Defensive backs Avonte Maddox, Terrion Arnold and Kerby Joseph were out due to injuries, while safety Brian Branch was suspended.
During his introductory press conference in 2021, head coach Dan Campbell famously said that if the Lions got knocked down, they would “bite kneecaps.” Critics mocked the line at the time, but it has come to define Detroit’s gritty identity under Campbell.
That identity was on full display Monday, with backups and practice squad players filling the Lions’ secondary. Detroit held Tampa Bay’s wideouts to just 155 receiving yards and recorded 12 pass breakups.
An example of that grit was undrafted rookie cornerback Nick Whiteside, who led the Lions with three pass breakups. Whiteside came from Saginaw Valley State, a Division II program in Michigan.
Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield completed 28-of-50 passes for 228 yards and a touchdown — his most attempts of the season — but averaged just 4.6 yards per completion, a season low. He did not complete a pass that traveled 20 yards or more in the air.
Mayfield was sacked four times, after being sacked just five times over the previous four games combined. He was also sacked four times in Tampa Bay’s last Monday night appearance against Houston.
The Bucs converted just four of 16 third downs and went two for five on fourth down. Tampa Bay has converted only 38.2% of third downs this season, down from a league-best 50.9% in 2024.
Mayfield threw his second interception of the year in the second quarter when cornerback Arthur Maulet wrestled the ball away from tight end Cade Otton. The play was initially ruled a catch but overturned on replay.
Replay review continued to haunt the Bucs. In the fourth quarter, officials overturned a fourth-down catch by Otton that would have extended a drive. After a “second look,” officials ruled Otton short of the line to gain.
“Still pretty confused about the double review,” Mayfield said after the game. “A lot of things in that game feel questionable, and there was a lot of frustration at the end. It might be displaced on [referee] John Hussey in the moment, but I put a lot into this game, and when I see things that I don’t deem fair, I’m going to let somebody know.”
Mayfield and head coach Todd Bowles were visibly irate on the sideline after the overturn.
Tampa Bay’s rushing attack was held in check, producing just 41 yards — its lowest total of the season.
Otton led the Bucs with seven catches for 65 yards. Rookie wideouts Tez Johnson and Emeka Egbuka each had 58 receiving yards. Johnson’s 22-yard touchdown in the third quarter was his second in as many weeks.
For the Lions, it was the Jahmyr Gibbs show. Gibbs totaled 136 rushing yards, 82 receiving yards and two touchdowns. His 78-yard run in the second quarter was the longest play allowed by the Bucs defense this season.
Lions quarterback Jared Goff completed 20-of-29 passes for 241 yards and a touchdown. The score went to Amon-Ra St. Brown, who led Detroit with six receptions for 86 yards. St. Brown leads the NFL with seven touchdown catches this season.
Still, it was a valiant effort from the Bucs defense, which held Detroit well below its season average of 31.8 points per game. The Lions converted just three of 13 third downs. Tampa Bay tallied four sacks and seven tackles for loss — bringing its season total to 45 tackles for loss, second most in the NFL.
Safety Tykee Smith led the Bucs with 13 tackles, a sack and two tackles for loss. Linebacker SirVocea Dennis added 12 tackles, a sack and a tackle for loss.
Linebacker Yaya Diaby recorded a strip sack in the first quarter that rookie defensive lineman Elijah Roberts recovered. Diaby has three sacks in the Bucs’ last two games. Cornerback Jamel Dean intercepted Goff late in the first half, giving him a career-high three interceptions in just six games this season.
The 24-9 defeat didn’t feel like the biggest loss of the night for Tampa Bay. In the second quarter, legendary receiver Mike Evans went down attempting to haul in a pass. Bowles said after the game that Evans suffered a broken clavicle and will miss “most” of the season.
The injury all but guarantees Evans won’t surpass 1,000 receiving yards in 2025. Evans has topped 1,000 yards in each of his 11 NFL seasons. The only other player to do that in as many consecutive seasons is Hall of Famer Jerry Rice.
In 2024, the Buccaneers lost Chris Godwin to a season-ending ankle injury during a Monday night game in Week 7. One year later, in another Week 7 Monday night matchup, Tampa Bay’s receiving corps took another crushing blow.
On the bright side, the Bucs’ 5-2 start matches the seven-game mark of the 2002-03 and 2020-21 Super Bowl-winning teams. Tampa Bay remains atop the NFC South with a one-game lead over Carolina.
Next week, the Bucs will travel to New Orleans for their final game before a much-needed bye week.