The Detroit Lions suffered a crushing loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.
In a game in which the Lions doubled the Buccaneers’ total yards and gained nearly eight minutes of possession time, they ultimately failed to make enough plays to hold serve and win at home in a Divisional Round rematch.
Here are the grades for each position group based on performance in the Lions’ 20-16 loss to the Buccaneers.
Quarterback: C-
Jared Goff failed to throw a touchdown pass in Sunday’s game, the first time since Week 7 of last year when Detroit was soundly beaten by Baltimore. He threw two interceptions and avoided foul trouble on several other throws.
It wasn’t all bad for Goff, however. One snap after throwing his first interception, he hit Jameson Williams with a well-placed, over-the-shoulder deep ball. The first of his two interceptions can be attributed to an obvious missed pass interference call against the defender covering Williams.
However, Goff struggled when the offense needed momentum the most. His second interception came at a crucial time when he was intercepted inside the opposing 10-yard line. The Lions came up empty on each of their last three drives.
After the interception, the Lions lost the game when Goff threw too short in front of the sticks, and then again when he threw just before the end of the game that was intended for Tom Kennedy. He completed 34 of 55 passes for 307 yards, but the turnovers and poorly timed throws will ultimately haunt the Lions as they fell short.
Running back: B+
The Lions’ running game faltered at times in the early going, but Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery both found their rhythm in the second half. Surprisingly, Montgomery was used more as a receiver, while Gibbs did the majority of the running.
Gibbs totaled over 100 yards running and receiving, including 84 yards on the ground. He made a clever sweep play in the fourth quarter that led to a crucial fourth-down conversion. Montgomery, meanwhile, scored the Lions’ only touchdown.
Wide receiver: B+
St. Brown proved again he can bounce back as he rebounded from his quiet performance last week with 11 catches for 119 yards. However, he took some tough hits and left the game on the final drive with an injury that Campbell didn’t think would be permanent.
Jameson Williams got Ford Field going with his big 50-yard catch in the first quarter and finished the game with 79 receiving yards on five catches. He also ran for 15 yards on an end-around and was a key blocker on Gibbs’ fourth-down conversion.
Kalif Raymond caught several balls in the fourth quarter of the Lions’ final series and finished with three catches for 27 yards. Tim Patrick also showed his physicality in his debut, hauling in two catches for 12 yards and shaking off a defender at the end of one of his runs.
Tight end: B.
Sam LaPorta was a non-factor for most of the afternoon, managing just two catches. On an afternoon where the Lions struggled in the red zone, it was at times puzzling that the tight end didn’t play a bigger role.
Brock Wright missed the target, but along with Williams, he was one of the key players on Gibbs’ big fourth down in the fourth quarter.
Offensive Line: B+
The Lions did not allow a sack in Sunday’s game, but the group was not quite perfect. Goff’s second interception was the result of a pressure that appeared to be allowed from the right side of the interior, and the interception came one play after Frank Ragnow was whistled for holding. In total, they allowed 10 quarterback hits.
The unit delivered a largely solid performance in the running game. There were also negative runs, but the group averaged 5.1 yards per run. Penei Sewell had a good block to deny Montgomery’s touchdown run.
Defensive line: A-
Aidan Hutchinson was the star on Sunday with 4.5 sacks. Three of those sacks came in the first quarter, when he got a takedown on each of Tampa Bay’s first three series. Hutchinson had four solo sacks and shared one with Levi Onwuzurike.
With Marcus Davenport out due to injury, the Lions started Onwuzurike as the defensive end opposite Hutchinson. Onwuzurike had four total tackles and his shared sack with Hutchinson forced Baker Mayfield to fumble.
Alim McNeill was first through the line when Jack Campbell eventually made a tackle for loss of space and recorded a tackle for loss of space himself. DJ Reader had an assisted tackle on his debut for the Lions.
Linebacker: B
The Lions lost a captain in their defense when Alex Anzalone suffered a brain injury in a friendly fire incident after being hit in the head by teammate Derrick Barnes. Anzalone finished the game with four tackles and his status for next week is uncertain as Campbell did not provide an update.
Jack Campbell was his team’s best player with six tackles, two of which resulted in a loss. Derrick Barnes played both linebacker and walk-up SAM backer on the edge and made an impact with five tackles and a key pass deflection that forced a punt and got the ball back to the offense for its final drive.
Malcolm Rodriguez played a role again, sharing snaps with Campbell and making two tackles, but he missed a chance on a Mayfield scramble before the Buccaneers’ passer stormed in and scored the game-winning goal.
Secondary: B
After two near interceptions last week, Brian Branch rejuvenated the defense with his first interception of the year. It was a great performance late in the first half. He also had a key pass deflection in the end zone that helped limit Tampa to a field goal on its first possession.
Terrion Arnold was penalized twice for the second consecutive game, including for pass interference on the first series. He left the game briefly with a finger injury, but quickly returned. After Ennis Rakestraw was injured during warmups, Kindle Vildor was the one who stepped in when Arnold went out.
Amik Robertson misread a fake bubble screen and went hard into the fake while Chris Godwin ran free behind him and scored Tampa Bay’s first touchdown. It was a solid performance to keep Mike Evans under control as he only had three catches, but Chris Godwin made up the gap with a 117-yard run.
Special teams: B+
The Lions successfully converted their first fake punt of the season when Jack Fox threw a 17-yard pass to rookie running back Sione Vaki. Fox also had a solid day, sinking both of his punts inside the 20-yard line, including one at the 9-yard line in the fourth quarter.
Jake Bates remained perfect with three hits this year, hitting from 22, 35 and 32 yards. All of his kickoffs ended up as touchbacks as the Lions continue to err on the side of caution with the league’s new kickoff.
There was a costly slip-up at the end of the first half, but that indecision is largely a reflection of the coaching staff.
Coach: D
As mentioned above, the mismanagement at the end of the first half proved extremely costly. When the Lions were at least in a position to attempt a field goal at the end of the quarter, they opted for a short pass over the middle.
When St. Brown was tackled on the field, Goff pushed the offense to the line to punt the ball and stop the clock. However, Campbell had already sent the field goal team onto the field and the result was a penalty for having too many players on the field.
Campbell took full responsibility for the mistake, but it was devastating nonetheless. In a game the Lions lost by four points, an extra three-pointer at the end of the first half would have drastically changed the team’s approach to its final drives in the fourth quarter.
The offense had a lot of trouble in the red zone, as Ben Johnson’s plays were barely able to unsettle the opponent. In the last series, the Lions did not attempt a single pass into the end zone, even though they needed to score.
On defense, Aaron Glenn applied strong pressure throughout, resulting in five sacks for the group and they could have had even more had they not taken Mayfield down several times.
Campbell’s admission of responsibility is one of the reasons he is so popular in the locker room, but the untimely mistake has consequences. It’s going to be an interesting week as the team tries to get back on its feet.
