Super Bowl or bankruptcy? Detroit Lions fans share their predictions for 2024
Super Bowl 59 or bust? Detroit Lions fans will give their predictions for the 2024 NFL season on Sunday, September 8, before the season opener.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers got revenge on Sunday at Ford Field by holding off the Detroit Lions’ powerful offense.
The Lions scored one touchdown on six attempts in Tampa’s red zone and lost 20-16 to the Buccaneers in Week 2 of the NFL season. The Lions beat the Bucs twice last season, including in the divisional round of the playoffs.
On Sunday, Tampa quarterback Baker Mayfield played better than Lions quarterback Jared Goff.
Mayfield completed 12 of 19 passes for 185 yards and a touchdown, scoring the game-winning touchdown on a designed 11-yard quarterback draw with 34 seconds left in the third quarter. (Alex Anzalone was injured on the play and left the game.)
Goff completed 34 of 55 passes for 307 yards and had two interceptions. He threw the ball on a fourth-and-8 play with just over a minute left when the Bucs forced a turnover, then finished the game with four consecutive incomplete passes (the first was a spike to run down the clock).
Lions kicker Jake Bates made three of three field goals, but the Lions’ mistake at the end of the half cost them a field goal attempt and was ultimately a major factor in the loss. Lions coach Dan Campbell took the blame for the mix-up in his interview before the second half.
The Lions are 1-1 after two home games and have to play away against the Arizona Cardinals next week. The Bucs are 2-0.
Three more thoughts on the Lions’ loss to Tampa Bay.
INSIDER: Aidan Hutchinson has a good chance of breaking the NFL season record
Aidan Hutchinson dominates
Bucs lineman Justin Skule will have nightmares about Aidan Hutchinson.
Hutchinson had 4½ sacks and a forced fumble on Sunday, just one sack shy of the Lions’ single-game record.
Hutchinson had a sack on each of Tampa’s first three drives, making the most of his duel with Tampa’s backup right tackle after Luke Goedeke was placed in protocol midweek with a concussion. He got his first sack on an inside stunt with Alim McNeill, then beat Skule twice with one-on-one moves.
Hutchinson, who added another 1½ sacks in the second half, has been on a roll this summer and has four 5½ sacks through two games. That puts him on pace to average 46.8 sacks this season. He won’t get there, of course, but if he continues to face replacements, he could challenge the NFL record of 22½ sacks.
Jared Goff needs to get better
Goff will have to play better than he did on Sunday if the Lions want to win the Super Bowl battle that most people believe they can.
Goff’s first interception came on a missed pass interference penalty and wasn’t his fault. His second interception came on a careless throw over the middle when he was under pressure deep in Bucs territory. And Goff easily could have thrown two more interceptions and received an intentional grounding penalty.
The Lions paid Goff a lot of money in the offseason – money he earned with his strong play last season when he led the team to the NFC Championship Game. But with that money comes higher expectations, and the Lions need more consistent passing and better ball protection from their quarterback.
This is a quarterback league, and while no one expects Goff to become Patrick Mahomes, he can’t have games like Sunday or the Lions will suffer more of the same results.
TRENDING: The Lions’ defense is better. The offense is not, and that is a growing problem
The Lions suffered a loss on a playmaking error at the end of the first half on Sunday when Goff completed a short pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown with 11 seconds left and attempted to kick the ball to the ground as the Lions’ field goal team ran onto the field.
The Lions had no timeouts left, so the penalty included a 10-second run that ended the half and sent the Lions to the locker room with no points and a 13-6 deficit.
TRENDING: Dan Campbell takes the blame for the mix-up between the Lions and the Bucs: “I totally screwed my team”
This streak came back to haunt the Lions late in the game when they had to give it their all twice on their fourth attempt within field goal range.
It was an uncharacteristic mistake for a Lions team that is normally well-coached, but it is a big reason why the team suffered a 1-1 loss on the road to Arizona next week.
Dave Birkett is the author of the new book “Detroit Lions: An Illustrated Timeline.” Pre-order now from Reedy Press.
Contact him at [email protected]Follow him on X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
