Analysis of the Detroit Lions’ 20-16 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
John Niyo, Nolan Bianchi and Richard Silva of the Detroit News analyze the Detroit Lions’ 20-16 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Ford Field.
Detroit – The Detroit Lions dominated every phase of Sunday’s home game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Ford Field.
Except in the red zone and – again – on the scoreboard.
The inability to finish offense ultimately led to their inability to finish the game, as the Lions missed 1 of 7 red zone chances and the Buccaneers took revenge for last year’s Divisional Round playoff game with a 20-16 Tampa win that dropped the Lions to 1-1.
Detroit managed 463 yards of offense to Tampa’s 216; Detroit managed seven of 17 third downs to Tampa’s two of 10. And the Lions had five sacks (4.5 by Aidan Hutchinson to Tampa’s none), making it a frustrating day for the Buccaneers’ offense.
But the Lions’ lack of offensive performance in the decisive moments thwarted their efforts.
The Lions were fourth in the league in red zone efficiency last season, converting 63.6% of their attempts inside the 20-yard line into touchdowns. Last week, they completed two of four attempts in a 26-20 overtime win over the Los Angeles Rams.
But on Sunday they had no answers.
“That’s ultimately the difference in the game,” Lions quarterback Jared Goff said. “If we can get down there and score touchdowns and then probably win the game – and unfortunately we didn’t. You have to take your hat off to them. They had a good, stingy red zone defense and we didn’t make enough plays down there.”
Lions head coach Dan Campbell came to the podium with tears in his eyes because of a disastrous field goal drive at the end of the first half that cost the Lions three points and forced them to go to the end zone at the end of the game, which they just couldn’t do. After Brian Branch intercepted a Baker Mayfield pass, Detroit’s offense went the other way and reached the red zone with the game running.
When the offense spiked the ball with eight seconds left in the second quarter, something had obviously gone wrong with the communication on the sideline: The field goal unit ran as the ball was snapped, earning the Lions a 12-man penalty and forcing a 10-second run-off that ended the half.
“I asked (the players) to improve from last week. That was the story. And we improved. We improved and their coach cost them that. Their head coach cost them this,” Campbell said. “Critical mistake, end of half, and 100% on me.”
▶ RESULT: Buccaneers 20, Lions 16
Goff’s performance was again inconsistent. He threw the ball 55 times, 34 times (61.8%) for 307 yards, with no touchdowns and two interceptions that cost him dearly.
“(The Buccaneers’ defense) just mixed it up pretty well. I don’t know if they did anything that took too much away. We moved the ball pretty damn well, in the red zone they were really stingy,” Goff said. “They undercut routes at times, but at the same time we often had guys free that could win routes.”
Goff added: “Unfortunately, they were better than us today.”
The Lions had a chance to earn their third win over Tampa in 336 days. Detroit beat the Buccaneers 20-6 in Week 6 last season before defeating them again in the playoffs at Ford Field.
Detroit got the ball back with 5:12 left in Sunday’s game, but couldn’t capitalize on a potential lead when Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs was stopped short of the uprights on fourth-and-eight attempts with 53 seconds left. With three extra points on the board, Detroit could have settled for a field goal after Gibbs got into the red zone on a 23-yard run on fourth down with 1:17 left. Unfortunately, the Lions had to give it their all, and on this day, the Buccaneers just didn’t have enough of it.
The Lions defense quickly forced a three-and-out after a solid punt return by Kalif Raymond to regain the ball on the plus side of the field with 33 seconds left, but the hill was just too steep, as Goff’s throw from the 27-yard line to end the game was incomplete.
Instead of aiming for the end zone on their final four plays of regulation, the Lions tried to close the distance to give themselves a better chance of getting the ball into the end zone, Goff said. But the opportunity never came. Goff’s final pass was to wide receiver Tom Kennedy, but the ball was woefully short and fell to the turf without Kennedy having a chance to intercept it.
“You want to get in a situation where the percentage goes up. We tried to get inside the 20-yard line, inside the 15 where the percentage goes up, to throw into the end zone,” Goff said. “When you throw into the end zone from outside of those areas, the percentage is usually pretty low. We had something on that last play. It was a crappy throw and we just couldn’t get it done.”
Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown put together a comeback performance with 11 catches for 119 yards and Gibbs managed 84 rushing yards on 13 carries, but it wasn’t enough to avoid the loss. St. Brown appeared to be in pain on the final possession and was not on the field for Detroit’s final play of the game. His injury is currently unknown, but Campbell said he doesn’t expect it to be anything long-term.
Second-year tight end Sam LaPorta had the least productive game of his young NFL career, catching just two passes for 13 yards.
Rookie cornerback Terrion Arnold was penalized for another costly defensive pass interference on the opening drive, giving the Buccaneers first-and-goal at the Detroit 5-yard line. But after a short run by Rachaad White, the Lions defense stood strong with a pass breakup by Brian Branch in the end zone and a strip sack by Hutchinson that forced a 30-yard field goal and a 3-0 Buccaneers lead just 3:29 into the game.
The Lions had a turnover on the first offensive play. Jameson Williams, who had five catches for 79 yards, was knocked off by Christian Izien at the end of his route and the ball sailed right through the window into the arms of Buccaneers cornerback Zyon McCollum.
“I’ve seen pass interference on defense, but listen, I’ve seen a million plays that should have been called pass interference that weren’t called, and that’s one of them,” Goff said.
Hutchinson and Levi Onwuzurike combined for another sack that forced the Buccaneers into third and long on the Buccaneers’ ensuing possession, limiting Tampa to a 55-yard field goal by Chase McLaughlin that made it 6-0 with 9:00 left in the first quarter. With Tampa’s starting tackle Luke Goedeke missing, Hutchinson made easy work of Buccaneers reserve right tackle Justin Skule.
Goff went right back to Williams on the first play of the next drive and completed a deep ball that went 50 yards. After the Buccaneers hit Goff late and received a penalty for “unnecessary roughness on the passer,” the Lions’ drive stalled inside the 10, leading to a 22-yard field goal by Jake Bates that gave the Buccaneers a 6-3 lead with 7:13 left in the first quarter.
To end the Buccaneers’ ensuing advance, Hutchinson reached his career-high in sacks (three) in the first 9:23 minutes when he brought down Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield and forced a punt.
Campbell said he didn’t feel the Buccaneers’ protection helped Skule until later in the game.
“The game got later, they didn’t allow that anymore, and they were chipping and pushing, so he’s got to try and overcome double coverage, but right now he’s a force,” Campbell said. “He’s a force.”
Godwin put the Buccaneers back on top with a three-catch, 69-yard drive that ended with a 41-yard touchdown that gave Tampa a 13-6 lead with 9:08 left in the second quarter.
The Lions extended their next drive with a fourth-down fake, with Jack Fox throwing a pass to rookie Sione Vaki. Shortly after, the Lions tried fourth-and-2 from their own 45-yard line and got the ball again, this time on a 3-yard run by David Montgomery. But the Lions again couldn’t move the chains and had to punt from midfield.
Detroit got the ball early in the second half and moved it quickly down the field, but was again thwarted in the red zone and could only manage a 32-yard field goal by Bates, which cut the Buccaneers’ lead to 13-9.
Hutchinson recorded his fourth sack of the game, surpassing his career highs in college and the pros, to help the Lions get the ball back. Detroit had its best drive of the game, driving down the field in eight plays to take a 16-13 lead, its first of the game, with 3:26 left in the third quarter.
The Buccaneers, however, marched back the other way and the start of their next drive was aided by a 15-yard facemask penalty on Arnold. After Mayfield gave Tampa a crucial third-down scramble to give it first-and-10 at the Detroit 11-yard line, the Buccaneers called him again and Mayfield purposefully ran up the middle – with no one around – and scored an 11-yard rushing touchdown that made it 20-16 with 34 seconds left in the third quarter.
As the Buccaneers tried to extend their lead early in the fourth quarter, Hutchinson caught Mayfield again on the third attempt, his fifth sack of the game, to give Detroit the ball back and a chance to score the lead. But the Lions were stuck in the red zone for the fifth time when a holding penalty on Frank Ragnow was followed by a very poor throw by Goff that was intercepted by Izien at 7:34 of the fourth quarter.
@nolanbianchi
