Pride of Detroit
That is how you shake off a loss.
A week after falling to the Kansas City Chiefs in disappointing fashion, the Detroit Lions did a complete 180 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Despite entering the night with a battered and short-staffed secondary, it was Detroit putting the defensive clams on MVP-frontrunner Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers offense. Every part of the defense was showing up. Sprinkle in some game-changing scoring plays and turnovers, and the Lions coasted fairly comfortably to their fifth win of the year.
With a well-timed bye week on deck, the Lions will have time off to recuperate and prepare for the Minnesota Vikings. Until then, they can reflect on a solid team performance on Monday night.
The Lions flat-out do not win this game without a Herculean effort from Gibbs. The Lions had a modest day through the air, and a performance like that would have sunk them in many weeks. However, the offense was buoyed by Gibbs in multiple facets. As a receiver, Gibbs shined out of the gate. He had a brilliant catch and run on the opening drive that highlighted his ability to stop on a dime and accelerate, turning a fringe first down into a 30-yard breakout. On the day, he had just three catches, but he turned those into a whopping 82 yards.
Gibbs truly dominated on the ground. You need look no further than his 78-yard sprint that demonstrated his pure uncatchable speed. The quickness and burst is frankly unmatched in the NFL right now. He had a few runs that were stuffed for minimal gain, sure, but those are the types of plays you live with when he can blow the top of a defense on a whim.
The Lions were trotting out their skeleton crew secondary against a tough Buccaneers passing attack, yet it was Detroit that surprisingly emerged as the overwhelming winner. Up and down the depth chart, the Lions got phenomenal contributions. Arthur Maulet had a hard-fought interception. Rock Ya-Sin had some lockdown coverage snaps, including a crucial pass defended on third down. Nick Whiteside, who had to sub in for Ya-Sin when he dealt with cramping, had three stellar pass breakups. Amik Robertson had a picture-perfect forced fumble on yet another punch out. Erick Hallett led the team with eight tackles. Thomas Harper was quietly phenomenal as the deep safety, notching himself a pass breakup and multiple open field tackles.
Kelvin Sheppard, Deshea Townsend, and every player mentioned above deserves credit for putting in an unreal performance. Missing Brian Branch, Kerby Joseph, D.J. Reed, Terrion Arnold, and Avonte Maddox was a nightmare scenario for the Lions—few teams can succeed without their starting five defensive backs. Not only did the Lions survive, they outright thrived.
On paper, it was a good outing for Goff—he completed 20-of-29 passes for 241 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. However, the Detroit offense vastly outperformed Tampa...
