Each week, SB Nation tracks NFL fans’ confidence levels of their favorite teams with their Reacts Surveys posted on their team websites. For Pride of Detroit, we are tasked with gauging Detroit Lions fans’ confidence in the team heading into each game. But this week, with the Lions on the bye, we’ve added a second question to the mix:

1. Are you confident the Lions are headed in the right direction?
2. Which injured starter are you most excited to return after the bye?

Fans’ confidence has wavered a bit more this season than in seasons past. We saw confidence...

The Detroit Lions were involved in another odd officiating situation on Monday night in their game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Early in the fourth quarter, the Lions challenged a play in which Buccaneers tight end Cade Otton was ruled to convert a fourth-and-2. On the play, Otton caught the ball, reached forward near the line to gain, and when he hit the ground, the ball jarred loose, and the Buccaneers recovered. Officials initially ruled that Otton had earned the first down for the Buccaneers.

However, the Lions opted to challenge the play. Coach Dan Campbell confirmed on Tuesday that...

After a rough loss to the Kansas City Chiefs last week, the Detroit Lions needed to make a statement. Back at Ford Field in a primetime game, the Lions hosted the Tampa Bay Buccaneers just to send them packing in a 24-9 win for the home team.

Contrary to what the score shows, Detroit’s offense did not play to their usual standards. Jared Goff was efficient as a passer, but uncharacteristically turned over the ball twice, fumbling once and throwing an interception.

Game ball: Jahmyr Gibbs

The player who sparked some life into the offense was running back Jahmyr...

The Detroit Lions continue to find new ways to win football games. Their victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 7 brought both teams’ records to 5-2, but the manner in which the Lions pulled off the win was in a way nobody saw coming.

Let’s take a look at this week’s snap counts to see how the Lions adjusted their personnel for the Buccaneers game.

Quarterbacks:

• Jared Goff: 68 snaps (100%)
• Kyle Allen: 0 (0%)

The Bucs brought the heat all night, making things difficult for Goff. And while he surely would’ve liked to have...

The Detroit Lions (5-2) are heading into their bye week with a lot of positive vibes after beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-2) on “Monday Night Football.” The Bucs held the best record in the NFC entering this game, but the Lions found yet another way to win, this time behind a defense that was playing with nearly all backups in their secondary.

For several of this week’s power rankers, the Lions proved them right for not dropping them too far following their Week 6 loss to the Chiefs in Kansas City, while other rankers felt like they did their...

The Detroit Lions righted the ship in another primetime matchup, toppling the NFC-leading Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Surrounded by a rowdy Ford Field crowd, the Lions secured a 24-9 victory on Monday Night Football. Pride of Detroit has all the coverage you could need, including a full recap from Jeremy Reisman, three takeaways from the game from Brandon Knapp, six winners and one loser from John Whiticar, and full grades from Reisman (plus a ton more to come).

Let’s take a look at some of the best reactions to the big win.

And onto the rest of your notes.

• Prime...

As the Detroit Lions’ ragtag group of inexperienced defensive backs celebrated their unexpected success in a 24-9 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, most had one thing in common: they were sporting Brian Branch #32 jerseys.

Over the past week, it’s clear the Lions defense took offense at how the NFL treated one of its own. It was one thing to suspend Branch for the fight he started at the end of the team’s loss to the Chiefs. It was another to put out an NFL Films clip that montaged Branch’s worst moments from that game, and layered it with...

It was a reversal of roles on Monday night and in the unlikeliest of circumstances. The Detroit Lions offense has regularly buoyed the team, given the immense amount of talent on that side of the ball. And with the entire Lions’ starting secondary missing against a red-hot Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense, many—myself included—expected a bit of a shootout, necessitating a big day from Jared Goff and company.

Instead, Goff sputtered and Baker Mayfield collapsed. The Lions defense proved they can be at the heart of this team just as much as the offense. So let’s hand out some grades for...

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...

By playoff seeding, the Detroit Lions are currently holding the five spot. Technically, the Green Bay Packers lead the division (and conference) with their 4-1-1 record, because a tie counts as a half win and 4.5 wins in six games is a better win percentage than five wins in seven games.

But playoff seeding is only the technical standings in the conference. Let’s talk more about opinion right now.

The NFC is littered with Super bowl contenders right now. The Packers may hold the one seed, but I would say that there are nearly a half-dozen teams in the conference...

You could sense Detroit Lions fans’ heart sink when the surprising news hit that Buccaneers star rookie receiver Emeka Egbuka was going to play on Monday night against Detroit. Many coped throughout the week that although Detroit’s secondary was beat up—set to miss all four starting defensive backs—at least the Buccaneers were going to be beat up at receiver, too: no Chris Godwin and both Mike Evans and Egbuka were questionable, at best. But with both Godwin and Evans in, the Lions’ secondary—consisting of Arthur Maulet, Erick Hallett, and Thomas Harper in significant roles—had no chance.

I’m not trying to...

It’s been eight long days since the Detroit Lions last played football. It’s not just because they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs, but also because of the drama that came after the game. Thankfully, once the weekend came, it felt like it was time to focus on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on “Monday Night Football.” Two of the best teams in the NFC duking it out on primetime TV, no better thing you could ask for.

Detroit struck first, quickly making it 7-0, and the Lions never let Tampa Bay come back in the game once the lead was...