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Sunday’s matchup in Tampa with the Buccaneers pits two first-place teams against one another. Both the Lions and Bucs are looking to prove their one-loss starts are legit.
It should be an interesting matchup. To help learn more about the Buccaneers, River Wells of Buccaneers Wire agreed to answer a few questions about the current NFC South leaders.
Baker Mayfield looks like he’s playing very well. What’s the early impression of him in Tampa?
Mayfield has been playing well. He’s been extremely efficient on third downs, looks like he thrives in Dave Canales’ offense and has thrown seven touchdowns and only two interceptions so far on the year. If he continues to play like this, I’m sure the team and many Bucs fans would welcome him back next year — that being said, there’s a long way to go until the end of the season.
Why does the Buccaneers run game continue to struggle so much?
It’s mainly because the interior line is awful. The trio of guards Cody Mauch and Matt Feiler and center Robert Hainsey have been abused all year, and so long as that part of the line remains incredibly weak, it will be very difficult to get any part of the run game going in the future with RB Rachaad White (who has been better than many have thought so far this year).
The defense looks impressive. What are the biggest keys to its success?
Getting turnovers and keeping teams out of the red zone. The Bucs have one of the best red zone percentages this year in the NFL and get turnovers at an impressive clip — Tampa Bay has forced 10 turnovers, 2.5 per game, and is tied with the 49ers for the best turnover differential in the league with +7. As long as those two things continue, Tampa Bay’s defense will be hard to play against.
What is one thing about the Lions that worries you from a Buccaneers perspective?
The Lions’ offense is incredibly balanced, being able to beat you through both the run and the pass. The key to beating that offense will be making it one-dimensional but between Detroit’s pass game with Jared Goff and Amon-Ra St. Brown and the run game under David Montgomery, that’s going to be an incredibly tough ask.
One TB player who doesn’t get enough recognition?
LT Tristan Wirfs is one of the best tackles in football (even after changing positions) but RT Luke Goedeke has been solid starter who has done a good job keeping heat off of Baker Mayfield this year. He faces one of his ultimate tests this week, though, as the Lions will almost certainly try to avoid Wirfs and instead point lethal weapon Aidan Hutchinson right at Goedeke for most of the game.
Who wins and why?
I do this game will be close and Detroit is banged up, but I’m not sure Tampa Bay is quite ready for a game of this caliber yet. I anticipate a low-scoring game that sees Detroit eke out the win at the very end. Lions 24, Bucs 21.