Times have changed. The Detroit Lions are no longer the team that everyone laughs at. They’re now the team that everyone is coming for. They’re the team that other teams want to get revenge on.
There’s probably no team that wants revenge more than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. You can totally see why too. The Lions beat them twice last season with one of those wins coming in the divisional round of the playoffs with a chance to go to the NFC Championship game. That one also came on a back breaking interception thrown by Baker Mayfield.
While we still have a ways to go before the regular season starts, the Lions are already on the Buccaneers mind. Bucs running back Rachaad White spoke with media on Tuesday and talked about how he has the Week 2 matchup with the Lions circled on his calendar.
“Lions, a big game, obviously, of course.” White said. “Like you said, coming off the NFC Championship game, had a chance to go win it all. Obviously, beat us twice last year. That’s huge… So, yeah, you don’t forget them teams or them games and obviously it’s early in the year, so it’s good to see where you at and things like that.”
White had a solid season for the Bucs last year and was one of the better running backs in the league, but he struggled in both games against the Lions. In the first meeting he had 26 yards on seven carries before the Bucs had to abandon the run game. In the playoffs he had 55 yards on nine carries.
With that in mind, he’s definitely going to be looking to have a better game in round three. Baker Mayfield is the player to really watch in this one though. He’s going to want to avenge that game sealing pick he threw in January.
We’ll see how this game goes 95 days from now when the Lions welcome the Bucs into Ford Field for a 1:00 kickoff. Should be fun.