Buccaneers vs. Lions bold prediction: Jared Goff finds treasure against Tampa Bay

Last week, the Washington Commanders found more offensive success than the score would indicate against Tampa Bay. Can Detroit exploit the same weaknesses?

Last week, the Washington Commanders got manhandled by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by a score of 37-20. Baker Mayfield and the Bucs offense looked like they didn’t miss a step following the departure of former offensive coordinator Dave Canales for the Carolina Panthers’ head coaching job.

However, Washington’s offensive showing was better than the score would indicate. Rookie QB Jayden Daniels made his air debut to the tune of 184 passing yards, no touchdowns, and no interceptions. On the ground, though, he managed 88 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 16 rushing attempts. It likely would’ve been more, but Daniels fumbled the ball three times on the day, losing two of them.

If we take a look at where Washington distributed the ball on offense, it tells a promising story for the Lions. Over 75 percent of the Commanders’ passing yardage came through their running backs and tight ends. That, combined with Daniels’ rushing yardage and volume, illustrates a weak Buccaneers’ linebacking corps that should provide ample space for the Lions’ offense to work on their short game.

Bold prediction of the week: Jared Goff throws for 3+ touchdowns against Tampa Bay

After starting the season with a very whelming one touchdown and one interception last week, Jared Goff will be looking to rebound against the Bucs. The box score doesn’t include at least one dropped interception by the Rams defense, too. Goff didn’t look his best last week, but his mishaps came predominantly on deep or outside passes, which he hasn’t historically leaned on too heavily.

This came against a Rams’ defense that overhauled their passing game to compensate for the loss of Aaron Donald. While Goff had more time to throw, he was doing so against a tight middle and was dared to go deep.

The Buccaneers showed in Week 1 that they aren’t as stout of a defense. The Commanders offense was able to distribute the ball through the short game against Tampa Bay, and that’s good news for the Lions offense. That means more passes to Sam LaPorta, Jahmyr Gibbs, and David Montgomery. After the Lions struggled to get the ball to Amon-Ra St. Brown in the opener, I wouldn’t be surprised if that also means more quick screen passes to St. Brown and Jameson Williams as well.

This is all good news for the Lions’ offense. There are few teams, if any, that can match up with the Lions’ best skill players when they have the ball in space. Against Tampa, they’ll have the ball in space plenty. That should mean matching Washington’s 20 points and then a whole lot more, in what will likely be a shootout against the potent Buccaneers’ offense. For Jared Goff, that means 3+ passing touchdowns, a mark he hit three times last season.