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 theirs. Detroit outgained the Bucs on offense 379 to 251, averaging 5.8 yards per play, while Tampa only averaged 3.8. The Lions didn’t score as much as they should have with some hiccups, but they controlled the game from the beginning, and they won 24-9.
Let’s get into my three takeaways from the victory over the Bucs.
Welcome back, Alim McNeill
Oh boy, the Lions defensive line looks a lot better. Defensive tackle Alim McNeill was activated off the PUP list Monday evening, returning from his torn ACL last season. He wasn’t going to see a full amount of snaps in his first game back, but boy did he have an impact.
On the first two drives, McNeill was moving bodies back like he was at a practice, moving a sled back. The Bucs were without their starting and backup right guard, so it was up to Mike Jordan to try and contain McNeill, but he couldn’t do much. McNeill only finished with a single tackle and a pass deflection, but he caused havoc by just being on the field.
According to PFF, McNeill played 45 snaps—higher than I expected—and he made them count. McNeill looks like he was in mid-season form after practicing for three weeks. Him being on the field was beneficial for not just the defensive line, but the secondary as well. The more snaps he plays, the scarier this defense is going to get.
Gibbs owns the Bucs once again
Ever since Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs has been in the league, he has been haunting the Bucs. He missed their first matchup in the 2023 regular season, but he showed them what he could do in the Divisional Round, rushing for 74 yards and a touchdown on nine carries with four catches for 40 yards. In 2024, despite the loss to the Bucs, Gibbs still played well with 84 yards on 13 carries and seven catches for 22 yards.
This year, with Gibbs getting more of the workload at the position, Tampa saw more than they could handle of him on Monday night. Gibbs was a major focal point in the offense tonight, doing everything from blocking to catching and running for big gains.
The offense ran through him mostly as he had his best game of the season, rushing 17 times for 136 yards and two touchdowns, but also getting three catches for 82 yards. He was great at the screen passes and making guys miss with his ability to stop on a dime and juke them out of their shoes.
Secondary shines despite missing starters
While the Bucs were missing some players on their offense, the Lions secondary was even more banged up. Cornerbacks DJ Reed, Terrion Arnold, and safety Kerby Joseph missed the game due to injuries, while safety Brian Branch missed the game due to his one-game suspension. That meant nickel cornerback, Amik Robertson, is the only remaining starter for Detroit’s back five. Robertson kicked outside for the second game in a row and made the most of it, forcing a fumble off a beautiful Peanut punch to give Detroit the ball back. Robertson finished the game with three tackles and a pass deflection.
Robertson wasn’t alone in stepping up in the secondary. While he moved to the outside, cornerback Arthur Maulet moved to nickel and had a key interception to give Detroit the ball back before halftime.
Those two had big takeaways, but you can’t ignore the other players who stepped up in the moment. Cornerback Rock Ya-Sin had four tackles, two pass deflections, and a good stop to force Mike Evans out of bounds before he could get a second foot down. Nick Whiteside had two tackles and three pass deflections—and another one on a two-point conversion—and Erick Hallet at safety finished with a team-high eight tackles on the night in good coverage.
Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield entered the game as a leading candidate for MVP, and he had his worst performance of the season: 28-for-50 for 228 yards with a touchdown and a pick. Mayfield never got a chance to run the football freely, and he was sacked four times. The secondary played a huge part in the victory as what was viewed as the weak link heading into the game, but ended up showing out when the team needed them the most.
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