The Detroit Lions and Tampa Bay Buccaneers face off on Monday night for a place near the top of the NFC. If the Buccaneers win, they’ll stand alone atop the conference with a 6-1 record. If the Lions win, both teams will be 5-2—technically behind the Green Bay Packers, who are 4-1-1 through seven weeks.
Both teams have been on similar trajectories over the past few years. Under Todd Bowles, the Buccaneers have made the playoffs three straight year, holding the NFC South crown in each. Under Dan Campbell, the Lions have been NFC North winners for each of the past two seasons. The two teams’ paths have crossed several times over this era. In 2023, the Lions swept the Buccaneers—beating them once in the regular season and once in the playoffs. Last season, the Bucs got their revenge with a Week 2 20-16 victory over the Lions in Ford Field.
Detroit comes in the game off the heels of a demoralizing loss that not only cost them the victory, but both starting safeties. Kerby Joseph aggravated his season-long injury and is out this week, while Brian Branch caught a one-game suspension for his post-game skirmish. It’s just the latest of hardships facing a Lions sceondary that was already missing both starting cornerbacks.
That’s not a great situation to walk into on Monday night when MVP-candidate Baker Mayfield is in town, but the Lions have weathered worse storms before.
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