Ira Kaufman’s 10 Takeaways From Bucs-Lions
September 15th, 2024
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BY IRA KAUFMAN
Stats don’t lie, they swear.
By the sheer numbers, the Lions mauled the Bucs Sunday at Ford Field, owning a whopping 463-216 advantage in total yards and a distinct lead in time of possession.
Ask any Buc fan if they care and you know the answer: hell no.
Tampa Bay won this game 20-16 because the Bucs matched Detroit’s physicality and played superb defense, despite being undermanned. Young players stepped up, especially in the red zone, as the Bucs opened at 2-0 for the fourth consecutive season.
The offense, hampered by a dismal ground game, did just enough and Todd Bowles’ group did the rest. The Bucs overcame Aidan Hutchinson, who lived up to his reputation as a game-wrecker with 4 1-2 sacks, primarily against a backup right tackle.
In the end, the Bucs made more plays when it counted. Even the national media has to finally notice what’s going on in Tampa, where a gritty franchise has quietly won 8 of its last 10 games.
“That’s a good team there,” said Lions coach Dan Campbell, who tried to throw himself under the team bus, suggesting the setback was decided on a late first-half miscue that cost Detroit three points. Although Campbell blamed himself for the loss, there’s a lot more to the story.
The Bucs won this game more than the Lions self-destructed. They made previous Buc-killer Jared Goff look pedestrian — even while he fired 55 passes at a depleted secondary.
Todd Bowles
When Bowles studies the film, he’ll be especially proud of the energy and focus displayed by inexperienced players like Zyon McCollum, Chris Izien, SirVocea Dennis and Tykee Smith. Veterans Jamel Dean and Jordan Whitehead contributed with stout coverage and solid run support.
It all added up to one of the most impressive victories of the Bowles era. The Bucs were prohibitive underdogs on the road, facing a raucous crowd and one of the NFC teams favored to reach the Super Bowl.
Instead, they never lost their poise and held a potent attack to a single touchdown. The Bucs are likely to get some key starters back by the end of the month and this is starting to look like a team opponents should be in no hurry to face.
When the Broncos arrive in Week 3, Tampa Bay will be seeking its first 3-0 start since 2005. That was six head coaches ago. Graham Barton was a toddler.
He’s all grown up now. So are his teammates.
Here’s how the Bucs stormed into Motown and proved it’s not the same old song against the Lions:
* You want the key stat? Detroit was 1-for-7 in the red zone. “That’s ultimately the difference in the game,” said Goff, who couldn’t find open targets when it counted most. He kept throwing short, hoping for yards after the catch, but Tampa Bay defenders closed quickly and tackled crisply. The only deep shot he hit on was an early 50-yard strike to Jameson Williams.
* Chris Godwin supplied most of the Buc offense in the opening half, highlighted by some third-down receptions that sustained drives. Give Mayfield credit for escaping pressure and keeping his eyes downfield. Buc fans can’t believe Mayfield’s knack for buying time in the pocket.
* Liam Coen will have better days as offensive coordinator. He waited too long to give Justin Skule help against Hutchinson. Right tackle Luke Goedeke can’t get back soon enough.
* In the middle of the week, Bowles wasn’t sure McCollum would be cleared to play. Boy, did he play. Six tackles, four passes defended and a pick led the way for an aggressive secondary that challenged most of Goff’s throws — despite the absence of Antoine Winfield Jr.
* It’s going to be difficult for Buc coaches to keep Dennis off the field. He played sparingly as a rookie but is making up for lost time. He was outstanding in the opener against Washington and Dennis followed up with nine tackles on Sunday. He closes fast and he closes with a thump.
* Don’t forget about Izien, who posted nine stops, two passes defended and an interception. He played smart and he played big.
* Even without his All-Pro mate at safety, Whitehead set an early tone, especially in run support. He registered 11 stops and has been Tampa Bay’s leading tackler in both games. Rookie Tykee Smith added seven tackles and Dean played a strong game.
* The Bucs are hoping Vita Vea’s knee injury isn’t serious, especially with Calijah Kancey still out with a calf problem. Although this defense is resourceful, those are two key players counted on to shut down the inside run game.
* When Mayfield is your top rusher, you know the ground game struggled. Without Mayfield’s 34 yards, the Bucs would have averaged exactly 2.0 yards per carry.
* From the first snap to the final whistle, the Bucs hustled. They were short on bodies but long on determination — and that’s a credit to the staff and the roster Jason Licht has built. When Campbell wasn’t trying to take the blame, he acknowledged the mettle of the visitors.
“They go all out over there,” Campbell said in tribute. No one in Detroit’s locker room had the gall to disagree.
September 15th, 2024 at 7:05 pm
Statement win
September 15th, 2024 at 7:06 pm
The Young Bucs showed up BIG today!
September 15th, 2024 at 7:08 pm
Great team win. Hand it to Bowles and his staff to coach these guys up and hold them together.
September 15th, 2024 at 7:11 pm
They probably need to realize sooner rather than later that Rachaad White shares more of a resemblance to Charles Sims than he does Edgerin James. There’s no reason to give him any more early down carries. Fine reciever in the screen game, but doesn’t have the burst to be a threatening ball carrier.
September 15th, 2024 at 7:11 pm
Joe, can we get a survey of people who want Goedeke to wear the Gazoo helmet when he gets back? You can put me down for 5 yes votes.
September 15th, 2024 at 7:19 pm
Did anyone see this stat? Bucs are the second team in 54 YEARS to win a game after being out gained by more than 200 yards and giving up five sacks while not getting one themselves.
The only other time it has happened was the Oilers beating the Bengals week 8 in 1987. WOW!
September 15th, 2024 at 7:19 pm
Joe
So are you still a sacks guy lol…did the pressure gang win you over lol
GO BUCS
September 15th, 2024 at 7:20 pm
I’m with Irishmist. All our linemen should wear them.
September 15th, 2024 at 7:25 pm
Amen! A great team effort. Good coaching matters. Lots of grit and determination.
Go Bucs!!!
September 15th, 2024 at 7:33 pm
Awesome game!!
Hey Joe – is Carmada injured? His punts are not so good.
September 15th, 2024 at 7:45 pm
I give both Licht and Bowles tons of credit for this win. You need to have both the right players and the right coaching to put them in position to succeed. Kudos to both!
September 15th, 2024 at 7:46 pm
Bucky didn’t fare much better than White. For whatever reason, most of the runs went right (Skule) I didn’t see holes opening even when they didn’t go to the right
September 15th, 2024 at 7:50 pm
Joe I am not so good at evaluating o-line, did Barton have a good game? who stood out?–we need a post on o-line thx Joe
September 15th, 2024 at 7:52 pm
Impressive win, and impressive points, Ira. Thank you Bucs and Ira!
September 15th, 2024 at 7:56 pm
Youngry lol
September 15th, 2024 at 8:05 pm
I was listening to some Detroit sports talk radio while mowing the yard, because I wanted to hear Lions fans crying – and man, I got to tell you, their sports talk is awful. Not even in a fun way, just terrible bad radio. You got some guy in there that has some idea what he’s talking about, but he’s paired up with some hole who has no idea what she’s talking about, just babbling, saying nothing, all her takes are wrong, and I guess she does local TV or something because she has the balls to talk about how she has inside knowledge from the telecast. Really, awful, boring radio. In general I hate sports talk, and this reaffirmed to me why. I just wanted to hear a bunch of slobs in Detroit crying, and all you got was some woman talking over all the men, ‘correcting’ them when they say Goff wasn’t sacked today – to say he was (he wasn’t). Really bad. I’ll have to wait for the fanboi Lions podcasts I guess to really hear them squeal.
September 15th, 2024 at 8:07 pm
Net yards are misleading for this particular game. Typically, it DOES tell the story of who truly dominated but at no point did I feel like the lions were dominating the game. If not for Skule, that useless pathetic excuse of a right tackle, the Bucs offense and baker could get whatever they wanted. 289 yards on 34 completions is not impressive. The Bucs were the tougher, better team. Goedeke needs to come back soon however or baker will get killed, although I’m sure loser Trask fans would absolutely love that
September 15th, 2024 at 8:09 pm
Hard nosed win!
September 15th, 2024 at 8:11 pm
Wow, 5 sacks. Yet, the Lions could not get in the end zone. That pic of LVD makes a simple statement of how well and gutsy a banged up Defense played. I was rooting for Whitehead to get a pick. Izien did it. Yaya, SVD and JTS had very good games. And Ungodly CG14. What a team statement. Than you, Bucs.
September 15th, 2024 at 8:14 pm
Thank you, Bucs. Hate auto-edit.
September 15th, 2024 at 8:21 pm
I’ve yet to see ANY national publication acknowledge the extent of the Bucs’ injuries going into this game. Most obvious would have been Hutchinson going up against a backup
September 15th, 2024 at 8:22 pm
If the NFL doesn’t fix the officiating, will anyone care in 10 years? It’s becoming a real joke.
September 15th, 2024 at 8:24 pm
Knowing the national media they’ll talk more about what’s wrong with Detroit more than what’s right with the Bucs. They will struggle giving us the credit we deserve until the 2-3 quarter of the season
September 15th, 2024 at 8:27 pm
this is an old time monte kiffen style defensive performance, even like when lee Roy led the defense, and when todd ran our defenses for bruce..
it was a privilege to watch this defense today and the old time defenses we had
September 15th, 2024 at 8:28 pm
Liam Coen play calling was ridiculous this game. He knew Detroit was bringing the heat. Yet and still, there were one pass thrown to the running backs. And Rachad White has a 90% career catch ratio. I understand he’s the OC, but this don’t make sense!!
September 15th, 2024 at 8:31 pm
The Bucs were playing a soft zone pretty much all day – but that zone did tighten up in the red zone. Have to give Bowles credit for having the guts to stick with it – this week it worked. But teams aren’t going to go 1-7 in the red zone every week. However, with all the injuries, it’s really hard to blame Bowles for going soft. The Bucs did get just enough pressure on Goff to make him force some throws.
On offense it’s hard to take anything away from this game since the play at RT was historically bad and just blew up the entire offensive scheme.
A very weird game, but an impressive W considering the massive injuries the Bucs had. However, it makes me sick, seeing national people talking about how great Hutch was today. He wasn’t anything special – the Bucs RT Sucke was just bad in a way that reminded me of Ryan Smith vs the Vikings or Chris Conte vs the Steelers. It was a game changer in the worst way possible.
September 15th, 2024 at 8:31 pm
Leave it to Rod to do the work none of the rest of us want to do. No way in heck I could listen to that even though schadenfreude is one of my greatest joys as a well experienced human. Please relay anything especially great that you hear to us less patient Bucs.
September 15th, 2024 at 8:33 pm
Agreed. Overcoming the injuries on D and at RT was just great coaching.
September 15th, 2024 at 8:37 pm
Saw this:
“The Buccaneers became the second team since the 1970 merger to win a game despite being outgained by 200-plus total yards (463-216) and having a sack differential of minus five or worse”
September 15th, 2024 at 8:38 pm
Jack Burton Mercert – It was the postgame, I just love listening to fans who assume they have a W in the pocket call in crying, saying the coach needs to be fired, the QB benched, the Packers won and the season is over, all that stuff.
Instead I just heard some woman literally talking over everyone with terrible takes – zero crying, just boring.
September 15th, 2024 at 8:50 pm
Hainsey played RT in college. Surely he is better than what we got today.
September 15th, 2024 at 9:03 pm
I would like to thank DAVID from the people that voted YES we would win. And his superb logic he gave us as to why we should not vote yes and were we were going to lose this game. Because the people that voted yes and the Bucs showed you how much your logic to the situation was worth!
September 15th, 2024 at 9:05 pm
Rod … ‘Bucs RT Sucke was just bad in a way that reminded me of Ryan Smith vs the Vikings or Chris Conte vs the Steelers.’
You just can’t let that go, can you Rod. Remember that was Conte’s last game (never recovered from his injuries suffered before that fateful game). But since you brought up the comparison, wondering now if this’ll be Skule’s last game here (that was a brutal performance).
September 15th, 2024 at 9:11 pm
Drule was worse than either Ryan Smith or Conte. They were mostly inept, but each turned in a play or two. Yet, horrifyingly bad. Excuses for them are comical. The quadriplegic corpse occupying RT space today is not a player for the NFL. Worse than totally inept.
Maybe a bouncer at the Windsor Ballet.
September 15th, 2024 at 9:13 pm
Defense Rules – I wasn’t even refencing you, just when I think of terrible games by Bucs players, those two games are the first two that come to mind. And Conte’s game vs the Steelers was a lot better than the Ryan Smith game at the Vikings, to be fair to Chris.
As for Sucke, I hope that was the last time we ever see him. No reason that guy should ever see the field again. He was awful in the preseason, he couldn’t block 3rd string DE’s that are now working at Piggly Wiggly, there’s no reason he should have even made the roster.
Someone brought up resigning Donovan Smith who is a FA sitting at home, and the Bucs need to do that right now as I’m typing this. I don’t care if Smith is completely out of shape and weighing 500lbs, I’ll take that over ever seing Sucke play another game.
September 15th, 2024 at 9:22 pm
Im extremely impressed with how Todd Bowles called this game. It’s easy to crap on him but with us being undermanned he STILL had the backups ready to go win a game, against a very tough opponent nonetheless. And I can’t just mention Todd because even with the interception Baker was on point tonight. AND I CANT MENTION BAKER WITHOUT CHRIS THE GOD CARRYING US CHAIN BY CHAIN!!!! Chris Godwin was AMAZING tonight and deserves every flower. Give Godwin, Baker, And Bowles game balls they came to win and of course Liam Coen who did what he needed to do. I already like him more than Canales…… MAJOR W on the ROAD IN DETROIT wow good stuff
September 15th, 2024 at 9:25 pm
With so little pressure getting to the QB, you gotta activate Ramirez.
Did Chris Braswell play today?
September 15th, 2024 at 9:29 pm
It makes me wanna cry bro Chris Godwin is one of the best draft picks we have ever had and he played his heart out tonight and even after that terrible injury he looks like he did 3 years ago I can’t give this man enough props he’s my favorite player on the whole team
September 15th, 2024 at 9:29 pm
Irishmist Says:
September 15th, 2024 at 7:11 pm
Joe, can we get a survey of people who want Goedeke to wear the Gazoo helmet when he gets back? You can put me down for 5 yes votes.
—————————————————
The league already uses 2 helmets that are as good as or better than the Gazoo pad.
September 15th, 2024 at 9:29 pm
We actually had a bunch of pressures and hits, and it didn’t seem we were blitzing as much as usual
September 15th, 2024 at 9:35 pm
Gogortheface30 says:
I’m sure loser Trask fans would absolutely love that
——————————
Trask fans are 2-0, not losers.
September 15th, 2024 at 9:37 pm
That was a great article, Ira. Insightful and well-written.
September 15th, 2024 at 9:37 pm
Yep Dan just like the Applebee’s commercial , Y’all never saw it coming lol
September 15th, 2024 at 9:46 pm
In other musings — how many more winning performances does Baker have to produce before the potatoes with “Trask” in their posting handles either change their handle, depart, or just fade into oblivion?
September 15th, 2024 at 9:57 pm
When Mayfield is your top rusher, you know the ground game struggled. Without Mayfield’s 34 yards, the Bucs would have averaged exactly 2.0 yards per carry.
———-
Why did the Bucs keep running right today when you had a complete trash player at RT who couldn’t block anyone? Made no sense why this team just doesn’t run left that often.
With that said, as said before, you really can’t take anything away from this game on the offensive side. The play by Sucke was generationally bad, he single handedly derailed the offense. But you also have to blame Coppertop for not seeing this coming. Why can I in the comments forecast exactly what happened, why can Joe point out exactly what is going to happen, and yet the team went in with seemingly no plan at all for dealing with it? That is concerning. Hopefully they learn from this and don’t do that generic ‘next man up’ bull – if you next man up is a bum, then you have to change things.
September 15th, 2024 at 10:01 pm
yeah def a weird game – if you do a deep dive…
it’s almost like the game and the box score don’t match up…
but then again they sorta do match up…
weird game equaling out to great victory and a nail biter of a finish…
tykee smith is another good one too…the further back in the defense we go, the better we are…
i guess we might need to sign a guy or two up front…work a trade for reddick, and if the vita news is somber, add a DT…
next sunday’s game is bookended by the detroit and philly match ups…so i’m seeing a potential let down this weekend…where maybe payton’s broncos hang around and make it a tighter game than expected…but ultimately the bucs will beat the broncos
September 15th, 2024 at 10:07 pm
we also had a D lineman whose last name started with “O” in camp, and he played pretty well in preseason…i’m forgetting his name now…i don’t see him on the PS…
maybe find that dude if no one scooped him up
September 15th, 2024 at 10:08 pm
Bucky couldn’t get going and neither could white. Again white consistently hit in the back field. I agree with JOE that white isn’t a great running back but he doesn’t get much help from his oline.
September 15th, 2024 at 10:08 pm
Yes, I’m glad the Bucs won in spite of lopsided stat in total yards, but let’s not tempt fate, again!
September 15th, 2024 at 10:09 pm
the game was so weird that at 10:10 EST i’m noticing justin skule just gave up another sack to hutchinson
September 15th, 2024 at 10:10 pm
and at midnight he is scheduled to give up one more 🙂
September 15th, 2024 at 10:12 pm
Need a competent swing tackle. I hope the kid get’s it together. Hurry back Luke!
September 15th, 2024 at 10:14 pm
@Rod Munch as much as I agree the Bucs won the game at the end of the day and against a very tough opponent. We can hope this was all apart of the gameplan because it worked, save the disagreement for when we lose because we are 2-0 baby
September 15th, 2024 at 10:31 pm
somebody else said it–this defense is Youngry!
September 15th, 2024 at 10:35 pm
I have been a Mayfield fan since the beginning. I confess however I did not know his ceiling. I believed at minimum he could at least win as a caretaker QB if not an out and out leader. I thought the high bar would be like Fran Tarkenton with an “attitude”. Somebody who can use their legs to extend plays and drive opposing DL’s crazy.
Perhaps the majority of NFL QB’s could have won that first game against the Commanders, the Bucs were clearly the better team. But in an even matchup on the road as seven point underdogs Baker Mayfield was one of only a few QB’s who could have won today’s game. Trask nor Goff are nearly as mobile. I mean aside from the obvious like Mahomes and a few others how many QB’s could have brought the “pocket feel” and ability to react and keep looking downfield.
Mayfield still has a chance to be “special”.
September 15th, 2024 at 10:38 pm
it’s 10:40 EST and skule just got bull rushed at the airport by hutch…
and he let a frail airport worker get sacked on the runway
September 15th, 2024 at 10:43 pm
As much as I dislike Hainsey, make him the swing tackle. He can’t be worse than Skuletor
September 15th, 2024 at 11:37 pm
Hearty Dikerson Says:
September 15th, 2024 at 10:43 pm
As much as I dislike Hainsey, make him the swing tackle. He can’t be worse than Skuletor
—–
If Hainsey had both of his legs amputated and transitioned to a tree stump he couldn’t be as bad as Sucke was today.
September 16th, 2024 at 12:08 am
The run game had no chance today because the front line had to many injuries why post if u have no clue
September 16th, 2024 at 3:38 am
The front line had 1 injury BAKERSbucs. They are weak on the interior and the loss of Luke exposed the overall weakness. Skule was galactically inept but that could have been schemed around if not for the other weak sisters. The two guards are just jags. This will not go away. There will be no great improvement in the run game without some changes to the guard play. I don’t know if Mauck is going to improve enough or have to be replaced. Maybe we gamble on the rookie Klein. He can’t be that much worse. Bredeson is just a rental journeyman holding the place until next year. The rest of the league saw that game too. Coen and Carberry have their work cut out for them now. Get well soon Luke.
September 16th, 2024 at 4:34 am
This is officially one of my all time favorite Bucs wins. Bucs roll into loud Denver, go toe to toe with a playoff caliber physical Lions team with a bunch of backups and rookies, and come away with a W. No Brady. No AB. No Sue. God I love this team.
September 16th, 2024 at 5:53 am
Rod … ‘Why did the Bucs keep running right today when you had a complete trash player at RT who couldn’t block anyone? Made no sense why this team just doesn’t run left that often.’
Not so fast Rod. Skule’s pass blocking was definitely a thing to behold (or NOT to behold?), but his run blocking was as good as everyone else’s.
o Bucs ran Right 10 times on the day for 28 yds. We were 5 runs for 4 yds around Right End & 5 runs for 24 yds over Right Tackle.
o Bucs ran Left 5 times on the day for 14 yds. We were 1 run for 6 yds around Left End & 4 runs for 8 yds over Left Tackle.
o Bucs ran over the Middle 7 times on the day for 29 yds (plus 1 Kneeldown for minus 1 yd).
So we did the best running over the Middle (4.1 YPC) & over our Right Tackle (4.8 YPC). Running game was abysmal everyplace else. Baker was the saving grace in our running game … 4 runs for 35 yards (disregarding the kneeldown). Bucs only had 3 runs of greater than 10 yards … all 3 were by Baker.
Bottom line to me is that our revised running game is only as good as our OLine blocking is. And 2 games in, it’s been better on the Right side than on the Left. Still not sure why.
September 16th, 2024 at 6:00 am
BAKERSBucs .. ‘The run game had no chance today because the front line had to many injuries why post if u have no clue’.
The only injury our OLine had was to RT Goedeke (and we saw what happened to his replacement Skule in the passing game). But we ran 5 times over Right Tackle for 24 yards, so his run blocking apparently wasn’t all that bad.
September 16th, 2024 at 6:03 am
Excellent overview, Ira!
We all knew Hutchinson was going to be a threat and there was definitely frustration. Coen fixed it.
Baker was a running back while quarterbacking! Like Joe said “Houdini.”
September 16th, 2024 at 7:51 am
Rod Munch glad to see you are feeling good. Really appreciate your take on the game. Transitioning to a tree stump was funny. But look to Defense Rules for the nitty gritty details. Skule got tossed into a tough spot. And bottom line he came out a winner. And Rod you don’t have to be mean to be funny. And that goes for you too Dave Pear. You guys are funny which works for me and I even laugh at your meaner stuff. It’s just not very nice – we stick by everyone in our uniform until they no longer are.
September 16th, 2024 at 10:56 am
Overall, that was a great win in a tough situation – those are the ones you have to win if you want to set yourself up for the playoffs.
Negatives – 1) need a better plan for game-wrecking edge rushers. Hutch was always going to have an impact but leaving him to run amok against a back-up tackle without much help? Silly. We still get Parsons, Crosby, and Bosa this year (you could probably add Mack, Judon, and Burns to that list as well) – Coen will need a better plan for all of them.
2) Run game needs to improve. But, Detroit has a good defense, so both of these negatives are minor.
Positives – 1) team defense. A lot of young guys were pushed into bigger roles on the weekend, and they all met or exceeded expectations. Izien, Mccollum, and Dennis were excellent. Even JTS looked solid and the line got pressure a couple of times to force Goff (more consistent pressure and sacks would be preferable, but whole we’re this injured, I’m okay with it for now).
2) Whitehead. I was pretty happy when I heard they would bring him back over the off-season, but I forgot how good he is and how much I enjoy watching him play. When Winfield gets back, I think they’re at minimum, a top-3 safety combo in the league.
3) Grit. Everyone just kept grinding, even when it wasn’t going their way. Credit to coach Bowles for a winning game plan – if he keeps this up, I’ll have to change my vote in the ‘confidence’ polls.
September 17th, 2024 at 8:01 am
Bowles pulled some defensive moves that showed his best trickeration too Ira.
A very very gritty perfprmance by all! Even Skule. Tough when you are getting wooped on every play…
I was way wrong about Skule BTW…Wow!
Go Bucs!