While Todd Bowles did not confirm early this afternoon that Vita Vea finished all testing related to his injured knee (suffered yesterday when YaYa Diaby fell on him), Bowles did say that his manbeast defensive tackle has a Grade 2 MCL sprain and it’s a “day-to-day” situation.
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An instant classic with Joe after this historic victory. Enjoy!
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Immediately after the game yesterday when the Bucs defense stonewalled the Lions for the full fourth quarter, one Bucs player refused to take any credit. [read more]
Joe remembers well the weekend of the 2024 draft when the Bucs selected Georgia safety Tykee Smith in Round 2 and right away the Bucs strongly implied he would be their starting nickel cornerback. [read more]
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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. [read more]
There is “hope” the Bucs may have dodged a major bullet.
NFL.com reporter Ian Rapoport reports this evening that the initial diagnosis of Vita Vea’s injury is that he suffered an MCL sprain and there is hope it won’t be an “extended absence.”
Vita will undergo an MRI test tomorrow, per Rapoport, but Bucs types are crossing their fingers Vea’s injury is not major.
Vea suffered the injury under friendly fire early in the third quarter of today’s win over the Lions. YaYa Diaby fell into Vea’s leg and he buckled.