The Detroit Lions (4-2) are looking for a bounce-back victory when they return home for Monday Night Football against the top team in the NFC, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-1).
Both teams have played strong football this year and are well-positioned to each make the playoffs, making this matchup even more important down the road for potential playoff seeding.
That’s still a ways away and both teams are dealing with a lot of injuries that could have major implications on who comes out of Ford Field with a victory.
Here’s a preview of the Lions’ Week 7 opponent, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers:
Three players to knowThe Bucs are likely down wide receivers Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and star rookie Emeka Egbuka. But Tampa Bay still has some solid pass catchers, including 10-year veteran Sterling Shepard. Since some early flashes during his career with the New York Giants, he’s had a pretty quiet last few seasons. But through six games, Shepard has 19 catches for 242 yards and a touchdown. He’s on pace for his highest reception and yardage totals since 2020 and with all of these injuries stacking up, his opportunities will probably just keep increasing.Cornerback Jamel Dean has played a lot of football in a Buccaneers uniform, but the seventh-year defensive back might be playing his best football ever this season. He’s first in overall defensive grade for a cornerback this season (90.1) by Pro Football Focus, has two interceptions and allowed receptions on just nine of 21 targets where he was the primary defender in coverage.Despite missing the first three games of the season, left tackle Tristan Wirfs has still hit the ground running for the Bucs’ O-line. He’s yet to allow a sack and just five total pressures early on this season. As Wirfs gets further from his knee injury, he should only get closer to his best play, which is among the elite tackles in the league.Quarterback corner
The Bucs have been battling injuries around their offense all season, but the huge constant and a major reason they’re 5-1 start the season is eight-year veteran quarterback Baker Mayfield.
The Lions have already seen elite quarterbacks like Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes, however Mayfield might be playing at the highest level of any of them this season.
He’s thrown for 1,539 yards (4th in NFL), 12 touchdowns (3rd) and only one interception, while posting 158 rushing yards on 7.2 yards per attempt, a top mark among quarterbacks this season.
Mayfield is making big-time plays and running a top-10 scoring offense to the top spot in the NFC.
He’s had some low moments at Ford Field back in the 2023 playoffs but Mayfield also walked in and downed the Lions on their home field last season. No one has well and truly disrupted Mayfield this season, making for one of the toughest challenges this Detroit defense has had in 2025.
Keys to successAvoid turnovers: The Bucs play some of the cleanest offense in the league, with two total turnovers lost in the entire season. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that both came in the same game against the Philadelphia Eagles, the only blemish on Tampa Bay’s record this season. It’s not just about keeping the ball to go drive down the field and get in the end zone, the Bucs are very willing to kick field goals behind Chase McLaughlin, who has an NFL season-long 65-yard field goal. Tampa Bay has only scored 30-plus points twice, but their ability to get points on the board consistently puts them in position to win and that begins with not giving away possessions.Bend, don’t break defense: The Tampa Bay defense has some real quality between Dean, EDGE Yaya Diaby, linebacker Lavonte David and promising rookies Jacob Parrish and Elijah Roberts. But they’ve yet to really show themselves as a dominant unit this season. It’s been about timely stops and they’re more than capable of producing those. After the San Francisco 49ers scored on five of their first seven possessions of the game the Bucs locked in and forced a punt, an interception and a turnovers on downs in their final three drives to thwart a late comeback. They might struggle out of the gate, but Tampa Bay finishes strong and that’s what they’ll need against an offense like Detroit’s.One big question
Will the Bucs be more affected by their missing receivers than the Lions’ missing defensive backs?
The two teams might be perfectly matched in a sense, the biggest areas of concern are going to go head-to-head.
Tampa Bay is missing its top three receiving options — four if you include Jalen McMillian who’s been out since preseason — while the Lions are down five cornerbacks right now in Terrion Arnold, Avonte Maddox, Khalil Dorsey, D.J. Reed and Ennis Rakestraw Jr. (out for season).
Additionally, starting safety Kerby Joseph is dealing with a knee injury that’s had him on and off the field during games and fellow starting safety Brian Branch is suspended after a postgame scuffle in Week 6.
Despite all these injuries, the Bucs have still moved the ball very well with Mayfield, having guys like Shepard, tight end Cade Otton and rookie receiver Tez Johnson producing.
The Lions secondary has been a bit questionable dealing with all these absences, but Amik Robertson’s stepped up and been a crucial reason teams aren’t torching Detroit downfield every play.
Branch being absent could be the big factor that tilts against the Lions this time around, it’ll be up to Thomas Harper or Erick Hallett to pick up the slack there.
The Bucs are probably in the stronger position in the matchup, but the continued success of Tampa Bay will rely on just how well they can perform with receivers further down the depth chart.
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