Lions-Buccaneers preview: Dan Campbell isn’t taking Tampa Bay lightly

The Detroit Lions continued their strong performance against NFC South teams, winning 42-24 against the Carolina Panthers. However, the score doesn’t quite show how well Dan Campbell and his coaching staff managed both the offense and defense. The Lions lead their division and are aiming for their first NFC North title.

But the Tampa Bay Buccaneers stand in their way when it comes to potential playoff seeding.

As they prepare for this Sunday’s game, the Lions are three-point favorites to beat the NFC South-leading Bucs. Detroit’s recent strong performances make defeating Tampa Bay a reasonable expectation. However, it won’t be easy.

Except for their Week 3 loss against last year’s Super Bowl runner-up, the Philadelphia Eagles, no team has managed to score more than 17 points against the Bucs this season. The Bucs have showcased a top-seven defense in the league over the first five weeks of the season. Now here is where thing’s get a tad bit interesting. The Lions’ offense averages nearly 27 points per game, setting the stage for an intriguing and challenging clash this Sunday at Raymond James Stadium. The Lions currently boast one of the NFL’s most balanced offenses, ranking in the top 10 in both rushing and passing. Recognizing this, Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles emphasized the need for his team to be focused.

“Obviously we got to make plays to win the ball game, be (we) have to be very disciplined because they can hurt you either way,” Bowles told reporters on Wednesday.

As we head into Week 6, let’s take a look at what’s going on with the Bucs.

Don’t underestimate Baker Mayfield; he has played well this season.

Through five weeks this season, Detroit’s Jared Goff, San Francisco’s Brock Purdy, and Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts have met the preseason expectations placed upon them. All three quarterbacks have performed well this season and have been a significant factor in their respective divisions.

That wasn’t the expectation placed upon Baker Mayfield playing under center for the Buccaneers. But it’s the reality of where we’re at.

So far this season, among qualifying NFL quarterbacks, Mayfield is seventh in completion percentage (69.6%), tenth in touchdowns (seven), and eighth in passer rating (101.5). On top of that, he’s been extra careful with the ball, having only thrown two interceptions so far. To add some context to how significant that is, with the exception of his rookie year, Mayfield has thrown at least five picks per season by Week 5.

Bucs’ WR duo could become a problem for Detroit’s secondary

Apart from his explosive performance of eight catches for 171 yards and one touchdown against the Chicago Bears in Week 2, Evans hasn’t reached the 100-yard receiving mark in any other game this year. However, in the broader context of Tampa Bay’s success, this is not a concern. Current projections indicate that he’s on pace to finish the season with 1,432 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns, which would mark his best NFL season in every category. Currently, he has 20 receptions for 337 yards and three touchdowns.

In Godwin’s case, even though he has yet to score a touchdown, he has been a consistent producer for Tampa Bay with 21 catches for 255 yards.

The Lions’ sole loss this season came against the Seattle Seahawks, who featured a competent quarterback in Geno Smith and dynamic receiver D. K. Metcalf, along with a solid complementary receiver in Tyler Lockett. In that loss, Smith passed for 328 yards and two touchdowns, with Metcalf recording six catches for 75 yards and Lockett adding eight receptions for 59 yards and two touchdowns.

Considering that the Lions’ secondary is even more depleted than it was in Week 2, the Tampa Bay wide receiver duo, arguably superior to Seattle’s, could be in for a significant performance. Due to their respectable production, both Evans and Godwin could pose a significant challenge for the Lions’ secondary this Sunday, as they will likely be the most formidable opponents the Lions have faced this season.

“Yeah, look, they’re – I think they’re even different than what Seattle was, and those were good receivers,” Campbell told reporters on Wednesday. “But Evans is – Evans is a guy AG (Aaron Glenn) and myself are both very familiar with, being in that division for as long as we were, but he’s a true jump ball guy. He’s got enough speed to get downfield, but then with that length, reach, he’s got radar, so he can locate these balls that are back shoulder, high, jump. And Baker will throw it. Baker will throw it. If it even feels like it’s a one-on-one, he’ll lay it out there and give the guy a chance to go make a play, which I think is huge. So, anything down the field and he’s a problem. Any time they get a one-on-one to be able to do that.

And then Godwin’s playing – to me, Godwin is back to what Godwin was before his injury. Like you can see it. This guy is – he’s back to playing really good football, and he’s playing a little more outside, which I think suits him well. He’s versatile, he’s tough. He’s tough in the run game too. So, the one-two punch of those guys, it’s something – we’re going to have to be able to challenge these guys. We can’t just let them run down the field.

But our guys are competitive, man. Cam (Sutton) and Jerry (Jacobs) on him, I like it, I do. But I think it’s all encompassing. Got a challenge there, but we also – we’ve got to continue to do what we’ve been doing. We have to close this pocket in on Baker and because there’s so much play pass, man, we’ve got to transition into rush from run quickly, because this ball gets out quick.”