Holy shit, are the Bucs actually Super Bowl contenders?

It’s obviously too early to go into this, but Tampa Bay just made a bold statement by going to Detroit on Sunday afternoon and beating the heavily favored Lions 20-16.

And it wasn’t just the scoreboard that was impressive.

The Bucs did so without three injured starters who didn’t play (Antoine Winfield Jr., Calijah Kancey, Luke Goedeke) and also lost defenseman Vita Vea for most of the second half to a knee injury.

Tampa Bay’s secondary gave up 307 passing yards to Jared Goff, but intercepted two passes and held the Lions to 16 points despite six trips to the red zone. The Bucs came to a defensive stand twice in the final minute, stopping the Lions at the 6 and then again at the 26.

Baker Mayfield didn’t have the NFL-leading passing stats in Week 1, but he kept plays moving with numerous scrambles and scored the winning touchdown on an 11-yard quarterback draw late in the third quarter.

Game of the day

Welcome home, Jordan Whitehead. Two years after heading to New York for free-agent riches, Whitehead returned to Tampa Bay and saved the Bucs on Sunday. Not only did he lead the team with 11 tackles, he made the biggest stop of the game when he brought down Jahmyr Gibbs 6 yards from the end zone and 3 yards from the first-down marker on fourth down in the final minute of the game.

Game ball

In retrospect, the inability to get the ball to Chris Godwin may have been Tampa Bay’s biggest sin in 2023. New offensive coordinator Liam Coen has remedied that problem in 2024. Godwin had seven receptions for 117 yards on Sunday, including a stunning 41-yard touchdown down the sideline. It was the first time since 2022 that Godwin had a touchdown and 100-plus receiving yards in the same game.

Keep an eye on things

The running game needs to improve. It was shaky in the first three quarters of the season opener, and it was non-existent against the Lions.

Rachaad White and Bucky Irving combined for 40 yards on 17 carries, for an average of 2.3 yards. Mayfield finished as the Bucs’ rushing leader with 34 yards.

Vea’s injury could be crucial, depending on its severity, and the Bucs could go back to the waiver wires to find help on the interior of the defensive line.

NFC South Update

Is it too early in the season for a plot twist? We knew the South would be tougher to win in 2024, but who knew New Orleans would be the biggest threat? A week after choking off helpless Carolina, the Saints made an even bigger statement by crushing the Cowboys 44-19 in Dallas. It not only keeps the Bucs on their toes, but also puts pressure on Atlanta, which will face the Eagles on “Monday Night Football.”

Next

Given how bad the rest of the schedule looks, the Bucs should take advantage of games like next week. Tampa Bay comes home to face a Broncos team that struggled behind rookie quarterback Bo Nix in his NFL debut last week.

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