Buccaneers Survive Detroit Lions 20-16

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers fought well and sealed the deal against the Detroit Lions to move to 2-0.

Sep 15, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin (14) scores a touchdown against the Detroit Lions in the second quarter at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Eamon Horwedel-Imagn Images / Eamon Horwedel-Imagn Images

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers made their fair share of errors and were burden by injuries, but they did enough to win the football game.

The Bucs won 20-16 in Motor City, with the defense holding off the Lions in the red zone multiple times to help win the day. Quarterback Baker Mayfield accounted for two touchdowns, one passing and one rushing, in the win.

The Buccaneers and Lions initially traded field goals in the first quarter, with the Buccaneers kicking two on their first two drives and then Detroit kicking one on their second to make the score 6-3 with about seven minutes left in the first quarter. The Lions made another drive with four first downs that went into the beginning of the second quarter, but the Bucs managed to halt them again on third down — as such, it was 6-6 at the very beginning of the second quarter.

The Bucs immediately fired back on their first drive of the second quarter. It was a big Chris Godwin drive as he caught two first-down passes and then a touchdown to extend the lead 13-6. Detroit's next drive lasted a long time and featured quite a few heroics, including a fake punt and another fourth-down conversion afterward, but they were stopped once again.

The Bucs had a chance to score, but Lions DB Brian Branch picked off Baker Mayfield with 1:51 left. Detroit got the ball back, but a huge miscue as the clock wound down with no timeouts saw them have over 12 men on the field when they went to spike — as a result, a 10-second runoff saw Detroit have no points heading into the half, so it was 13-6 Bucs heading into halftime.

The second half started with the Lions kicking a field goal to make it 13-9, and the Bucs weren't able to add on to their lead the next drive when they went three-and-out. Detroit capitalized, putting in another long drive and scoring on a one-yard David Montgomery touchdown run to go up 16-13. The Bucs responded quickly at the very end of the third quarter as Baker Mayfield made a crazy scramble from the 10-yard line to score a touchdown and put Tampa Bay back up 20-16.

The Lions punted on their first drive of the fourth quarter, but the Bucs had to do the same the drive right after. The Lions were driving with eight minutes left to play, but Jared Goff threw a pick to Christian Izien — the second of the day — and the Bucs got the ball back. They weren't able to do anything with it, though, and punted back to Detroit.

The Lions marched down the field yet again and turned it over on downs, and when the Bucs went to close the game out, they threw an incomplete pass on third down. The Lions had one more shot, but failed, and as a result, the Bucs won the game 20-16 to move to 2-0 on the year.

The Bucs will now head back to Tampa Bay to play the Denver Broncos in Week 3.

READ MORE: Baker Mayfield Hits Chris Godwin For 41-yard TD vs. Lions

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