In the Week Six tilt, The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost to the Detroit Lions, 20-6. The Bucs were not able to get into a groove offensively or kickstart their ground game. Tampa Bay was inefficient on third down (2-12) and the defense could not get off the field on third down. Overall, the Lions held a yard advantage of 380-251. The Lions imposed their will after the catch with Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams and Josh Reynolds. The trio exploited voids off two-way go's, screens and shots underneath.
To open the 'Creamsicle' clash, both the Buccaneers and Lions traded punts with respective incompletions on third down. On the Bucs' second drive, Baker Mayfield's pass was deflected and intercepted by Will Harris at the Tampa Bay 13-yard line. The Bucs' defense was able to answer with a red-zone stop, forcing a Riley Patterson 30-yard field goal. On the Buc' subsequent defensive drive, Lavonte David showed off his coverage prowess. He dropped and blanketed Sam LaPorta, knocking the ball loose, which forced a Lions' punt.
After two straight three-and-out's, the Bucs put up three in the second quarter to even the score. A nine-play, 43-yard drive ended with a Chase McLaughlin 33-yard field goal for Tampa Bay. The Lions then responded with a touchdown, capitalizing off an eight-play, 75-yard drive with an Amon-Ra St. Brown score. St. Brown showcased his suddenness in the open field and Kalif Raymond notched a key second-level block to clear the perimeter for seven. Detroit only had 71 yards of total offense on their first four drives, then nabbed 75 on the aforementioned touchdown drive, giving the visiting team a 10-3 lead. Right before the clock ran out prior to halftime, Vita Vea took on two blockers which opened things up for Lavonte David. No. 54 shot through the A-gap and sacked Goff for a loss of eight yards.
Midway through the third quarter, the Bucs were unable to reach the end zone on their second red-zone trip of the day. Like the first, Tampa Bay had to settle for a McLaughlin 36-yard field goal. The Lions followed suit with a third-and-10 launcher. Goff lobbed a 45-yard bomb to Jameson Williams for the score, extending the Lions' lead, 17-6. Both of the Lions' scores came from disadvantageous third-and-long situations, but they managed to adjust with in-game theatrics.
In the fourth quarter, rookie Calijah Kancey sacked Goff for a loss of five yards. He looped around inside, shed the blocker aside and took down the Lions' quarterback on third down, forcing a Detroit punt. The Bucs got the ball back with just under two minutes to play but too many missed opportunities early on sealed the Buccaneers' fate inside Raymond James Stadium in Week Six.
View the top photos of Tampa Bay's Week 6 matchup vs. the Detroit Lions.
