Keys To Cannon Fire: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Detroit Lions
It's all on the line for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when they face the Detroit Lions on Sunday. Win and they move on to the NFC Championship game. Lose, and their season is over. The Bucs are on a revenge tour and the Lions are the next team on their list after a 20-6 Week 6 loss.
After a tromping of the Eagles in the Super Wild Card round, the Bucs are oozing with confidence. The National media has already counted them out for the Lions' darling story. The Buccaneers hear all that and will look to prove the naysayers wrong, again.
While the Lions opened up as 6.5-point favorites, this is a game the Bucs can win. It will take a complete team effort in all three phases but if the Bucs follow these keys to cannon fire they'll keep the revenge tour going with a trip to San Francisco.
Win The Battle In The Trenches
The Lions finished the year with the league's fifth-best rushing attack, averaging 135.9 yards a game. David Montgomery went over the century mark with 1,015 yards and 13 touchdowns as the team's primary back.
Rookie Jahmyr Gibbs missed a few games and took a bit to get up to NFL speed, but once he did he took off. The first-rounder just missed the 1,000-yard mark putting up 945 yards on the ground with 10 touchdowns himself. Slowing down the two-headed attack will be paramount for the defense if the Bucs want to win the game.
Conversely, the Lions boast the NFL's second-best run defense. During the 2023 season, Detroit let up just 88.76 yards a game. The Bucs' run game struggled all season to get going but found their groove over the last six weeks, especially in the fourth quarter.
Offensive coordinator Dave Canales will stick with the running game to create balance on the offense but it's up to White and the offensive line to make the most out of the calls when they come in. If the Bucs can get the run game going it will help open up everything else on offense.
Get Mike Evans Involved Early
The first time these two teams met Evans was held under 50 yards receiving. That's not going to cut it in the Divisional round. The Bucs need to get Evans going early and often.
The Lions let up 247 yards per game this season through the air and Matt Stafford and the Rams tore the secondary up to the tune of 347 yards. The Bucs will need to do more of the same if they expect to win this game.
Evans had a few uncharacteristic drops last week against the Eagles and in that Week 6 matchup. He'll need to bring his A-game and Baker Mayfield will need to be as accurate as last week in finding him.
If the Bucs are going to win this game, they need to get their top offensive playmaker going against a suspect secondary.
Bucs Can't Beat Bucs
It's going to be loud at Ford Field on Sunday. Very loud. Last week the Lions faithful recorded the fourth loudest decibel recording in NFL history and this week will be just as loud. The Bucs have been working on silent snap counts and hand signals and put an emphasis on crowd noise this week in practice. So pre-snap penalties shouldn't be a factor and will be critical to avoid so as to not set them back on drives.
In their first meeting in Week 6, mic-communication led to several explosive players in the secondary. The Bucs' defense has grown since then but understanding and executing assignments will be pivotal to the defense's success.
The Lions play a physical brand of football and will come up and deliver big hits. The Bucs need to keep their composure though and not strike back after the whistle to pick up necessary penalties that will put them in disadvantageous positions.
Playing smart, disciplined mistake-free football will be crucial for the Bucs if they are going to upset the Lions and move on to the NFC Championship.
You can follow JC Allen on Twitter @JCAllenNFL.
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