Buccaneers drop ridiculously far in power rankings after loss to Lions

Just a week ago, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were being heralded as the top team in the NFL. Now, they aren't being talked about nearly as much after laying an egg in their 24-9 Monday Night Football loss to the Detroit Lions.

Fluidity is strong throughout the NFL season, so it is never wise to get too high or too low on a team until we are nearing the end of the regular season. The Buccaneers were riding high into Monday's matchup and are now trying to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it before next week's matchup against the New Orleans Saints and the subsequent bye week.

The Bucs' offense looked stuck in the mud against the Lions, and while the defense held Detroit under 30 points, they were gashed over and over again by running back Jahmyr Gibbs. Now sitting at 5-2, Tampa Bay is still atop the NFC South standings and in a prime position to make the playoffs. However, their power ranking amongst the rest of the league has taken a massive hit, dropping seven places to 8th, per NFL.com.

Loss to Lions causes drastic slip in power rankings for Bucs

Sep 28, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Emeka Egbuka (2) Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

"You can never count the Buccaneers out of a game, as they’ve proven, but losing Mike Evans in his return from a hamstring injury was a tough midgame blow in the loss at Detroit. Baker Mayfield rallied the troops, but three turnovers on downs in the fourth quarter did them in. The defense did a lot of good things against the Lions, but Jahmyr Gibbs gutted the unit a few times, and it was too big a hill to climb," wrote NFL.com writer Eric Edholm.

"Evans is now sidelined for at least a couple months due to a broken clavicle, while Haason Reddick (knee/ankle) was carted off the field in the fourth quarter on Monday night, giving Tampa Bay big-picture concerns. Furthermore, I can’t ignore the fact that this team has been outscored on the season. All of that explains the notable drop here. As I’ve said all along, these Bucs will be judged by what they do in December and January. I think they’ll still be swinging then, but it’s getting a little worrisome."

The Buccaneers are in an eerie position. This time last year, they were making a run before suffering a tough loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 7, in which they lost their other star wideout, Chris Godwin, for the season, which led to a tough outing in October.

Monday's Week 7 loss to the Lions was all too familiar for the Bucs. They lost a game that could have positioned them well in the NFC playoff race in the midst of a strong start to the season, and of course, the injury news of Mike Evans and Haason Reddick matched what happened to Godwin last season.

Tampa Bay has faced a ton of adversity early in the season and has been resilient up to this point in facing it head-on. However, things can go sideways in a hurry in the NFL, and if the Bucs want to continue to show they are amongst the NFL's elite contenders, then they will have to get back to playing their type of ball and get back in the win column with an excellent chance to do so.

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