Clash of wills with Dan Campbell.
Detroit coach Dan Campbell and Bucs coach Todd Bowles are old-school football guys. They came up through the coaching ranks with the same Hall of Fame coach.
When Bill Parcells took over the Cowboys in 2023, he signed a tough, wiry tight end named Dan Campbell. Parcells also had a secondary coach on his staff named Todd Bowles.
Years later when Parcells becaeme the Dolphins’ shot-caller, he hired Bowles as a defensive assistant and Campbell as a coaching intern. He later promoted Campbell to tight ends coach.
Parcells believed in running the ball and stopping the run. That’s Bowles through and through. And Campbell isn’t a whole lot different.
Tonight, fans will see which one controls the ground attack.
Despite having two damn good running backs (Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery), the Lions have the 14th-ranked rushing attack and rank only 16th in yards per carry. This really surprises Joe. Then again, Detroit is so good at passing, they don’t need to run much. Maybe that’s why Detroit isn’t in the top five?
The Bucs, meanwhile, have been quietly thriving against the run. Their defense has given up the fourth-fewest yards in the league on the ground.
Bowles always wants to turn an offense into a one-trick pony. Joe gets the goal, but in a passing league do you really want teams to throw on you, especially when the Bucs getting an edge rush is a struggle on the same level of lifting a Ford F-150 from [Bill Currie Ford](https://billcurrieford.com/) with your bare hands?
Joe may find out tonight just how savvy it is to dare a good passing team to throw.
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