Yeah, Joe is annoyed the Bucs lost and got bullied in Detroit tonight, but damn, Todd Bowles defense’ was impressive locking up the Lions over and over and over again while the offense looked like Mike Glennon and the fighting Schianos of 2013.
Jamel Dean had his third interception of the season. SirVocea Dennis had a drive-killing sack. YaYa Diaby registered a strip-sack the Bucs recovered. Benjamin Morrison’s coverage was good enough on fourth down to force a turnover on downs.
And that was all in the first half!
The Bucs put playoff-caliber defense on the field tonight against an elite offense. It wasn’t nearly enough, but it could have been and probably should have been if the Bucs offense wasn’t lifeless.
A big difference tonight was the defense was fully healthy, minus Calijah Kancey. The cornerbacks returned and the stable was full.
It showed.
Joe’s not blind and saw Jared Goff carve up the Bucs defense in the first quarter, and saw Jahmyr Gibbs bust big plays, but limiting the Lions to 24 points in their crib when your offense sucks is a major accomplishment.
Detroit was 3-for-13 converting third downs and 1-for-2 on fourth down. That should be a winning night for their opponent. It wasn’t — not even close.