DETROIT -- The Detroit Lions held the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to only 9 points, and they did it without most of their starting secondary.
Detroit was missing top safeties Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch, not to mention veteran Avonte Maddox. On top of that, its defense was without top two cornerbacks Terrion Arnold and D.J. Reed.
Branch served his suspension for last week’s postgame altercation and is free to return to team activities. The safety was at the top of mind for his teammates, with a handful of defensive backs rocking No. 32 jerseys to show support.
It was reportedly Arnold’s idea for the secondary and some others to wear Branch’s jersey before and after their 24-9 win over the Buccaneers on Monday night. Amik Robertson stepped to the lectern wearing his, saying they had to buy those jerseys to make it happen, but that “money can’t buy loyalty.”
“That was our goal, to go out there and support him, because we always in his corner,” Robertson said of Branch. “Great player. Unbelievable person. Great teammate. We wanted to go out there and represent him. When we stepped in the building, we wanted him to know that we are in his corner, no matter what. We love him. We can’t wait to have him back.
“We had to buy ‘em. It’s all good, man. Money can’t buy loyalty. We very loyal to him ... We wanted to show everybody and him that we love him and we not worrying about whatever, and we moved on.”
Robertson, who again started at outside cornerback, heard the concerns this week and wanted to prove everyone wrong. The veteran cornerback also felt driven to lift his game to new heights for not only the players missing, but also the new faces.
The Lions turned to Rock Ya-Sin, Erick Hallett II, Arthur Maulet, Nick Whiteside and Thomas Harper to lift the load in their short-handed secondary. Robertson had three tackles, one pass deflection and forced another fumble via a punch out.
“I told those guys, man, after the game, how proud I was of them," Robertson said. “Every single last one of them -- Whiteside, Harper, all of them. All I thought about when I was out there, man, is play for those guys.
“I told them, even though this maybe y’all first opportunity, show the world. We heard the noise. Those guys went out there and played their hearts out. I had no doubt in them. Let’s go out there and show everybody and not talk about it, and that’s what I felt like we did tonight."
Hallett and Harper started at safety for Joseph and Branch. Maulet played more snaps from the slot, and Whiteside filled in admirably while Ya-Sin was dealing with cramping.
Maulet stole an interception from Bucs tight end Cade Otton’s grasp in the second half. Hallett was tied for the team lead with eight tackles. Ya-Sin knocked away two passes and played sticky coverage on receiver Mike Evans in the first half.
Whiteside even knocked away two passes in big moments. One came on a two-point conversion attempt, and then the former Saginaw Valley State standout was there in coverage on Tampa Bay’s last fourth-down attempt in the fourth quarter.
Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield had his worst showing of the season. Detroit’s pass rush was creating pressure all night long, winning more than 68% of its pass-rushing reps, per Pro Football Focus. Mayfield completed only 28 passes on 50 attempts for 228 yards with one score and one pick.
“It’s so cool, it really is cool and it’s cool for me to see,” Lions quarterback Jared Goff said of the secondary’s showing. “These are guys that you know have been on scout team against me for certainly all of this year, training camp, and even parts of last year. Then seeing them get a chance in a game and do their thing and play well and make big tackles and made big stops.
“It’s awesome. It’s fun. It’s really cool. I’m proud of all those guys for stepping up the way they did.”
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Detroit Lions host Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday Night Football
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