DETROIT — Richard Silva grades the Detroit Lions in their 24-9 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
#### Quarterback
Because of his ridiculously efficient play through the Lions’ first six games, expectations are high for Jared Goff, who entered Week 7 with an NFL-best 75.9% completion rate. Goff finished 20 of 29 for 241 yards and a touchdown against the Bucs, and he was the first to admit the offense’s performance wasn’t up to standard. He also had an ugly interception, seemingly not seeing cornerback Jamel Dean on a pass intended for Amon-Ra St. Brown. The Lions didn’t win because of Goff on Monday, just like they didn’t lose to the Kansas City Chiefs because of him in Week 6. It wasn’t his best outing, but his teammates — notably, his defensive teammates — picked him up. Grade: B
#### Running backs
For as impressive as the Lions’ short-handed defense was (much more on that later), Jahmyr Gibbs was the best player on the field Monday night. The shifty back was a big-play machine, racking up 218 yards from scrimmage — that’s a new career-high mark, by the way — on 20 touches. He started his dominance early, juking linebacker SirVocea Dennis out of his shoes on a 30-yard catch-and-run. His most productive gain came in the second quarter, when he turned on the jets for a 78-yard touchdown. Gibbs reached 22.23 miles per hour on the play, per Next Gen States, outracing safety Antoine Winfield Jr. to the end zone. Grade: A+
#### Wide receivers/tight ends
The Lions opened the scoring by St. Brown, who had 67 yards and a touchdown before the first quarter closed. St. Brown beat rookie Jacob Parrish for the score, as the cornerback tripped trying to keep up with St. Brown’s route over the middle. Things slowed down for St. Brown in the second half, and Detroit’s pass-catchers not named Gibbs never got much going. Brock Wright did have a timely third-down conversion, though, and Kalif Raymond helped spring Gibbs’ long touchdown by blocking safety Tykee Smith. Grade: B-
#### Offensive line
Gibbs doesn’t have the game he does without the offensive line generating push up front, so credit to Detroit’s starting five for that. Specifically, right guard Tate Ratledge did a wonderful job on Gibbs’ 78-yarder, climbing to the second level to engage linebacker Lavonte David. Ratledge sealed David, opening a massive hole for Gibbs to burst through. Goff was sacked four times, but only one appeared to primarily be on the offensive line when pass rusher Yaya Diaby squeaked around left tackle Taylor Decker for a strip-sack. Right tackle Penei Sewell, who was driven back into Goff, shares some of the responsibility on that play. Grade: A-
#### Defensive line
It took until the fourth quarter for a defensive lineman to sack quarterback Baker Mayfield, but the Lions got after it in the final frame, bringing Mayfield down twice. Al-Quadin Muhammad and Tyrus Wheat split a sack with about eight minutes remaining (Muhammad got to the quarterback first, and Wheat punched the ball free), and Wheat slammed the door on the Bucs with an 11-yard sack on Tampa Bay’s final possession. Even when Detroit’s D-linemen weren’t sacking Mayfield, they were constantly moving him off his spot, causing Mayfield to spray some passes off target. Alim McNeill flashed in his return, chipping in a handful of pressures — including one play early in which he treated an offensive lineman like a blocking sled — and knocking down a pass. Grade: A-
Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Cade Otton (88) is hit by Detroit Lions middle linebacker Alex Anzalone (34) as he dives for a first down during the second half of an NFL football game, Monday, Oct. 20, 2025, in Detroit. AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
#### Linebackers
The ascension of Jack Campbell continues. Detroit’s leading tackler (he finished with eight, tied with Erick Hallett II) blew up a receiver screen on the Bucs’ second drive, stopping running back Rachaad White 2 yards behind the line of scrimmage and forcing a punt. He also sacked Mayfield. Derrick Barnes made an impact by getting to Mayfield when the defensive line couldn’t. The Bucs had to abandon the run after falling behind, but White was limited to 3.8 yards per carry, below his season average entering Monday (4.0) and comfortably below the NFL average (4.4). Grade: A
#### Secondary
How about that showing from a unit down four starters? The Lions’ secondary outperformed any and all reasonable expectations, limiting the Bucs to 40 net passing yards in the first half and, for good measure, taking the ball away twice. Amik Robertson had the first forced turnover, knocking the ball free from receiver Sterling Shepard with a perfectly executed punch-out. Next was Arthur Maulet, playing in his second game with the Lions. Maulet snatched the ball away from tight end Cade Otton as the two fell to the turf, securing the fifth interception of his career. Grade: A+
#### Special teams
Punter Jack Fox turned in his best net average this season (51.2), launching five balls for 256 yards. Only one of those punts pinned the Bucs inside their own 20-yard line, but that was due to field position; the Lions had Fox punt from his own half of the field four times, including three within his own 22-yard line. Jake Bates split his field goal attempts, missing a 52-yarder in the second quarter before banking in an attempt from 58 yards out. On kickoffs, the Bucs had an average starting field position between the 26- and 27-yard lines. That’s a win for the Lions. Grade: B+
#### Coaching
I didn’t love some of the play-calling from offensive coordinator John Morton — a designed deep ball to Isaac TeSlaa on fourth-and-short first comes to mind — but we won’t harp on those perceived issues in a two-score win over one of the NFC’s best teams. The Lions were helped by Mayfield not having his best performance, but defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard coached his tail off, designing an effective game plan during the week and successfully deploying it on game day. And a hat tip is warranted to head coach Dan Campbell, who once again ensured his team didn’t lose two games in a row. Some may view that as a played-out narrative or an over-discussed talking point, but it’s happened too often for it to be happenstance. Grade: A-