When to be glued to the tube.
Joe cannot imagine anyone reading this here corner of the interwebs would have to single out a must-watch Bucs game. They’re all must-watch games!
But veteran NFL reporter and columnist Dan Pompei isn’t necessarily typing this element for a Bucs audience. He’s typing this for a national audience. You know the type, those who think Lavonte David is a local rabbi or something.
_The Athletic_ has a list of the must-watch games for each NFL team. For Pompei, a decades-long Bears beat guy, he thinks the Bucs going back on the road to square up against one of their old NFC Central rivals is just such a [must-watch game](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6364266/2025/05/19/nfl-2025-regular-season-must-watch-games/).
> **Tampa Bay Buccaneers: at Lions, Week 7**
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> The Bucs went to Detroit early last season and came out with a victory. It was a statement game and confidence builder for a team that was better than many imagined. The expectations are a little higher this season, but in order for the Bucs to keep the expectations high, they will have to show once again they can compete with the best teams in the NFC. This Monday night game is one of four scheduled in prime time for the Bucs.
Joe would actually go back to the 2023 season for when the Bucs began to build confidence. In a game few if any figured would be close, the Bucs entered the Lions’ den on divisional round weekend and hung toe-to-toe with the Lions until the bitter end, losing by one touchdown (and a two-point conversion), 31-23.
That showed the Bucs they could hang with the mighty Lions. The next season, in Week 2, the Bucs beat the Lions in the same Detroit crib.
Is every week a must-watch Bucs game for Joe? Absolutely. But Joe does see Pompei’s point: the game against the Lions will be a measuring stick for both teams. Coming two weeks before the bye, the Lions certainly will flush out any area the Bucs may need work on.