The Detroit Lions did not look like themselves in Week 2 against the Buccaneers.
Lions fans packed Ford Field for another 2023 playoff rematch. Everything seemed to be tilted in Detroit's favor before the game — multiple players injured for Tampa, home field advantage, and a better overall roster. Unfortunately, that changed shortly after the opening kickoff.
Detroit was completely out of sorts the entire afternoon, ultimately losing 20-16 despite having multiple opportunities to take the lead in the fourth quarter.
The only Lions player who seemed to be himself with defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, who had a whopping four-and-a-half sacks in this game. Three of those sacks came in the first quarter alone. After holding the Buccaneers to 20 points, it is fair to say that the defense held up their end of the bargain.
So what went wrong?
Below we will explore three of the Lions players and coaches who are most to blame for their Week 2 loss to the Buccaneers.
The Lions wanted to unleash Jared Goff, but it just didn't work
The Lions pushed all of their chips into the table on the bet that they can win because of QB Jared Goff.
Goff led Detroit on a wonderful postseason run in 2023 and was rewarded with a monster contract extension. The Lions handed Goff a four-year, $212 million contract to cement his future as the team's starting QB.
That bet has some Lions fans sweating right now after Detroit's offensive performance against the Buccaneers.
The Lions tried to win because of Jared Goff in Week 2, but one could argue that they lost because of him. Goff only managed 307 passing yards and two interceptions on Sunday, which is padded out by one impressive 50-yard bomb to Jameson Williams.
The struggles started early, as Goff's first pass of the afternoon was intercepted. Goff said after the game that he believes the referees missed a pass interference call on that play. His intended receiver Jameson Williams was knocked off his route, disrupting the timing of Goff's throw. Unfortunately, it was not called that way on the field.
Goff's second interception came in the fourth quarter when the Lions desperately needed a scoring drive. He floated a dangerous ball into the middle of Tampa's secondary, ending a drive that had the Lions in the red zone. This ended up being critically important in a game where Detroit lost by four points and had multiple trips to the red zone in the fourth quarter. If that ball isn't intercepted, the Lions can likely win the game with two short field goals.
Goff struggled to connect with Sam LaPorta and Amon-Ra St. Brown in Week 1. Getting back in touch with his two security blankets could help Goff improve.
Goff simply needs to play better moving forward.
Lions OC Ben Johnson did not adjust gameplan to compensate for Goff's struggles
The Lions' gameplan heading into Week 2 became clear quickly to fans. Win the game with Jared Goff's right arm. Detroit came out firing early and often against a depleted Buccaneers secondary.
On the face of it, that strategy does make sense. Tampa Bay was down Antoine Winfield Jr., Josh Hayes, and Calijah Kancey on defense. It stands to reason that one of the league's best offenses from a year ago could shred the Buccaneers through the air.
Unfortunately, that did not happen. Jared Goff was in a funk for the entire game and, outside of a handful of exciting plays, could not get the passing game steady.
We've already talked about why that's a problem. What made matters worse was Lions OC and play caller Ben Johnson refusing to budge from the gameplan.
Detroit finished this game with 55(!) passing attempts from Jared Goff and only 24 carries from both David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs. It was mind boggling to watch a Lions team that dominated the Rams on the ground in overtime last week never lean on the run game against the Buccaneers.
Johnson also seemed to lean heavily on screen plays in certain situations in the game. By the fourth quarter, Tampa was on to that plan and snuffed them out left and right.
Lions fans should keep a close eye on Johnson's play calling moving forward. So far everything that Johnson has touched has turned to gold, but it seems like that might be changing. This could be due to defensive innovation, or simply some bad luck. Either way, it merits further evaluation as the season progresses.
David Montgomery was uncharacteristically inefficient on the ground
It is surprising to have to put David Montgomery on this list.
Montgomery is usually as steady as they come. Unfortunately, he was not able to put up the type of production that Lions fans have become accustomed to on Sunday.
Montgomery had 11 rushing attempts for only 35 yards and a touchdown against the Buccaneers. That is good for only 3.2 yards per carry, which is pretty inefficient considering how good Detroit's offensive line is on paper.
Oddly enough, Montgomery had 35 yards receiving on only four targets. In general, receiving is more efficient than running, but that usually isn't true when your name is David Montgomery.
Part of the problem was the situations that Detroit put Montgomery into. In a game where the balance between run and pass was skewed, Detroit's runs for Montgomery became a tell that Tampa Bay was able to exploit. They were able to stack the box against the Lions and make it difficult for Montgomery to get anything done.
In fact, according to PFF, Montgomery had only 0.4 yards per attempt that came before contact. That means that Montgomery had to earn 2.8 yards per carry after contact just to get his 35 yards. That is definitely not ideal.
Meanwhile, Jahmyr Gibbs was much more efficient. He managed 84 rushing yards on 13 attempts for 6.5 yards per carry.
There were multiple drives in the fourth quarter where Montgomery could have been a game changer if he were able to have a few bruising runs. It remains incredibly strange to me that the Lions would not lean on him in this scenario.
Looking forward, there really isn't anything to worry about with David Montgomery. He has proven that he is a reliable NFL running back.
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