Look out America, the 2024 Bucs just might be for real Holy crap, are the Bucs actually Super Bowl contenders? Obviously, it's too early to go down that rabbit hole, but Tampa Bay just made a bold statement by going to Detroit and upsetting the heavily favored Lions 20-16 on Sunday afternoon. And it wasn't just the scoreboard that was impressive. The Bucs pulled this off without three injured starters who were inactive (Antoine Winfield Jr., Calijah Kancey, Luke Goedeke) and then lost defensive lineman Vita Vea to a knee injury for most of the second half. Tampa Bay's secondary gave up 307 passing yards to Jared Goff but picked off two passes and held the Lions to 16 points despite six trips into the red zone. The Bucs made defensive stands twice in the final minute, stopping the Lions at the 6 and then again at the 26. Baker Mayfield did not have the gaudy passing stats that led the NFL in Week 1, but he kept plays alive with numerous scrambles and scored the winning touchdown on an 11-yard quarterback draw late in the third quarter. Play of the day Welcome home, Jordan Whitehead. Two years after going to New York for free-agent riches, Whitehead has returned to Tampa Bay and rescued the Bucs on Sunday. Not only did he lead the team with 11 tackles, he made the biggest stop of the game when he brought down Jahmyr Gibbs 6 yards shy of the end zone and 3 yards away from the first-down marker on fourth down in the final minute of the game. Game ball In retrospect, the inability to get the ball to Chris Godwin may have been Tampa Bay's most egregious sin in 2023. New offensive coordinator Liam Coen has corrected that problem in 2024. Godwin had seven receptions for 117 yards on Sunday, including a beautiful 41-yard touchdown down the sideline. It was the first time since 2022 that Godwin had a touchdown and topped 100 yards in the same game. Keep an eye on The running game needs to be better. It was shaky for the first three quarters in the season opener, and it was non-existent against the Lions. Rachaad White and Bucky Irving combined for 40 yards on 17 carries, for a 2.3 yard average. Mayfield ended up leading the Bucs in rushing with 34 yards. The Vea injury could be crucial depending on the severity, and the Bucs could go back to the waiver wires looking for help on the interior of the defensive line. NFC South update Is it too early in the season for a plot twist? We knew the South was going to be harder to win in 2024, but who the heck was expecting New Orleans to be the biggest threat? A week after throttling helpless Carolina, the Saints made an even bigger statement by crushing the Cowboys in Dallas 44-19. It not only keeps the Bucs on their toes, but puts pressure on Atlanta, who face the Eagles on “Monday Night Football.“ Next up Considering how wicked the rest of the schedule looks, the Bucs need to take advantage of games like next week. Tampa Bay comes home to face a Broncos team that struggled behind rookie quarterback Bo Nix in his NFL debut last week. John Romano, Tampa Bay Times, published 16 September 2024