Bucs' defense struggles to stop Lions, particularly on third down Even in the fourth quarter Sunday, head coach Todd Bowles had confidence in his defense. With just under 11 minutes to play and trailing the Lions by two touchdowns, the Bucs faced fourth and 2 from their 33-yard line. Tampa Bay punted, figuring its defense would get the ball back and give it a few more chances. It didn't work out that way. The Lions converted a third and 3, and a third and 5 on their next series, holding onto the ball for nearly seven minutes as the clock wound down in a 20-6 loss. "We felt we had time," Bowles said, "but they ate up more clock than we wanted them to." Tampa Bay's defense struggled on third down, as Detroit converted 9 of 16 and scored both of their touchdowns on third-down conversions. "Two touchdowns that they scored, one was third and 10 and one was third and (13), and it was two busts (on defensive coverage)," Bowles said. "It should never have happened. It's on us as coaches and on us as players." Bowles described his team as "sluggish" coming out of last week's bye. Defensively, that showed in missed plays and blown coverage. It was particularly striking on third down. "I just think, as a whole, we hurt ourselves those times where we should have got off the field on third down," defensive lineman Calijah Kancey said. "And we've got to get better on third down." It was the second-worst performance Tampa Bay's defense has had on third down this season. In their 25-11 loss to the Eagles in Week 3, the Bucs' defense allowed Philadelphia to convert 10 of 16 third downs. Sunday, they allowed the third-most third-down conversions under Bowles. Last season, the Chiefs converted 12 of 17. "They got some third and shorts, wasn't third and long," Bowles said. "They got some third and shorts - give them credit on a few, and we busted a few and we misplayed them from a collective standpoint. So, we've got some work to do." On third and 13 from the Bucs 27-yard line in the second quarter, Lions quarterback Jared Goff threw deep and found wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown for a touchdown. Facing third and 10 from Tampa Bay's 45-yard line in the third quarter, Goff found Jameson Williams for the second touchdown. "It was really tough to get off the field," Bucs outside linebacker Joe Tryon-Shoyinka said. All in all, it was a frustrating night for the Bucs' defense. While it shut down the Lions' running game, holding Detroit to 40 yards on 22 carries, it could not stop Goff and the Detroit pass attack. The quarterback completed 30 of 44 passes for 353 yards and two touchdowns. "Missed opportunities, including myself," Tryon-Shoyinka said. "We just left a lot of plays out there. We'll be sitting on this one, for sure. It hurts. We have 24 hours. Then we see what we can learn and fix what we can and move on to the next one." Kristie Ackert, The Tampa Bay Times, published 16 October 2023