Lions vs. Bucs: 5 Key Matchups to Watch in This Crucial NFC Showdown

The Detroit Lions look to start 2-0 on the young season with their second straight playoff rematch as they welcome in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-0) to Ford Field. It's another important intraconference matchup between two teams expected to be in the thick of the NFC playoff picture at the end of the year.

Here are five things to watch out for in today's matchup:

DJ Reader's Lions Debut

Lions fans will get their first look at one of Detroit's free-agent acquisitions this offseason as DJ Reader is set to make his Lions debut today against the Bucs after being inactive Week 1 as he continued to rehab a quad injury.

“Well, I talked about that last week, that he’s a man’s man,” Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said of Reader this week. “When it comes to the run game, he’s going to be a huge addition to us, but I don’t want guys to just think that’s just who he is, because he has sneaky, athletic ability to be able to help on the passing game too, because he can push the pocket.”

The Lions were terrific upfront with their front seven last week against the Rams, generating 27 pressures and 12 quarterback hits. Now they add one of the better defensive tackles in the game to the mix, which should make an instant impact.

Slowing Down Bucs' Passing Attack

Quarterback Baker Mayfield and the Bucs' skill-position weapons had a terrific afternoon last week in a 37-20 win over Washington. Mayfield was 24-of-30 passing for 289 yards with four touchdowns, no interceptions and a passer rating of 146.4. That was the highest passer rating across the NFL in Week 1.

Wide receiver Mike Evans has been one of the most consistently dangerous weapons on the outside for the last decade and was on the receiving end of two of those Mayfield touchdown passes last week. The Lions will really have to do a good job this week of marrying their rush and coverage, which they did a pretty good job of last week vs. the Rams.

The Bucs were the only team Week 1 to have four different skill position players record 60-plus scrimmage yards – Rachaad White (106), Chris Godwin (83), Bucky Irving (76) and Evans (61). If there’s one thing to know about the Bucs' offense coming in, it’s that they are going to take shots down the field and the Lions' revamped secondary has to be ready.

With how banged up the Bucs are on defense, especially in the secondary, they come into today’s matchup knowing their offense will likely have to pick up the slack and score points to keep pace with Detroit.

St. Brown Bounce-Back

It was rare to see so little receiving production from Amon-Ra St. Brown last week, though he still impacted the game with coverage leaning his way to open up catches and yards for others, particularly Jameson Williams, and his blocking in the run game was as superb as ever.

But three catches for 13 yards on just six targets isn’t a line we see after St. Brown’s name often in the box score. While some receivers may pout about not having a bigger chunk of the production, St. Brown was just happy with the win.

“Yeah, he’s a leader, he’s a captain. He’s got the C on his chest for a reason. I know he still wants the ball, of course he does, all those receivers want the ball, but I think he understands, when we’re able to win a game and he doesn’t get as involved as maybe he’d like, he’s good with it,” quarterback Jared Goff said this week.

“We’re winning the game and we’re trying to win a Super Bowl this year. It’s one week at a time and he knows that and, like I said, he’ll get his and he also knows that.”

I expect a bounce-back performance this week against a Bucs' secondary that's dealing with injuries right now.

Third-Down Performance

One of the things Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson lamented about the offensive performance last week was the number of three-and-outs (4) they had. He talked this week about how they have to be better on third down, especially 3rd & 4-plus yards.

On the other side, Detroit’s defense ranks 20th on third down (41.7 percent) after Week 1 but has a particularly tough task against a Bucs' offense that was terrific on third down last week in their win over Washington. Tampa Bay converted 9-of-13 third downs (69.2) and leads the NFL in that category after Week 1.

There were some missed opportunities for Detroit’s defense on third down last week, and Glenn is looking for his players to clean some of that stuff up this week.

“The two things I think we need to improve on, we have to tackle a lot better than we did. And I understand it’s the first game, but there are no excuses for that,” he said.

“Secondly, there are a lot of opportunities that we had to make some big plays. I’m talking about on the quarterback and on the ball, and we didn’t execute those opportunities, so we have to do a better job of that.”

Davis vs. His Old Club

Veteran cornerback Carlton Davis III admitted he was pretty shocked back in March when the Bucs told him he was being traded to Detroit. It took some adjusting to, but Davis has since fallen in love with the culture here and being on a young, talented roster that has Super Bowl aspirations.

Today he gets his first chance to play against the team he spent his first six years in the league with, and there’s a little extra motivation for Davis heading into this one, despite his quiet and calm demeanor.

“He’s normally a quiet guy, but he gave the best introduction to those receivers that I’ve ever heard a DB talk ever in my coaching career, and that’s saying a lot,” Glenn said of Davis' presentation to the defense about the Bucs' skill players this week.

“The way he articulated how these guys are, how they act, how they operate, was pretty amazing yesterday. I wish I actually taped that just for my own, just so I can show other players like, ‘This is how you do it.’ But he does have a little something in him, and he’s not going to show that, that’s just who he is, but you can tell that it’s Bucs week for him.”

Davis said he still has a lot of friends down in Tampa Bay and a lot of respect for the players, but that ends at 1 p.m.

“They’re just the next opponent in our way, and it’s a long journey,” he said this week. “I do have a lot of love for those guys over there, but on Sunday, it’s football, man. There are no friends on the field, and there won’t be on Sunday.”