Lions vs Bucs Pregame Week-14

After an ugly but glorious victory against the Packers, the Detroit Lions will not try to do it again in Tampa Bay. A victory would be the Lions first road win since October 28th, 2007. Coincidentally, October 28th and November 4th was the last time the Lions won back to back weeks.

It will be a contest of two extremely different teams. The Bucs offense is ranked 11th in rushing the ball but they are 21st in passing. The Lions are 11th in passing but rank only 27th in rushing the ball.

Against the Packers, the Lions defense was dominating as the Wrecking Crew blew up plays from start to finish. They will have to do the same again for the Lions to win their first road game after 26 straight losses.

Though Jim Schwartz has not named a starter yet, you can count on it being Drew Stanton under center come game time. Stanton has had one good game that ended up a loss and a very bad game in which he drove the team down the field in the fourth quarter to beat the Packers. He is not the prettiest passer in the game, but he is gritty and can sustain drives with his legs. Stanton also has shown he can put it together when the game is on the line and pull out a win.

Stanton's bad game in last weeks victory came against one of the best pass rushing defenses in the NFL. This week he will face one of the worst in the NFL. With extra time to throw, you can expect him to get a little more comfortable in the pocket and his numbers should look up.

It is also my belief that his ability to run with the ball forces defenses to worry about him and not focus solely on the Lions running backs. In turn, it gives the RBs a little more room to run the ball. In the two games Stanton has been under center, the Lions have had their best running games.

The Buccaneers may be 7-5, and because they have won 4 more games than the Lions, most will not pick the Lions to win. I think this is the week the Lions will break that losing streak and win two games in a row. The Bucs have not beaten a good team this year and have been blown out by the Steelers and Saints. The Lions have played plenty of very good teams this year and have not really been blown out by anyone.

DET = 20
T.B. = 17