Detroit Lions vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The 2019 Detroit Lions hit their Week Five bye with only one loss on their docket. After returning from their week off, the Lions only notched one more win in the season's last three months. It didn't help that a back injury sidelined quarterback Matthew Stafford from midseason on, marking the first games he had missed since 2010. The Lions were 0-8 in his absence, including a 38-17 loss to Tampa Bay in Detroit in Week 15.
After the Lions emphatically shot down trade rumors involving their quarterback in the spring, Stafford will presumably be back under center when the Lions and Buccaneers meet again in December of the 2020 season, and that should make a big difference. The former 2009 first-overall pick in 2009, Stafford was having a fantastic season before his injury, with a 19-5 TD-INT ratio, a 106.0 passer rating that was a career best and 312.4 yards per game. Of course, the Buccaneers have a new quarterback of their own to battle Stafford, and while Tom Brady was famously a sixth-round pick, he might go first-overall in an all-time NFL draft.
