Tampa Bay Buccaneers

2026 Opponent Preview: Detroit Lions, Week 11

The Lions have a revamped offensive line and a new play-caller, but the team is still loaded with familiar offensive weapons like Jahmyr Gibbs and Amon-Ra St. Brown and feature a defense led by star edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson

Jun 22, 2026 at 08:00 AM

Senior Writer/Editor

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are now in the annual lull between the offseason program and the start of training camp. While the focus to this point has been on playbook installation and getting all 91 players on the same page so that competition can begin in earnest in training camp, attention soon will turn to the specific challenges the team will face during the 2026 season. As such, with the schedule now laid out, we are taking a closer look at each opponent on the Bucs' schedule, examining what they did last season, which players and coaches have come and gone in the offseason and some as-yet-unanswered questions. Today's focus is on a Detroit Lions squad that missed the playoffs last year but still has much of the core that took the team to 15 wins in 2024.

2025 Results

After reaching the NFC Championship Game in 2023 and winning 15 games in 2024, the Lions entered last season as one of the odds-on favorites to win the Super Bowl. That still seemed possible after a 5-2 start, but a rash of injuries and a late-season swoon doomed Detroit to a 9-8 finish, leaving them just outside the playoff field.

The season began on a down note, as the Lions traveled to Lambeau Field and left with a Week One 27-13 loss to the Packers, with the running game held to 46 yards and the usually powerful Lions offense gaining just 246 total yards. That problem vanished over the next month as Detroit won four in a row, averaging more than 40 points per game in that span. The run began with a 52-21 drubbing of Chicago in which Jared Goff threw five touchdown passes, three of them to wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown. That was followed by a run through the NFC North, with wins over Baltimore, Cleveland and Cincinnati. Goff threw six more touchdown passes in those three outings, to one interception, and star edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson produced 4.0 sacks.

That's where the dominance ended for the Lions, who would not win consecutive games for the remainder of the season. A trip to Kansas City ended in a 30-17 loss in which the Lions' defense surrendered three touchdown passes to Patrick Mahomes, though the team bounced back with a home win in Week Seven over the Buccaneers. Running back Jahmyr Gibbs had two touchdowns in that one, including a 78-yard run, and the Lions sacked Baker Mayfield four times.

After a Week Eight bye, the Lions were still 5-2 but they suffered a tough loss at home to the Vikings, with scuffling Minnesota quarterback J.J. McCarthy throwing for two touchdowns and running for a third. Detroit's offense still managed multiple outbursts through the second half of the season, including a 44-22 win over Washington in Week 10 and a 44-30 defeat of the Cowboys in Week 14. Gibbs put up 172 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns at Washington and edge Al-Quadin Muhammad had three of the Lions' five sacks of Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott. The only NFC East team Detroit didn't beat was Philadelphia, as the Eagles ground out a 16-9 home win in Week 11.

At this point in the season, the injuries started to mount. Safety Brian Branch was lost to an Achilles tendon rupture in December and fellow safety Kerby Joseph missed 11 games due to a knee issue. The offense lost a key piece in November with tight end Sam LaPorta's back injury and the Lions finished the season with the worst Adjusted Games Lost due to injury in the NFL. While they were still very much in playoff contention in December, three straight losses to the Rams, Steelers and Vikings ended their shot at a third straight postseason appearance. The most painful defeat was a 29-24 home loss to Pittsburgh in which Detroit appeared to score a late-game go-ahead touchdown twice, only to have both scores negated by offensive penalties. That included a wild sequence in which St. Brown lateraled the ball to Goff, who dived into the end zone, only to have the play called back by a pass interference call on St. Brown.

After another loss to Minnesota to complete the sweep, the Lions finished their season on a high note with a 19-16 win at Chicago over the playoff-bound Bears. Goff threw for 331 yards and cornerback Avonte Maddox picked off Caleb Williams, with Detroit prevailing 19-16 on a walk-off 42-yard field goal by Jake Bates.

Even with the LaPorta injury and some issues along the offensive line, the Lions still gained the fifth-most yards and scored the fourth-most points in the NFL in 2025. Goff led the third-ranked passing attack by throwing for 4,564 yards and 34 touchdowns, while getting picked off just eight times in 578 attempts. St. Brown was as reliable and productive as ever, with 117 catches for 1,401 yards and 11 scores, while speedster Jameson Williams also topped 1,100 yards. Gibbs and David Montgomery proved to be a hugely productive duo once again, combining for 2,747 yards from scrimmage and 26 touchdowns.

A second straight year of unfortunate injury luck led to the Lions' defense ranking 18th in yards allowed and 22nd in points allowed. The pass rush was solid, with Hutchinson racking up 14.5 and Muhammad adding 11.0 but the defense struggled in the red zone and ranked 20th against the pass. Joseph missed much of the season but still led the team with three picks, and linebacker Jack Campbell earned first-team AP All-Pro honors after combining 166 tackles, with 5.0 sacks and three forced fumbles.

2026 Arrivals

John Morton only lasted one season as the Lions' offensive coordinator – and half a season as the actual play-caller – after replacing Ben Johnson, so the Lions moved on to Drew Petzing, who had been the Arizona Cardinals' offensive coordinator the past three seasons. Mike Kafka, who was most recently an offensive coordinator and interim head coach for the Giants, also came aboard as the new passing game coordinator.

The Lions made several significant additions to their offensive line. They grabbed former Panther Cade Mays in free agency to start at center and added former Dolphin Larry Borom and former 49er Ben Bartch for tackle and guard depth, respectively. In the draft, the Lions used their first-round pick on Clemson's Blake Miller, who made 54 starts on the college level, 52 of them at right tackle. As such, the Lions plan to move All-Pro tackle Penei Sewell to the left side and install Miller on the right end. The Lions also landed former Texans guard Juice Scruggs as part of a trade that will be detailed below.

Detroit was already loaded everywhere else on offense so their other additions on that side of the ball were all for depth. Teddy Bridgewater is back for a second stint as the primary backup to Goff; the only other quarterback currently on the roster is undrafted rookie Luke Altmyer out of Illinois. Detroit signed former Cardinals wideout Greg Dortch in March, and he may end up as the team's main return man, and then added former Dolphins wide receiver Cedrick Wilson in May. In between the team used a fifth-round pick on Kentucky wide receiver Kendrick Law, who could have carved out a role as a gadget type of player, but he will miss his rookie season after tearing an ACL in practice.

The Lions also brought in a new sidekick for Gibbs, who lost his "Sonic and Knuckles" partner in a trade, signing former Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco to a one-year deal. Pacheco ran for 462 yards and averaged 3.9 yards per carry last year. The tight end corps got a boost with the addition of former Charger Tyler Conklin, who had just seven catches last year but finished each of the previous four seasons with between 51 and 61 grabs.

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TAMPA, FL - June 17, 2026 - 2026 Mini Camp at AdventHealth Training Center. Photo By Doug DeFelice/Tampa Bay Buccaneers