The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost to the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field in walk off fashion Sunday night, marking their third defeat in as many tries against teams from the highly competitive NFC North. They will get one more crack at that division in Week 11 on a trip to Detroit, but not before a very welcome bye week.
Continuing a head-to-head series that has been frequently contested in recent years, most commonly on the road for Tampa Bay, the Buccaneers will take on the Lions on Sunday, November 22 at 1:00 p.m. ET. It will be the seventh meeting between the two clubs in the last eight years, playoffs included, the sixth of which will take place in Detroit.
The Buccaneers are 3-6 after their 27-24 prime-time loss in Chicago but still only a half-game behind the NFC South lead. Those standings could swing in a variety of directions while the Bucs are on their bye, with the 3-5 Panthers heading to New Orleans to play the 3-5 Saints and the 3-6 Falcons taking on the Chiefs at home.
The Buccaneers had won two straight against the Panthers and Falcons before their narrow loss to the streaking Bears, with the league's most productive rushing attack leading the way and the defense producing reams of turnovers. That formula was still active in Chicago – the Bucs ran for 126 yards against one of the league's top run defenses and came up with a season-high five takeaways – but an early 14-0 hole proved too big to overcome.
Detroit is 6-2 after a methodical 19-9 win in Miami in Week Nine, in which its beleaguered defense had its best showing of the year, holding the Dolphins to 228 total yards and sacking Malik Willis three times. Running back Jahmyr Gibbs scored his 11th touchdown of the season and now has an NFL-high 1,132 yards from scrimmage in 2026. While the Bucs are enjoying their bye week, the Lions will be in Munich, Germany to play the New England Patriots. Despite its sparkling record, Detroit is actually in third place in the NFC North, meaning every game for the Lions is critical in that hotly-contested race.
