Grading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Following Win over the Detroit Lions

Once occupying the bottom of the NFL heap, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are on the rise after beating the Detroit Lions, 24-21, on Sunday. The Bucs intercepted Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford four times while scoring two touchdowns on passes from QB Mike Glennon to wide receiver Tiquan Underwood.

Unlike last week's win over the Atlanta Falcons, the Buccaneers did not dominate in all facets of the game. Instead, they had to gut out the win up to the very end with a timely interception by cornerback Johnthan Banks.

This is a huge win for head coach Greg Schiano. With each win, Schiano's seat cools just a little bit more. Even Buccaneers chairman Joel Glazer had glowing words for the Bucs head coach:

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Bucs co-chairman Joel Glazer on Bucs coach Greg Schiano: "the team never doubted him in the Locker room. "

— Roy Cummings (@RCummingsTBO) November 24, 2013"

Here are the grades the Bucs earned in their win over Detroit:

Quarterback

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Mike Glennon: A

Bucs QB Mike Glennon deserves to be the Buccaneers' starter next year. Yes, he plays like a rookie at times, like taking a sack late in fourth quarter and giving kicker Rian Lindell a longer field-goal attempt.

Nevertheless, Glennon led the Bucs to victory against Detroit. The run game was nonexistent, so it was up to Glennon to make the necessary plays to put the Bucs over the top.

Glennon's deep ball gets better with each game. Glennon hit wide receiver Tiquan Underwood deep for the last Bucs touchdown that put them over the Lions in the fourth quarter.

The most impressive part of Glennon's performance is the lack of interceptions. On a day when Lions QB Matt Stafford threw four interceptions, Glennon was mistake free. In such a close game, Glennon's ability to take care of the football made a huge difference.

Running Back

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Bobby Rainey: B-

Running back Bobby Rainey could not give the Bucs a repeat performance of his breakout game from last week against the Atlanta Falcons. Rainy ran for only 35 yards on 18 attempts.

Most of his struggles can be attributed to the lack of running room opened by the Bucs offensive line. The Lions own one of the best run defenses in the league, so it was not an unexpected result.

The Bucs running game has been at the mercy of the offensive line all season. Unless the line can open holes up front, don't expect Rainey or any other Bucs runner to rack up many yards.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

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Vincent Jackson: B+

Wide receiver Vincent Jackson had a relatively quiet game, catching two passes for 61 yards. Jackson provided a spark for the offense with a 47-yard catch that led to their first touchdown.

Tiquan Underwood: A+

Kid 'n Play really did come to play. Underwood enjoyed his best game as a pro, catching three passes for 108 yards and two touchdowns.

Why the Bucs coaching staff favored Kevin Ogletree over Underwood at the start of the season just boggles the mind. Ogletree, now a receiver for Detroit, was a ghost against his former team.

Underwood, on the other hand, exhibited his speed and ability to actually catch the ball. With Mike Williams out for the season, Underwood became more than understudy and was key to the Bucs' win.

Tim Wright: A

Rookie tight end Tim Wright was clutch against Detroit. He caught eight passes for 75 yards, many of which came on third-down conversions.

Offensive Line

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Donald Penn: C-

Left tackle Donald Penn had a rare off game. He allowed two sacks by Lions defensive end Ezekiel Ansah. Typically very solid in pass protection, Penn had his hands full with the rookie pass-rusher.

Jamon Meredith: C-

As a whole, the Bucs offensive line struggled in both pass protection and run blocking against the Lions. Left guard Jamon Meredith committed two penalties and got very little push up front.

Jeremy Zuttah: C

Like the rest of the line, center Jeremy Zuttah struggled to get anything going. Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh owned the middle of the line, allowing middle linebacker Stephen Tulloch to raid the Bucs backfield. At least Zuttah didn't commit another holding call this week.

Davin Joseph: C

After showing improvement over the past few weeks, right guard Davin Joseph just didn't have much against Detroit.

Demar Dotson: C

There isn't much left to lament about the offensive line's performance. Right tackle Demar Dotson had fits in pass protection and committed a holding penalty.

Defensive Line

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Gerald McCoy: A

Defensive tackle Gerald McCoy didn't show up on the stat sheet the way he did against Atlanta, but he nonetheless had another great game. He provided the pressure that led to one of Stafford's interceptions and spent a good portion of the game in Detroit's backfield.

Akeem Spence: B

Like McCoy, nose tackle Akeem Spence's contribution to the Bucs win was not apparent on the stat sheet. However, he did contribute to two tackles for losses with McCoy and llinebacker Lavonte David.

Adrian Clayborn: B+

Defensive end Adrian Clayborn finally recorded another sack for the Bucs after an absurdly long drought. The former first-round pick actually had one of his better games, contributing both to the pass and run defenses.

Linebackers

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Lavonte David: A+

Would anyone like to argue against David as the best 4-3 outside linebacker in the NFL? Nine tackles, a forced fumble and an interception? Is there anything he doesn't do well? 

Adam Hayward: B

Adam Hayward filled in for middle linebacker Mason Foster and was not horrible. There is a reason why Hayward is not the starter which was made apparent against the Lions as he allowed a touchdown by tight end Brandon Pettigrew. However, Hayward redeemed himself by breaking up a huge potential reception by Calvin Johnson in the red zone.

Dekoda Watson: A-

Though linebacker Dekoda Watson lost his starting "Sam" linebacker position to Jonathan Casillas, he distinguished himself as a pass-rusher over the pass two games. Watson notched a sack as an edge-rusher against the Lions. He gives the Bucs some versatility as a speed rusher and a linebacker.

Cornerbacks

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Darrelle Revis: B+

Darrelle Revis exited the game early with a groin injury, but he was keeping Johnson mostly quiet before leaving. It was no secret that Megatron was to stay on Revis Island for most of the game, but the rest of the secondary stepped up when Revis was unable to stay on the field.

Johnthan Banks: A

Rookie cornerback Jonathan Banks was solid for most of the game and came up big at the end of the game by intercepting Stafford's pass to Johnson on a deep pass near the end zone.

Leonard Johnson: B+

Cornerback Leonard Johnson played a very uneven game. He was abused by wide receiver Nate Burleson for several receptions and a touchdown. However, Johnson came up huge with a pick-six of Stafford. For as vulnerable as Johnson is in pass coverage, he does have a nose for the ball.

Safeties

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Mark Barron: B-

Safety Mark Barron made plays both good and bad against the Lions. He made some key plays in both the pass and run games but committed four penalties. Barron epitomized the Bucs' issues with penalties this season and needs to lock down his discipline sooner than later.

Keith Tandy: B+

Keith Tandy filled in for suspended safety Dashon Goldson and sure made an impression. He nabbed an interception of Stafford at the border of the end zone. While Stafford's pass was underthrown and ill-advised, Tandy still had to make the play which helped keep the Bucs alive.

Special Teams

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Michael Koenen: B

Punter Michael Koenen had another solid game, averaging 43.6 yards per punt with a net average of 35.2. Koenen isn't spectacular, but he gets the job done reliably enough.

Rian Lindell: F

Why is Lindell still the Bucs kicker? He has been downright awful, and Sunday was no exception. He made only one of his three attempts. He missed a relative chip shot from 35 yards out.

Lindell's next attempt took the same track as the previous kick and missed just as badly. The Bucs need to get another kicker immediately.