Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Detroit Lions: Breaking Down Tampa Bay's Game Plan

In a rematch of one of their few victories in 2013, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will once again travel north for a late-season matchup with the Detroit Lions, looking for just their third win this year.

Despite high expectations in the offseason, Tampa Bay’s season has gone so badly that many fans are already looking forward to next year’s NFL draft, hoping their team can at least come away with a top pick for their struggles.

The Lions are coming off a huge Thanksgiving Day win over the division-rival Chicago Bears, and currently sit in second place in the NFC North with an 8-4 record.

What do the Bucs need to do on both sides of the ball to come away with a road win this week? Let’s take a look.

When Tampa Bay Has the Ball

On offense, nothing about Tampa Bay’s game plan will matter if they can’t weather the storm in the trenches.

The Bucs offensive line has struggled mightily this season, despite an overhaul that saw them replace four of their five starters. From under-performance to penalties, this unit has been a huge headache for Bucs fans all season long. In last week’s loss to the Bengals, 10 of the team’s 13 penalties were committed by the offensive line.

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This week, they’ll face the unsavory task of trying to handle one of the league’s best defensive tackles and one of its most promising young pass-rushers.

Tampa Bay fans are well acquainted with Ndamukong Suh, whom the Lions drafted one spot before the Bucs took Gerald McCoy in 2010, and both players have set the bar for 4-3 interior defensive linemen over the past few years. On the outside, Detroit hit a home run with last year’s No. 5 overall pick, Ezekiel Ansah, who already has 14.5 sacks in less than two NFL seasons and has potential even his own coaches and teammates can’t seem to fathom.

Suh’s presence in the middle will make it difficult for the Bucs to control the line of scrimmage in the run game. Interior pressure in the passing game is already something the Tampa Bay offensive line has struggled with over the last couple of weeks. Ansah’s combination of quickness and power off the edge will likely keep Bucs tackles Anthony Collins and Demar Dotson up at night all this week.

Neutralizing a strong front four requires an effective ground game and timely, creative play-calling, two areas in which the Bucs have struggled all season long. If they’re not able to keep the Lions’ pass rush honest with the running game, interim play-caller Marcus Arroyo will have to scheme the offense to success with quick throws and screens, not allowing Detroit’s front four enough time to get to Josh McCown, taking advantage of their aggressiveness.

When Detroit Has the Ball

It’s no secret what the Lions want to do when they have the ball: chuck it.

Detroit boasts the league’s ninth-best passing attack, averaging over 260 yards per game behind the arm of Matthew Stafford and the one-two punch of Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate at receiver. Despite struggling through injuries, Johnson still leads the Lions with five touchdown receptions, exploding for a season-high 11 catches for 146 yards and two scores last week against the Bears. Tate has been one of the best free-agent signings in the entire NFL, already logging 80 receptions for 1,136 yards and three touchdowns.

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On the ground, it’s an entirely different story. Detroit’s running game currently ranks 30th in the NFL, averaging just over 80 yards per game. Reggie Bush has dealt with nagging injuries, leaving Joique Bell as the team’s leading rusher with 581 yards and five touchdowns.

For all of their early-season struggles, Tampa Bay’s pass defense has put together a solid stretch over the past four weeks, allowing an average of 183 yards passing to the likes of Matt Ryan, Jay Cutler, Robert Griffin III and Andy Dalton. Spearheading this improvement from the secondary has been second-year corner Johnthan Banks, who leads the team with four interceptions this year.

A successful pass defense always starts with a consistent, effective pass rush, and it will be no different this week. If the Bucs want to contain Stafford and his weapons through the air, they’ll need to put pressure on him early and often, forcing him into bad decisions, creating turnovers, and forcing the Lions to try to win the game on the ground.

Detroit has allowed 35 sacks so far this season, and Tampa Bay’s pass rush has shown improvement over the second half of the season, thanks in large part to the emergence of waiver-wire wonder Jacquies Smith. If he and McCoy can stay in Stafford’s face often enough, the Bucs might have a shot in this one.

*All stats courtesy of NFL.com

Luke Easterling is a Featured Columnist covering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and NFL Draft for Bleacher Report.  He is also the Editor of The Draft Report.  Follow him on Twitter @LukeEasterling.