Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Detroit Lions: Full Report Card Grades for Detroit

The Detroit Lions' offensive problems won't be a topic of discussion this week, as the boys in Honolulu Blue thrashed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by a score of 34-17. 

The 10-day layoff seemed to do little to disrupt quarterback Matthew Stafford's rhythm. He came out slinging, helping Detroit jump out to a 17-3 lead.

The defense was able to create pressure, but breakdowns mentally allowed Tampa to creep back in with a Mike Evans touchdown before halftime. However, two more Stafford touchdown passes and a Matt Prater field goal pushed the point total beyond the Bucs' inept offensive grasp. 

The win keeps Detroit squarely in the playoff picture. The Lions' 9-4 record is tied with the Dallas Cowboys for the sixth spot, but Detroit holds the conference-record tiebreaker.

The above flyby doesn't do justice to how well some of the players performed. Let's delve deep into each positional unit and hand out grades.

Quarterback

Rick Osentoski/Associated Press

Some will say that the degree of defensive difficulty is the real impetus behind Matthew Stafford's play. And they will have a point.

However, this wasn't Stafford force-feeding his best receiver against overmatched opposition:

"

Stafford, not perfect today, but close. 17-21, five different receivers with multiple receptions. Again, very Saints-like.

— Justin Rogers (@Justin_Rogers) December 7, 2014"

Stafford would go on to add one more receiver en route to a tremendous afternoon. He used his eyes to look off defenders, showed good pocket awareness and didn't force the issue to any of his receivers.

In sum, Stafford finished 26-of-34 for 311 yards and three scores. He also didn't turn the ball over, which resulted in a 133.3 passer rating. To put that in perspective, let's say it's been awhile since Stafford had been this dominant:

"

Stafford now has back-to-back 100-plus passer rating games for first time since the end of 2011 -- when he got hot and lions made playoffs

— Tim Twentyman (@ttwentyman) December 7, 2014"

We've always known Stafford had the talent. A couple more days like this will prove that he has the intelligence and presence to capitalize on that. 

Grade: A

Running Back

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

The excitement over Reggie Bush's return was tempered quickly by remembering that he wasn't very effective before his injury:

"

Reggie Bush nearly just caused an INT. There's really no sense in playing him over Theo Riddick at this point.

— Pride Of Detroit (@PrideOfDetroit) December 7, 2014"

He did pick up a first down later and had a 12-yard run. However, his 26 yards on eight carries won't remind anyone of Gale Sayers any time soon.  

Oh, and Theo Riddick was nowhere to be seen. There wasn't any word if it had to do with his toe injury that limited him in Friday's practice. 

As usual, the only back with any rushing importance was Joique Bell:

"

Joique Bell is such a beast. Not sure there's much debate who the #Lions No. 1 back is after that 57-yard run. #TBvsDET

— Tim Twentyman (@ttwentyman) December 7, 2014"

But that long run was the lone highlight from the running game. Bell only added 26 more yards on 17 carries, which doesn't even hit the 2.0-yard-per-carry mark. Still, he added two touchdowns, one of which came via a tipped pass to bring his receiving total to 50 yards. 

Grade: B

Wide Receiver and Tight End

Rick Osentoski/Associated Press

Just because Stafford looked to other options doesn't mean Calvin Johnson didn't eat. The big receiver received the biggest helping, catching eight balls for 158 yards and a picture-perfect touchdown reception:

"

Calvin Johnson just wide open running through a zone, catches a 53-yard pass. Lions to the 8.

— Josh Katzenstein (@jkatzenstein) December 7, 2014"

That receiving total accounted for just over half of Detroit's passing total, although a third of that came on one play. In fact, that single reception accounted for more yards than any other Detroit wide receiver or running back had total.

Golden Tate had a quiet day with four catches for 50 yards. There was even a drop from the normally sure-handed Tate that bounced menacingly into the air before falling incomplete.

The tight ends had their biggest impact in some time. Eric Ebron hurdled—again—his way to 28 yards on three catches, but he wasn't the only big guy putting in twerk:

"

Joseph Fauria just twerked the crowd after his first touchdown catch of the season

— Kyle Meinke (@kmeinke) December 7, 2014"

Joseph Fauria's first touchdown of the season will be remembered for the post-play antics. However, the return of this red-zone threat will be of supreme importance in the stretch run of the season.

Grade: A-

Offensive Line

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

Detroit's weakest link was a relative strength compared to one aspect of past performances. 

The pass protection was generally able to give Matthew Stafford the time needed to find his receivers. Like last week, the offense was more reliant on quicker passing, but that shouldn't denigrate the performance up front.

It wasn't all perfect, as the four sacks will attest:

"

Swanson one of a couple Lions OL who gets beat on a sack-strip on third down, but Swanson recovers.

— Josh Katzenstein (@jkatzenstein) December 7, 2014"

However, at least two of those sacks came from a defender chasing Stafford down from behind after he had plenty of time to find a target.

It's hard to ignore Detroit's 113 rushing yards, even if 57 of them came on one play. Yet, the rushing game was mostly dormant outside of the last six minutes, and that was because the running backs had unwanted visitors in the backfield.

Grade: B-

Defensive Line

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

Fox cut to a shot of Bucs quarterback Josh McCown before a Lions drive that started with 5:42 left in the third quarter. He had the thousand-yard stare, which is understandable considering the pressure he was enduring:

"

McCown looked like a rag doll the way he snapped back after Suh hit him so hard

— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) December 7, 2014"

Ndamukong Suh did take a late-hit penalty on Tampa's first-half touchdown drive, but the mistakes from the defensive line were few and far between. The ringleader of the group more than made up for his error by leading the team with six tackles, including three for a loss and one sack to go along with three quarterback hits.

Andre Fluellen, Ziggy Ansah and George Johnson all got in on the action as well with a sack apiece. Ansah added four more hits to McCown's unfortunate total of 14:

"

Ansah just crushed McCown, then helped the hurting QB off the ground.

— Justin Rogers (@Justin_Rogers) December 7, 2014"

At least Ansah had a conscience about it, because what he and his defensive line mates did to the Bucs was inhumane. If it weren't for the Suh penalty and Jason Jones' facemask flag that handed Tampa its first touchdown, this grade would have more accurately reflected the carnage.  

Grade: A-

Linebacker

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Perhaps DeAndre Levy was jealous of his friends up front. Or maybe he got sick of being targeted in coverage.

Whatever the reason, he took out his frustration on Josh McCown:

"

DeAndre Levy had 1.5 sacks in his career entering today. He has two today right now for the #Lions

— Michael Rothstein (@mikerothstein) December 7, 2014"

Levy's two sacks on the day brought Detroit's total to six. He also had five tackles, including two for a loss, along with a pair of quarterback hits.

Tahir Whitehead put up three tackles with a quarterback hit. Josh Bynes only had one tackle to add to the mix.

Still, this isn't an individually-graded effort, and this unit was instrumental in limiting Tampa to just 1.9 yards per carry on the ground.

Grade: B+

Secondary

Duane Burleson/Associated Press

Not everything went swimmingly for the defense. When Josh McCown got a chance to get rid of the rock, the secondary was often too quick to oblige him in a variety of interesting ways.

The defensive backs struggled with Tampa's large, physical wide receivers at times. Darius Slay—who had played so well recently and started well—couldn't seem to put it together:

"

Darius Slay has stopped trying to cover Mike Evans, and begun to just mug him. Not even trying to play the ball.

— Ty Schalter (@tyschalter) December 7, 2014"

The struggle wasn't so much a tactic as a failure to turn his head around. It could have been the frustration of trying cover a specimen like Mike Evans, who had a great day with two touchdowns, but Slay's performance wasn't up to the standard he's set for himself.

James Ihedigbo found a different avenue to aid the Bucs offense. After making a heads-up play to grab a tipped interception, Ihedigbo left the end zone and was stripped inside Detroit's 10:

"

Ford Field DJ playing "Shake it off," presumably for James Ihedigbo.

— Josh Katzenstein (@jkatzenstein) December 7, 2014"

Tampa would go on to score a few plays later.

Overall, the secondary had its good moments to help offset some of its mistakes, most notably Glover Quin's one-handed, sliding interception. But the unit was heavily involved in Detroit's nine penalties for 122 yards, and the grade must reflect that.

Grade: B-

Special Teams

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

You no longer have to cringe when we get to the special teams slide. All business was handled appropriately.

Matt Prater is grooving now. He knocked in an early field goal from 46 yards out and capped off his day with another from 23. He did his job.

Punter Sam Martin's 51.7-yard average almost seems ho-hum at this point. His day was pretty condensed with only three punts, and he even put one of them inside the Bucs' 20.

The icing on the cake was Jeremy Ross:

"

Jeremy Ross with another return past the 40. For some reason I can't seem to find all the people that were clamoring for him to be benched.

— Kyle Meinke (@kmeinke) December 7, 2014"

He had a 36-yard kick return and averaged 5.5 yards per punt return. After trending downward for most of the season, Ross provided a ray of hope that he's close to breaking the big one fans have grown accustomed to seeing.

Grade: A

Coaching

Rick Osentoski/Associated Press

Sunday was everything both good and bad about this Detroit team.

There were costly penalties and dumb decisions by the defense that kept the Bucs in a game that had blowout written all over it early and late:

"

Bucs deserve that TD after #Lions put it on a platter for them. Bad decision to bring INT out and bad penalty on Jones. #TBvsDET

— Tim Twentyman (@ttwentyman) December 7, 2014"

Fortunately, there was also plenty of pressure and blitzing. Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin's scheme was on point, and his players responded to his aggressive approach. 

Offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi's calls were all over the map. At times, he let his franchise quarterback sling the rock, and the results were first downs and points.

At others, his insistence on a balanced offense halted drives:

"

Lions have 13 carries for 17 yards, so I don't think the run game is totally fixed.

— Josh Katzenstein (@jkatzenstein) December 7, 2014"

The rushing game did end up with 113 yards, so his stubbornness wasn't completely misplaced. However, once Lombardi embraces that his offense is built to fly through the air, his unit can become something special.

Finally, head coach Jim Caldwell deserves credit for averting the disaster his team became before the half. The nine penalties for an astonishing 122 yards were a problem, but he held his men accountable enough to grab the decisive victory.

Grade: B

Final Grades

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

QB: A

RB: B

WR/TE: A-

OL: B-

DL: A-

LB: B+

Secondary: B-

ST: A

Coaching: B

Cumulative Grade: B+

This wasn't an ugly win in the vein of the Atlanta or New Orleans games. The final score never truly felt in doubt, despite Detroit's best effort to keep the game reasonably close. 

But the performance wasn't always pretty.

The penalties are a serious concern that would have doomed the Lions against a good team. And the lapses in defensive concentration at the back end were disturbing.

However, the best units of this team performed at their absolute best. That will always be good enough to beat inferior competition, and it gives a foundation for building a winning culture.

The Lions have the benefit of two more games against teams with losing records. Minnesota has the potential to be much more frisky than the franchises' first encounter, but everything looks to be smooth sailing until the season docks in Green Bay.

Brandon Alisoglu is a Detroit Lions Featured Columnist who has written about the Lions on multiple sites. He also co-hosts a Lions-centric podcast, Lions Central Radio. Yell at him on Twitter about how wrong he is @BrandonAlisoglu.