Detroit Lions, haunted by first-half mistakes, falls short against Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Detroit Lions fell 20-16 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, despite several chances to change the score. A costly first-half penalty and a series of crucial incomplete passes haunted Detroit, as Tampa Bay held on to get the win.

In a bright spot for the Lions, DE Aidan Hutchinson came up big for the Detroit defense, with three big sacks in the first quarter. Hutchinson went on to end with five sacks — just two short of the NFL single-game record, set by Derrick Thompson in 1990.

But Hutchinson couldn't carry the team through the first half alone. The Lions went into the locker room down 13-6 at halftime after a frustrating final possession. Detroit quarterback Jared Goff got the team into the red zone with less than 30 seconds remaining, but threw an incomplete pass just one down later. At third-and-2 at the Tampa Bay 9-yard-line, Detroit was flagged for having too many men on the field, and lost the chance to go for the touchdown as time expired.

Luckily, Lions kicker Jake Bates gave Detroit a field goal, his third of the game, to start the second half to get them within four points. After a Buccaneers punt, Detroit and Tampa Bay traded touchdowns, with running back David Montgomery rushing into the end zone for the Lions and Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield rushing up the field for a 20-16 lead.

In the end, neither team scored during the fourth quarter, as the two teams traded possession without being able to capitalize on them. A chance for Detroit to take the lead in the fourth quarter was broken up by Goff's second interception of the day, with Buccaneers safety Christian Izien picking him off with ease.

But Tampa Bay failed to convert, with Detroit forcing a punt after just four plays. In a lengthy, five-minute drive, the Lions marched down the field in the final minutes, with running back Jahmyr Gibbs getting a big 23-yard run to get Detroit into the red zone with less than two minutes remaining. However, Goff was unable to convert on fourth-and-eight, with the Lions turning over the ball on down at the Tampa Bay six-yard line.

With less than a minute remaining — holding the 20-16 lead — the Buccaneers were quickly forced to punt after an incomplete pass stopped the clock.

However, with less than 30 seconds remaining, Detroit was unable to get the ball into the endzone either. Goff ended the game with three consecutive incomplete passes, failing to get the game-winning score. Goff ended with 34 completed passes out of 55 attempts, throwing for 307 yards.

Tampa Bay is now 2-0, starting the season strong with the hope of topping the NFC South for the fourth straight season.