We’re going to find out fast whether or not the Bucs learned a lesson from last weekend or whether youth will once again prevail and make a game the Bucs ought to win close at the end. Last weekend the Bucs seemingly slept on the Redskins and had to rely on some costly mistakes in the Washington kicking game to bail them out in the 4th quarter.
I would argue that this Lions team is better than the Redskins team the Bucs faced last week. The records may not indicate it but this Detroit team has more dynamic pieces and they’re a lot hungrier. I feel like a lot of times veteran teams have more of a propensity to collapse when the going gets rough. The Skins have had a tumultuous season, they’re older. It’s easy to be jaded or complacent and just pack it in.
The Lions on the other hand aren’t packing it in. They’re young, they’re hungry and they’re looking to finish the season with a statement in much the same way that the Buccaneers finished last year. The Bucs should handle this team but if they aren’t quick to force their will then the Lions can hang around and even win this game.
More than anything though the Buccaneers need a resounding win to start to build more confidence as they move towards a decisive week 17 showdown in the Superdome. That game is obviously predicated on the Bucs winning the next two, but in this case I think the way the Bucs win them counts too. This team is for all intensive purposes just limping to the finish line (excuse the pun). They were dealt back to back losses by good teams, lost a slew of players to injury and won on a muffed extra point last weekend. Things aren’t exactly rolling right now.
If the Bucs barely win this game, much worse lose. It’s going to be a devastating defeat in more ways than one. The blow to the psyche of this young team would be tremendous. You want to see 8-8? Obviously it starts with a loss right here.
Hopefully the Bucs have been focused and prepared. They need to be business-like. The high school-esque high-fiving and chest bumping from Raheem Morris on the sideline needs to take a week off in favor of focus and cold-blood determination. Winning is fun, the point where just being out there was enough is long past. The Bucs need to come on the field today with a single-minded focus on winning. On dismantling a team without its starting quarterback and without any playoff hopes.
This is a game the Buccaneers should win. If and more importantly how they do it will tell us all a lot about the final two weeks of the season.