5 big losers (and 4 winners) from Buccaneers 24-9 loss to Lions in Week 7

It was a disaster in Detroit for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night. The team came into the night riding high with the best record in the NFC, but finished on the wrong side of a blowout loss and with a season-ending injury to Mike Evans.

With the loss, Tampa Bay drops all the way down to the No. 4 seed behind Green Bay, San Francisco, and Philadelphia, but they remain a top team in the conference. That's the mixed bag feeling this game represents, as it was total mess but not at all a fatal blow to the Bucs' playoff hopes.

It's only Week 7, which means they're plenty of time to turn things around. That'll mean the things that held the team back and let everyone down will need to be fixed if this sort of dud is to be avoided in the future.

Winners and losers from Buccaneers 24-6 loss to the Lions

Loser: The Buccaneers in Week 7 MNF games

Good grief, talk about time being a flat circle. This now marks two straight years where the Bucs had almost identically disastrous games where they lost a key player to a season-ending injury.

Week 7, 2024

Buccaneers drop to 4-2 after losing 41-31 to the Baltimore Ravens in a marquee measuring stick game. In the process, Tampa Bay loses Chris Godwin for the rest of the season after he suffered a dislocated ankle late in the game.

Week 7, 2025

Tampa Bay drops to 5-2 after losing 24-9 to the Detroit Lions in a marquee measuring stick game. In the process, the Bucs lose Mike Evans to a clavicle injury that will force him to miss most -- if not all -- of the rest of the season.

The kicker? Both games happened on Monday Night Football. Let's maybe not schedule the Bucs for a Week 7 MNF game in 2026.

Loser: Baker Mayfield, QB

He's looked like an MVP candidate for the entire season, and strapped the team on his back more than a few times to will wins into existence. None of that magic was present on Monday night, as Baker Mayfield looked like a shell of himself against the Lions defense.

What made it even worse was how perfectly setup Mayfield was to add a primetime gem to his MVP case. Detroit was missing most of its secondary to injuries and ESPN cameras kept showing guys like Rock Ya-Sin hobble around on the sideline.

Despite this, Baker looked awful and completely unlike the guy we've seen all season. He was out of sync with his receivers and couldn't get anything going. He just didn't seem right and it showed. After such thrilling highs the last few weeks, Baker finished with 228 yards and an interception to go along with his lone touchdown of the night.

There was no angry run, no gutsy late-game heroics, and not a lot to love about Baker's rough night in Detroit. It's only one game and doesn't erase the magic he's had this season, but it's safe to say his MVP candidacy took a major hit with thanks to the performance he had on Monday night.

Loser: Charlie Heck, OT

There's no way to sugarcoat it, Charlie Heck was a total liability all night. He started his night by whiffing on a block that likely stopped Rachaad White from ripping off a huge play and was atrocious the rest of the night.

On the first drive of the second half, Heck was called for a false start that stunted some drive momentum and eventually put the Bucs in a 4th down situation they luckily converted. We've seen offensive line play be shaky this season and the absence of Luke Geodeke was felt in a pretty big way against the Lions with Heck causing more problems than he was solving.

Loser: First Half Offense

Truly, what the hell was that? Trick question, it was the single most embarrassing half of football we've seen from the Buccaneers since the Baker Mayfield era began. We've seen the Bucs play some rough football over the years, but the context made the first half in Detroit so much worse.

All week we heard how the Lions were missing four key starters in the secondary, which was a perfect storm for Baker Mayfield and the high-flying offense to feast. Instead, Mayfield finished the first half with an interception and fewer than 50 yards, and Tampa Bay mustered up only three points.

Making matters worse, Mike Evans needed to be carted to the locker room after suffering a concussion and shoulder injury while trying to make a catch. Everything was set up for the Bucs to have a performance like what we saw in Seattle, but instead we saw the clocks get turned back to the 2010s where nothing seemed to go right.

Winner: First Half Defense

Not everything was terrible in the first half. Outside two big plays, Tampa Bay's defense was the reason the game didn't get out of hand, as the side of the ball that has frustrated us the most ended up being the only saving grace.

The Bucs stopped Detroit on a fourth down in the redzone, something that's pretty astonishing considering they have the 28th ranked redzone defense in the league and the Lions are Top 3. Jamel Dean also came down with another huge interception before halftime, a turnover that led to the Bucs finally getting on the board not long after.

It was far from perfect, but the Bucs defense played exactly the way we've seen them play all season. For the first time, the offense wasn't there to carry its share of the load, which is what made the 14-3 halftime score look way more lopsided than it actually was -- or could have been.

Winner: Tez Johnson, WR

The biggest thing that happened on Monday was the Buccaneers losing wide receiver Mike Evans to a broken clavicle. It's an injury that likely ends his season, as well as his pursuit of 11 straight 1,000 yard seasons, and it puts some pressure on Tampa Bay's offense to find a way to fill a massive hole.

Tez Johnson won't be a 1-for-1 replacement, but he's now shown in back-to-back weeks he's capable of being a key part of the rotation. Johnson finished the game with four catches, 58 yards, and a touchdown while being featured heavily once Evans left the game.

In total, he saw nine targets which is the most Baker has looked his way all season. It's clear Josh Grizzard was already a fan of the rookie based on how he was used last Sunday against the 49ers, and he made another great case for himself to become even more useful as the offense navigates a world where Mike Evans is no longer in the equation.

Loser: Anyone trying to stop Jamyr Gibbs

Each week the Bucs find a way to make some opposing player look otherworldly. Last week it was letting Mac Jones throw for over 200 yards in the first half and this week it was letting Jamyr Gibbs run over them like a semi truck with its brakes cut.

Gibbs had 217 yards and two touchdowns before the third quarter was even halfway over. It was that kind of game from him, and while Gibbs is one of the most electric running backs in the league it was pretty rough watching the defense fold like a cheap poker table anytime he touched the ball.

Tampa Bay has been up against vaunted players more than a few times this season, but this is the first time they were truly gashed. Gibbs was unstoppable and it exposed both personnel issues and play calling issues on that side of the ball that need to be fixed before another disaster like Monday night happens again.

Loser: Jacob Parrish, CB

He's been making a name for himself as part of a stellar rookie class for the Bucs, but it was a night to forget for Jacob Parrish. He got cooked by Amon-Ra St. Brown, which isn't easy but was particularly hard for the rookie on Monday.

St. Brown had 67 yards in the first quarter alone, finishing the game with 86 yards and a touchdown. That score came on the first drive of the game and against Parrish, who entered the night with a lot of hype after starting to really catch on as a key member of the secondary.

He's still very much that even after a rough night, but he looked every bit like a rookie against the Lions offense.

Winner: Jamel Dean, CB

Credit where it's due, Jamel Dean has largely answered the bell this season. He's been a player who Bucs fans have grown frustrated with over the years but Dean is finally turning back into the player he was when he signed a $53 million free agent contract back in 2023.

For the second week in a row, Dean made a play that turned some momentum back in Tampa Bay's direction. His interception at the end of the first half helped lead to points -- the Bucs' first of the night -- and erased a huge turnover on offense.

The Bucs had just turned the ball over on back-to-back drives when Dean picked off Jared Goff. It was play that likely kept the game from getting out of hand early, as the Lions seemed ready to pounce and head into halftime with an even bigger lead.

It's not the first time Dean has done that this year, and it's nice to see someone we all know can play at a high level doing so exactly when the Bucs need him to most.