7 winners and 1 loser from the Lions win over the Buccaneers, you’ve never heard of some of these winners before
Who are these guys?
The Detroit Lions had a big win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on “Monday Night Football” to start the week. It was one of the most impressive defensive performances I’ve ever seen.
A group of guys that most people hadn’t even heard of before went out and held one of the best teams in the NFL with an MVP candidate quarterback to just nine points. Wow! We’ve got seven winners and one loser for this one.
Winners
Nick Whiteside
This guy is the story of the night, and we can’t stop talking about him. To go from unwanted to starting your first game out of necessity to allowing one catch for 22 yards on five targets and having two unreal pass breakups in the end zone and a 90.6 PFF instant grade — I mean, that is just an example of a really good night and a really cool story.
Alim McNeill
Return of the Mac! McNeill came out in his first game after tearing his ACL last season and showed that he is absolutely a game-changer.
The Lions’ already really well-performing defensive line looked even better with McNeill, and the fact that he played 45 snaps in this game has to make you feel good so much for a pitch count. McNeill had three pressures and a big swat on third down.
Tyrus Wheat
Wheat played exactly eight snaps on Monday night, and you might think you can’t do a whole lot on eight snaps, but Wheat had a sack and a half and forced a fumble. It was like a little coming-out party for him. You have to wonder if he’s earned a few more snaps and what he can do with 15 snaps.
Jack Campbell
If you had a football in your hands and you played for the Bucs, Jack Campbell was probably hitting you on Monday night. He packed the stat sheet for this game. He had eight tackles, one tackle for a loss, a sack, and one pass breakup.
Of course, Dan Campbell gave him a game ball after the game. This is the norm for Campbell now. He’s one of the best linebackers in the league.
Al-Quadin Muhammad
It’s safe to say it now. Muhammad is not just a flash in the pan. This guy has been unreal to watch this season, and in this game, he was a force.
The Bucs’ game plan was to take Aidan Hutchinson out of the equation. It didn’t work, but on the occasions where it sort of did, Muhammad was winning his one-on-ones and getting in Baker Mayfield’s face. He had eight pressures and a sack on the night.
Rock Ya-Sin
Ya-Sin took on the hard job of trying to stop Mike Evans, and he did just that. Ya-Sin kept pace with him all game and never allowed him to make a catch. Ya-Sin played it smart.
He pushed Evans to the sideline on multiple occasions and forced him to make the catch and get both toes down. He couldn’t do it. Ya-Sin ended his day early due to cramping, but he allowed just two catches for 27 yards on seven targets.
Jahmyr Gibbs
Gibbs had 219 total yards and two touchdowns. Do we need to say more than that? OK, we’ll say one more thing. Look at this juke:
Losers
The people who said they couldn’t do it
Look, picking losers for this team after that game was hard. Yeah, you might say the offense had a bad night, and this game should have been over after the half, and you’d be somewhat right, but that’s a good Bucs defense they played against. Every team has had trouble with them.
At the end of the day, it’s the people who said that the Bucs would cook this defense and that Mayfield would have a career day, all because the starters were out. I hate to sound cheesy, but the people who didn’t believe. This was a Disney movie. This is what they’re all about at the end of the day — overcoming adversity and doing it with guys who weren’t supposed to do it.
Detroit Lions News
The Lions learned the meaning of second chances with one player in win over the Bucs
How can you not be romantic about football?
