The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are headed to the Motor City to take on the Detroit Lions this week, and I was able to catch up with managing editor of Lions Wire, Jeff Risdon to discuss this week’s matchup. We talked injuries, offensive and defensive schemes, as well as frustrations.

Marvin Jones Jr. went down for the remainder of the season. How does losing him impact QB David Blough?

It’s a big blow. Jones was tied for 2nd in the league in TD receptions and his ability to make tough catches down the field was a big part of the Lions’ attack. Kenny Golladay and Danny Amendola are the only legit NFL wideouts left on the roster, so the Lions passing game is now much easier to defend.

The Buccaneers’ high-powered offense averages 29.1 points per game. What do the Lions need to do to slow them down?

Detroit’s defense is frustrating to watch. They are passive and uncreative, choosing to read and react to the offense instead of trying to dictate the action. Blitzes, stunts, zone blitzes, those types of things can disrupt the Buccaneers, but they’re just not something the Lions are comfortable doing. At minimum, the tackling needs to improve. Only two teams have missed more tackles all year than Detroit.

David Blough looked like a seasoned vet on Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, that didn’t carry over to last week’s game. With the Buccaneers’ young secondary and a defense allowing 29.3 points per game, which Blough do we see on Sunday?

Blough is not scared and the moment isn’t too big for him, two very important attributes. The issue for him is he isn’t used to the speed of the NFL game yet. I expect Blough to have a few shining moments interspersed with bad throws and delayed decisions.

The Bucs’ run defense is best in the league allowing just 75.5 yards per game. With the Lions’ struggles to run the ball, do they continue to push the issue and attempt to run, or just air it out as much as possible?

I would air it out, but I’m not offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell. We might see a 70/30 pass-to-run mix, but the Lions will not abandon the run. The ability to grind out time and avoid getting into a shootout with such a potent offense will keep the Lions from just throwing all the time…even if the run almost certainly won’t work.

Who wins and why?

The Buccaneers’ two best qualities — explosive passing offense and run-stuffing defense — directly counter what the Lions’ biggest weaknesses are. The talent level appears pretty even with all the injuries, but the Lions simply don’t have an answer for Chris Godwin even with Mike Evans out. Unless the Lions defense can create some takeaways and cash them into points, Detroit doesn’t have enough to take down the Buccaneers. Tampa Bay wins by 12.

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