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Five things to watch as Lions host Bucs; injury update and prediction

With the overtime win over the Rams, the Detroit Lions held strong to beat one of their playoff opponents from last year. On Sunday, they’ll have a chance at another, the Tampa Bay Bucs.

In January the Lions topped the Bucs 31-23 in the divisional round. Both teams have seen a few changes but the main cast of characters is intact for both.

“It doesn’t matter who you play. You have to find a way to win them. I think what’s unique is, I think the Rams last week and the Bucs here are certainly – they have a good chance of winning those divisions,’’ Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “They are certainly going to be competitive and be right there in the race, and so this is a chance to get an early one. You get an early one and you just don’t know what this is going to mean down the road and if you can put some money in the bank early in the season, it will pay big dividends for you down the road.’’

Campbell looks for improvement every week. It’s good with a win under their belt but that was just a start. And, remember, it took overtime.

“Now in the moment, it’s – we just have to improve. I mentioned it the other day, we just have to get a little bit better and if we can do that as individuals, coaches, players, everything, then it’ll raise the floor of our team significantly this week,’’ Campbell said.

Kickoff is at 1 p.m. at Ford Field.

Five things to watch against the Bucs:

ONE: The Lions defense must improve on tackling and make more big plays when the chance is there. Carlton Davis and Brian Branch missed on possible interceptions in the opener while Aidan Hutchinson and Marcus Davenport missed sacks. Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn saw the positives too. “When you throw it 50 times and you average six yards per attempt, that’s right in our wheelhouse of where we want to be at. So, we were happy about that, and again, just like I said in the run game, we held guys to 3.6 yards per carry I think on 20-something runs. So, that’s who we are as a defense,’’ Glenn said. They could have their hands full with QB Baker Mayfield who threw four TD passes last week in win over the Commanders.

TWO: The Lions offense could take advantage of a beat-up Bucs’ secondary. Safety Antoine Winfield (foot) is expected to miss. Three corners were lost in the Bucs win last week – Zyan McCollum (concussion), Josh Hayes (ankle) and Bryce Hall who is out for the season. “This is a dangerous team. So, we’ll see who they have available here on Sunday, but more than anything, we have to handle all the variety of looks that they can present to us, first and second down, and third down,’’ Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said.

THREE: The Lions’ multi-dimensional offense had enough left in the tank to win in overtime last week. They did it with Amon-Ra St. Brown getting just three catches. Getting him more involved is a priority but it wasn’t shocking since Jameson Williams came up big with 121 receiving yards. “That’s going to happen, and I think what made us a good offense in the past is that last week it was Jameson and this week it could be him again, but it could be anyone. It could be Sam (LaPorta), it could be Kalif (Raymond), it could be – obviously St. Brown is a big part of it, but it could be anyone and that’s what’s good about our offense,’’ quarterback Jared Goff said.

FOUR: In his first NFL game, cornerback Terrion Arnold was notched two pass interference calls against the Rams. It’s not an unusual phenomena for a rookie, but something that needs work. “We have to make sure that we coach those things out of him. ‘Where’s your hand placement? Understand where do you want to turn your head in certain situations on the ball.’ So, I have no issue with that player getting better at that, because I know he will because he’s a quick learner and he’s a fast learner,’’ Glenn said.

FIVE: Look for defensive lineman D.J. Reader to play in his first game for the Lions. “He’s a man’s man. When it comes to the run game, he’s going to be a huge addition to us, but I don’t want guys to just think that’s just who he is, because he has sneaky, athletic ability to be able to help on the passing game too, because he can push the pocket,’’ Glenn said. “Anytime you bring a player like that back in the fold, it only helps us as a defense.”

LIONS INJURY UPDATE: S Ifeatu Melifonwu (ankle) and WR Isaiah Williams (abdomen) are out; DL Marcus Davenport (groin) is doubtful; RT Penei Sewell (ankle), S Kerby Joseph (hamstring) and WR Jameson Williams (ankle) are questionable.

PREDICTION: Lions 27, Bucs 24

The Monday after: Thoughts on the secondary, Amon-Ra St. Brown and ‘Reba’

ALLEN PARK — The Lions basic motto on Monday boiled down to a simple four words: More work to do.

This comes after a comeback 26-20 overtime win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night at a rocking Ford Field..

Coach Dan Campbell said win or lose his message would have been the same. He wants to get better every week.

Five thoughts on Monday:

ONE: Campbell liked that the defense took the Rams out of their game and into more of a quick game. “When you run almost 80 plays and you only give up 20 points, that’s pretty good. That’s a good start,’’ Campbell said on Monday. “It was a good win.’’

TWO: While the team was pleased with the win, they are their own toughest critics. Defensive lineman Alim McNeill explained: “I mean it’s because you want to hold them to zero points. We had them at 3 at halftime. We wanted to keep them there, 3 too many,’’ McNeill said on Monday. “That’s always our mindset is how can you get better everyday because you want to hold them to zero. You can’t score, you can’t win.’’

McNeill said the defense’s identity is violent.

“We want to be feared, we want to be violent. That’s how defenses win games. That’s our advantage is fear,’’ said McNeill who watched episodes of “Reba” on Netflix until 4 a.m. after the game.

THREE: It is not that WR Amon-Ra St. Brown was an afterthought, it just looked like it on the stat sheet. Even though QB Jared Goff passed for 217 yards, St. Brown had just three catches for 13 yards and was targeted six times. Campbell said they tried to get him involved.

“We called his number quite a few times. It felt like, for whatever reason, either coverage took it away or something happens on the inside slant. There were just these things, it kind of was one of those games,’’ Campbell said. “He’s constantly somebody we think about. That doesn’t go away. Certainly we want to get him targeted more than what he showed yesterday.’’

FOUR: The young secondary was tested by Matthew Stafford who passed for 317 yards.

“We’ve got a lot of room to grow, but there were things in that game I was really proud of on the back end,’’ Campbell said.

He mentioned good games by Carlton Davis Jr., Brian Branch and rookie Terrion Arnold.

“TA, it’s very evident it’s not too big for him. He’s got a lot to clean up, but it was very promising,’’ Campbell said. “He was in stride, he showed up and he’s only going to get better.’’

FIVE: Campbell emphasized the remarkable game by RB David Montgomery, as the big reason the Lions pulled out the overtime win. “D-Mo put that game on his shoulders. He willed that to happen,’’ the coach said. On the second play of overtime, a first-and-10 at Detroit’s 42-yard line, Montgomery scampered for 21 yards. Campbell said he could tell at that point that Montgomery was up to the task. In that eight-play drive Montgomery had five carries for 45 yards including the 1-yard touchdown run.

BONUS: NBC’s “Today Show” aired a segment on Monday featuring the Lions’ five offensive line starters who all happen to be dads to young children. It’s another bond that brings them together – sometimes in the pool at the same swim lessons. Check it out.

UP NEXT: Tampa Bay Bucs (1-0) at Detroit Lions (1-0), 1 p.m. on Sunday at Ford Field.

Five reasons the Lions won OT opener against Stafford and the Rams

DETROIT — Coach Dan Campbell knew it would be a hard-fought season opener and who would doubt him. His Detroit Lions squeaked by with a 26-20 overtime win against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night at Ford Field in a nationally televised game.

Hard-fought? Absolutely.

Perfect? Not even close.

“We eventually found a rhythm. We did what we had to do. I said early in the week the team that makes the most mistakes is the team that usually loses these early games and we made one less mistake,’’ Campbell said.

Obviously happy with the win over a solid Rams team, Campbell and the team know they have to improve.

“We’ll get better, we’ll get in a better flow on both sides of the ball, we will,’’ Campbell said.

Five of the top reasons the Lions won:

ONE: After kicking a late field goal to tie the game and get to overtime, the Lions won the toss. All they had to do to win was score a touchdown on that first drive. Jared Goff and RB David Montgomery put on a show with an 8-play, 70-yard scoring drive. Montgomery carried five times for 45 yards including the 1-yard touchdown. Goff called him a battering ram. “Just hand it to him, he did the rest. It was fun watching him catch his second win in overtime, the offensive line too,’’ Goff said.

TWO: Wide receiver Jameson Williams won a game ball for his five catches for 121 yards and a 13-yard run. It was his first ever – didn’t even get one at Alabama. “This might not leave my hands, I might sleep like this,’’ said the speedy Williams who scored on a 52-yard pass play.

Just starting his third season, it seemed like a breakout game but Williams insists he’ll get better. That’s exactly what Campbell said too. He’s proud of Williams and said the best part is he has room for growth. “It’s just Game 1, I put in a lot of work. I expected to have a big game, I guess this is big to the world because it’s my first one, I plan on having a lot more,’’ Williams said. “I don’t plan on this being the best game of my career. This is just the start of me being me.’’ Count on it.

THREE: Goff was a steady Eddy, keeping the ship upright even after the Rams scored 17 unanswered points and took the 20-17 lead in the fourth quarter. Goff completed 18 of 28 passes for 217 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

“The theme of tonight, we kept shooting ourselves in the foot a little bit, certainly offensively. … It wasn’t our smoothest but a win is a win. We have to happy with that,’’ Goff said.

He couldn’t get Amon-Ra St. Brown much involved (3 catches, 13 yards), same with Sam LaPorta (4 catches, 45 yards). Goff didn’t really have an answer; it was just how the game flowed.

FOUR: Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford was on top of his game. He was a handful for the Lions defense, especially the young secondary. He was sacked twice and pressured often but still threw for 317 yards including one touchdown and one interception. Campbell couldn’t say enough about the former Lions’ QB.

“That quarterback, Stafford, I thought played lights out, played tough, hit after hit; he just kept getting up and making unbelievable throws,’’ Campbell said. “I give them a lot of credit they fought, but we’re hard to break.’’

The coach even went a step farther. “Stafford, it’s almost like you don’t want to hit him because when you hit him he plays better. He just continued to make plays,’’ Campbell said.

FIVE: Marcus Davenport lived up to expectations at defensive end in his first Lions game and, as always, Aidan Hutchinson (5 tackles, 1 sack, 4 quarterback hits) was solid with a key play when the Rams got called for holding on him.

It seemed like linebacker Alex Anzalone was everywhere. He finished with a team-high 13 tackles and three tackles for loss. “Since TFLs became officially recorded in 1994, only one Lions player has produced 10-plus tackles and 3-plus TFLs in a season-opening game and that was Anzalone on Sunday night. It marked only the eighth time an NFL player has logged this stat-line in a Week 1 game since 1994. Pretty impressive.

UP NEXT: The Tampa Bay Bucs (1-0) at the Lions (1-0), 1 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 16.