Dan Campbell was watching the Buccaneers-Eagles game Monday night for an early look at the Lions' next playoff opponent "and the first note I wrote," he said Tuesday on 97.1 The Ticket, "which doesn't surprise me one bit is, 'Tampa Bay is freaking physical, tough and they fly to the football, on both sides of the ball.'"
Tampa Bay is coming to Detroit on Sunday, with a spot in the NFC title game on the line. The Lions got to know the Bucs in a 20-6 win in Tampa back in Week 6, but a lot has changed, for both teams, in the three months since.
Just look right here in Detroit: Jahmyr Gibbs was still experiencing rookie growing pains, Jameson Williams had to get integrated on offense, Tracy Walker was playing every snap on defense and Iffy Melifonwu was playing none, and C.J. Gardner-Johnson was still a long way from returning. Just for starters.
"Both of us have evolved since we played each other," Campbell said. "That was an early game in the season. They’re a better team than they were then, but I believe we are, too."
But the Bucs' identity under head coach Todd Bowles, as Campbell learned Monday night, is still very much the same. They're fast and violent on defense and blitz more than almost anybody in the NFL. And that's what makes them dangerous.
"This is a tackling, tough football team," Campbell said. "That was evident. That popped on the tape: There’s one team that’s freaking aggressive and flying around here, so we know we got our hands full. We played this team before. This is going to be a mirror image of us, two heavyweights going at it, body blows. It ought to be an exciting game."
The Lions' rushing attack ranked fifth in the NFL this season. So did the Bucs' rushing defense. Tampa won this matchup in the first meeting, holding Detroit to season lows in rushing yards (40) and yards per rush (1.8). The Lions won the game by going to the air, with Jared Goff throwing 44 times for a season-high 353 yards, and smothering the Buccaneers' offense. Baker Mayfield had a season-low 56.8 passer rating and Rachaad White had a season-low 26 rushing yards.
"We did so many things right to win that game and did them well, but we also came out of that game and said, 'Man, I know from an offensive perspective there’s things we can do so much better and need to do, just schematically,'" Campbell said. "For example, that Vita Vea is a hell of a player. I think he’s one of the most underrated interior defensive linemen in this league. He’s a load. He’s powerful, he's strong, he can push the pocket in the pass game. There’s just these things you think, man, how do we attack them better than we did last time?"
Vea posted career-highs in tackles and tackles for loss this season, his sixth in the NFL. He had arguably his best game of the year against the Lions, with a season-high six tackles, two quarterback pressures and a forced fumble of David Montgomery (Montgomery recovered). It was Vea's highest-graded game this season, by far, by Pro Football Focus.
Along with rookie edge rusher YaYa Diaby (7.5 sacks), veteran linebackers Lavonte David and Devin White and All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr., Vea is one of the players who gives the Bucs their mean, hard-nosed identity.
"I think this is an easy one to get ready for and here’s why: if you turn on the tape and you watch Tampa Bay, this is a tough, physical team," said Campbell. "They will punch you right in the face. I love that. We’re going to know exactly what’s coming. There’s nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, so we better be on our A game."
Mayfield had an up-and-down first season in Tampa that was mostly in line with his career. But he finished strong, with 10 touchdowns to two picks and a passer rating of 106.5 in the final five games as the Bucs won five of their last six to win the NFC South at 9-8. He stayed hot by hanging three touchdowns on Matt Patricia's defense in the Bucs' rout of the Eagles on Monday night.
"Tough, competitive," Campbell said of Mayfield, the first overall pick in 2018, two years after Jared Goff. "You can tell he’s the captain of that ship. And he’s exactly what I think everybody loved when he was coming out of Oklahoma. That’s what you see right now: He’s a free spirit and he’s going to find a way to make plays. He’s going to will his team into moving the football and keeping 'em in it and finding a way to win, so I got a lot of respect for him. He’s tough as nails and man, he’s playing at a high level right now."
The Bucs also have a Hall of Fame-bound receiver in Mike Evans who just had his tenth straight 1,000-yard season and caught an NFL-best 13 touchdowns. White rushed for 990 yards, though Tampa's ground game ranked last in the NFL. The Buccaneers are ultimately defined by their defense, which allowed the seventh fewest points in the NFL this season, gearing up for a Lions team defined by its offense.
As Campbell said, should make for a good show.
"It’s us versus them. They got plenty of weapons. It’s a championship head coach over there, and they understand what it’s about. They’re tough and physical, so we’re looking forward to it," said Campbell.