Detroit Lions vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers first half open thread

The Detroit Lions and Tampa Bay Buccaneers enter Week 6 with high hopes across the board. For the Lions, this season appears to be a culmination of two years of patience under general manager Brad Holmes and coach Dan Campbell. They’ve already notched a win over the defending champ Kansas City Chiefs (their only loss of the season), and won again on primetime over their division rival Green Bay Packers. Their sole loss of the season was on overtime defeat to a solid 3-1 Seahawks team.

The Bucs, on the other hand, are performing way above expectations. In Year 1 after Tom Brady, Tampa has found moderate success on offense under new coordinator Dave Canales and quarterback Baker Mayfield.

Of course, their bread and butter is their defense, which currently ranks sixth in DVOA. Head coach Todd Bowles is one of the more well-seasoned defensive coaches in this league, with his coaching career scaling back to his days as the Jets secondary coach in 2000. Yes, he was current Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn’s positional coach way back then—and then again a few days later with the Cowboys.

So how will the Lions’ high-octane offense fare against Bowles’ defense, and can the Lions defense continue to play at a high level against two dangerous receivers in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin?

Hang out with us for the first half of Lions vs. Buccaneers, and when the game goes to halftime, be on the lookout for our second half open thread on the front game.

Go Lions!