On August 24, 2018 at 8 P.M. EST the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will face the Detroit Lions.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will play their first home game of the preseason.

Jameis Winston looked spectacular last week against the Tennessee Titans. He completed 13/18 passes for 226 yards, no interceptions, no fumbles and 2 touchdowns.

 

History Lesson: The 1997 NFC Wild Card Game

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Detriot Lions have met only once in the postseason. The game was a wildcard game where the Lions came to town and played on December 28, 1997 Houlihan’s Stadium, Tampa, FL.

Attendance was 73,361.

The Buccaneers won that game 20-10. Trent Dilfer was the quarterback and played a fairly decent game as he went 13/26 for 181 yards, one touchdown, one interception and two sacks. The now Indianapolis Colts head coach, Frank Reich, played in that game and went 11/15 for 129 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. Warrick Dunn and Mike Alstott had combined 29 carries for 140 yards and one touchdown.

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Series History

The Buccaneers and Lions played three times between 1976 and 1979. The Buccaneers first win came in 1979 where they won 31-16. This was a game that both the Buccaneers’ and the Lions’ quarterbacks would like to forget. Both quarterbacks under performaed that day. Doug Williams went 4/16 for 99 yards and two touchdowns. Jeff Komlo went 5/21 for 45 yards and no touchdowns. The Buccaneer rushing attack dominated this game. Jerry Eckwood had 20 carries for 121 yards and Ricky Bell had 13 carries for 53 yards and one touchdown.

The Buccaneers and Lions have played each other 58 times including one postseason game from 1976 to present. The Lions currently hold the series lead winning 31 out of the 58 games. The Buccaneers last win came in 2013 where Mike Glennon went 14/21 for 247 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. The final score in that game was Buccaneers 24 and Lions 21.

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Last Time they went head to head

The last time these teams met was on December 10, 2017. The Buccaneers who were far from making the playoffs in a very dismal season where many Buccaneer fans and national media alike all but crowned them a playoff team. The Buccaneers, by the end of the third quarter, faced a 14 point deficit. In the fourth quarter the Buccaneers managed to tie the game, but their fate was sealed when Lions kicker Matt Prater nailed a 46 yard field goal with 20 seconds remaining. That was the story of the 2017 Buccaneers.

Jameis Winston

Went 26/38 for 285 yards, 2 touchdowns and two interceptions.

 

Matthew Stafford

Went 36/44 for 381 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception.

Wide receiver Chris Godwin led the team in receiving catching 5 passes for 68 yards and no touchdowns.

This is the last preseason game where the starters will play up until about the 3^rd quarter. So far the lions have not looked that great under new head coach Matt Patricia. This game will surely tell where our beloved Buccaneers truly are as a team.

 

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Christian Worthen has been a fan of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for 22 years. He currently is a contributor/writer for Full Press Coverage Tampa Bay Buccaneers. To see more of his work or the work by Full Press Coverage follow @FPC_Buccanners on Twitter.