

The read
On rating alone Detroit Lions are 3.4 points better (#10 vs #18 of 32), and DET add 0.0 for home field. The clearest mismatch is the passing game: DET passing ranks #5, TB defends it at #20; the other way TB #15 into DET's #14.
Who has the edge
The margin, factor by factor
Bars are in points toward the favored side. Blue factors are inside the model's margin; grey ones are context it does not add on top (form and offense/defense are already in the ratings; injuries beyond the quarterback are not priced).
Dissect the matchup
nflverse play-by-play + FTN charting · 2025 season (last season until three games are in)Biggest mismatches
- ▸DET yac / completion (#2) against a TB defense ranked #27 at stopping it
- ▸DET red-zone touchdown rate (#9) against a TB defense ranked #32 at stopping it
- ▸DET pass success rate (#7) against a TB defense ranked #27 at stopping it
- ▸DET yards / dropback (#6) against a TB defense ranked #25 at stopping it
- ▸TB explosive pass rate (#8) against a DET defense ranked #26 at stopping it
A mismatch is a rank gap of at least a fifth of the league between an offense and the defense it faces on the same measure. Descriptive rows (pass rate, pace, direction) are shown for reading the game, not ranked. ▲▼ mark where the last three games sit clearly above or below the season number, in the direction that helps that side.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense vs Detroit Lions defense
ranks of 32| TB off | DET def | Edge | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Identity | |||
| Pass rate / Pass rate facedDropbacks as a share of plays. On the defense column: what opponents do against them. | 60% | 61% | · |
| Early-down pass rateFirst and second down only — the cleanest read on run-heavy vs pass-heavy. | 54% | 56% | · |
| Neutral-script pass rateEarly downs with win probability between 20% and 80%: intent, not catch-up mode. | 52% | 55% | · |
| Pass rate over expectedHow much more (or less) a team passes than the down, distance, score and clock predict. nflverse xpass. | −3.5% | −0.5% | · |
| Seconds per playTime of possession divided by plays — lower is faster. | 30.6 | 29.2 | · |
| No-huddle | 6% | 11% | · |
| Shotgun | 66% | 64% | · |
| Play-action rate / Play-action facedShare of dropbacks with a play fake (FTN charting). | 17% | 25% | · |
| RPO rate / RPOs faced | 8% | 7% | · |
| Screen rate / Screens faced | 11% | 6% | · |
| Pre-snap motion / Motion faced | 62% | 50% | · |
| Blitzes faced / Blitz rateFive or more pass rushers (FTN). On the offense column: how often opponents blitz them. | 28% | 27% | · |
| Pass rushers faced / Avg pass rushers | 4.29 | 4.32 | · |
| Passing | |||
| EPA / dropbackThe single best pass-efficiency number; on the defense column, what they allow. | +0.04#15▲ | +0.01#14▼ | · |
| Pass success rate | 44%#21 | 42%#6 | DET |
| Explosive pass rateDropbacks gaining 20+ yards. | 9.4%#8 | 9.1%#26▼ | TB |
| Yards / dropback | 6.1#17 | 6.1#16 | · |
| Depth of target (aDOT)Average air yards per attempt — how far downfield they throw, or get thrown at. | 8.1 | 9.9 | · |
| Deep-ball rate (20+ air) | 12% | 15% | · |
| Short throws (≤5 air) | 51% | 44% | · |
| Completion % over expectednflverse CPOE, per attempt. Defense column: what they allow. | −2.5#25▲ | −1.1#9▼ | DET |
| YAC / completion | 5.6#6 | 4.3#3 | · |
| Sack rate / Sack rate generatedSacks per dropback. Lower is better for an offense; the defense column shows sacks they create. | 6.0%#15 | 7.7%#8 | DET |
| Scramble rate | 6.7% | 4.9% | · |
| Interception rate / Interceptions forced | 2.0%#14▲ | 2.3%#13▼ | · |
| Throws left / middle / rightDirection shares are shown in full on the row. | L 40 · M 20 · R 40 | L 36 · M 21 · R 43 | · |
| Rushing | |||
| EPA / rush | −0.08#24▼ | −0.04#18▲ | DET |
| Rush success rate | 40%#23 | 41%#13 | DET |
| Explosive rush rateRushes of 10+ yards. | 8.1%#26▼ | 11.3%#23▲ | · |
| Yards / rush | 3.8#27 | 4.4#24▲ | · |
| Runs left / middle / right | L 47 · M 22 · R 31 | L 36 · M 26 · R 38 | · |
| Situational | |||
| Third-down conversion | 41%#11▲ | 37%#9 | · |
| Red-zone touchdown rateDrives reaching the 20 that end in a touchdown. | 55%#23 | 60%#22▼ | · |
| Turnovers / game / Takeaways / game | 0.94#8▲ | 1.12#19▼ | TB |
| Plays / game | 62 | 61 | · |
Detroit Lions offense vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense
ranks of 32| DET off | TB def | Edge | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Identity | |||
| Pass rate / Pass rate facedDropbacks as a share of plays. On the defense column: what opponents do against them. | 59% | 65% | · |
| Early-down pass rateFirst and second down only — the cleanest read on run-heavy vs pass-heavy. | 54% | 60% | · |
| Neutral-script pass rateEarly downs with win probability between 20% and 80%: intent, not catch-up mode. | 53% | 61% | · |
| Pass rate over expectedHow much more (or less) a team passes than the down, distance, score and clock predict. nflverse xpass. | −4.6% | +1.3% | · |
| Seconds per playTime of possession divided by plays — lower is faster. | 29.6 | 28.8 | · |
| No-huddle | 6% | 9% | · |
| Shotgun | 52% | 72% | · |
| Play-action rate / Play-action facedShare of dropbacks with a play fake (FTN charting). | 25% | 20% | · |
| RPO rate / RPOs faced | 4% | 7% | · |
| Screen rate / Screens faced | 10% | 7% | · |
| Pre-snap motion / Motion faced | 60% | 56% | · |
| Blitzes faced / Blitz rateFive or more pass rushers (FTN). On the offense column: how often opponents blitz them. | 27% | 34% | · |
| Pass rushers faced / Avg pass rushers | 4.34 | 4.41 | · |
| Passing | |||
| EPA / dropbackThe single best pass-efficiency number; on the defense column, what they allow. | +0.17#5▼ | +0.09#20▲ | DET |
| Pass success rate | 48%#7 | 50%#27 | DET |
| Explosive pass rateDropbacks gaining 20+ yards. | 10.7%#5 | 8.8%#23 | DET |
| Yards / dropback | 7.0#6 | 6.7#25 | DET |
| Depth of target (aDOT)Average air yards per attempt — how far downfield they throw, or get thrown at. | 6.4 | 7.9 | · |
| Deep-ball rate (20+ air) | 7% | 11% | · |
| Short throws (≤5 air) | 57% | 51% | · |
| Completion % over expectednflverse CPOE, per attempt. Defense column: what they allow. | +1.5#11▼ | +2.5#28▲ | DET |
| YAC / completion | 6.1#2 | 5.7#27 | DET |
| Sack rate / Sack rate generatedSacks per dropback. Lower is better for an offense; the defense column shows sacks they create. | 6.3%#17▲ | 5.8%#22▼ | · |
| Scramble rate | 0.8% | 6.3% | · |
| Interception rate / Interceptions forced | 1.4%#4▲ | 2.3%#14▼ | DET |
| Throws left / middle / rightDirection shares are shown in full on the row. | L 32 · M 32 · R 35 | L 35 · M 21 · R 44 | · |
| Rushing | |||
| EPA / rush | −0.05#16▼ | −0.11#5 | TB |
| Rush success rate | 41%#20 | 36%#2 | TB |
| Explosive rush rateRushes of 10+ yards. | 10.1%#14▼ | 9.2%#14▲ | · |
| Yards / rush | 4.7#5▼ | 4.1#15 | DET |
| Runs left / middle / right | L 32 · M 24 · R 44 | L 38 · M 27 · R 35 | · |
| Situational | |||
| Third-down conversion | 39%#19 | 40%#13 | TB |
| Red-zone touchdown rateDrives reaching the 20 that end in a touchdown. | 63%#9▼ | 70%#32 | DET |
| Turnovers / game / Takeaways / game | 0.88#6▲ | 1.29#8 | · |
| Plays / game | 62 | 58 | · |
Route-by-route data (which routes are run and how coverage plays them) is not published anywhere public — it is sold by PFF and NGS. Throw depth, direction, play-action, RPO, screens, motion and pass-rush counts above are the public pieces of the same picture.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers · key players
- Baker Mayfield QB20.2/31.9 · 217 yds/g · 26-11 TD-INT · +0.00 EPA/db
- Emeka Egbuka WRQuestionable7.5 tgt/g · 24% share · 55 yds/g · 6 TD · aDOT 12.4
- Cade Otton TE5.4 tgt/g · 17% share · 38 yds/g · 1 TD · aDOT 5.2
- Mike Evans WR7.8 tgt/g · 24% share · 46 yds/g · 3 TD · aDOT 13.3
- Sterling Shepard WR4.1 tgt/g · 13% share · 29 yds/g · 1 TD · aDOT 8.5
- Bucky Irving RB17.3 car/g · 59 yds/g · 3.4 ypc · 1 TD · −0.21 EPA/car
- Rachaad White RB7.8 car/g · 34 yds/g · 4.3 ypc · 4 TD · +0.08 EPA/car
2025 season, per game. Targets ranked by volume, rushers by carries.nflverse weekly player stats. Target share is the player's average share of his team's targets in the games he played. A player who changed teams carries his own games from last season.
Detroit Lions · key players
- Jared Goff QB23.1/34.0 · 268 yds/g · 34-8 TD-INT · +0.17 EPA/db
- Amon-Ra St. Brown WR10.1 tgt/g · 32% share · 82 yds/g · 11 TD · aDOT 8.1
- Jameson Williams WR6.0 tgt/g · 19% share · 66 yds/g · 7 TD · aDOT 12.6
- Sam LaPorta TEQuestionable5.4 tgt/g · 18% share · 54 yds/g · 3 TD · aDOT 5.7
- Kalif Raymond WR2.5 tgt/g · 7% share · 24 yds/g · 1 TD · aDOT 5.6
- Jahmyr Gibbs RB14.3 car/g · 72 yds/g · 5.0 ypc · 13 TD · −0.01 EPA/car
- David Montgomery RB9.3 car/g · 42 yds/g · 4.5 ypc · 8 TD · +0.00 EPA/car
2025 season, per game. Targets ranked by volume, rushers by carries.nflverse weekly player stats. Target share is the player's average share of his team's targets in the games he played. A player who changed teams carries his own games from last season.
Season
| TB | DET | |
|---|---|---|
| 8-9 | Record | 9-8 |
| 22.4 | Points for / game | 28.3 |
| 24.2 | Points against / game | 24.3 |
| 4-4 / 4-5 | Home / road | 5-3 / 4-5 |
| 5-12 | Against the spread | 8-9 |
| 8-9 | Over / underOvers–unders in this team's games. A tendency, not a lean. | 10-7 |
| W L L L L | Last 5 | W L L L W |
Season numbers are from 2025 until this season has games.
Power ratings
| TB | DET | |
|---|---|---|
| 1477 | Elo | 1553 |
| #18 of 32 | Rank | #10 of 32 |
| −1.5 | Offense ratingPoints per game above league average scored, opponent-adjusted. | +2.7 |
| −1.2 | Defense ratingPoints per game below league average allowed, opponent-adjusted. Positive is good. | −0.6 |
| — | Strength of scheduleMean Elo of opponents faced this season. | — |
Elo drives the winner call. Offense/defense ratings drive the total.
Efficiency
| TB | DET | |
|---|---|---|
| -0.010 | EPA / play (offense)Expected points added per offensive play, nflverse. The single best efficiency number. | 0.075 |
| 0.019 | EPA / play allowed | -0.005 |
| 221 | Pass yards / game | 269 |
| 115 | Rush yards / game | 120 |
| 255 | Pass yards allowed | 237 |
| 99 | Rush yards allowed | 115 |
| 0.8 / 1.5 | Turnovers / takeaways | 0.7 / 1.6 |
| 2.2 / 2.2 | Sacks allowed / made | 2.3 / 2.8 |
| 17.0 | First downs / game | 19.4 |
| 43 | Penalty yards / game | 42 |
| +2.1 · #21 of 52 | QB EPA / gameThe listed starter's passing + rushing EPA per game, ranked among starters with three or more games. | +5.4 · #10 of 52 |
Efficiency is from the 2025 season until this one has games. Source: nflverse.
Head to head
| 2025 | TB 9 at DET 24 | DET · DET covered |
| 2024 | TB 20 at DET 16 | TB · TB covered |
| 2023 | TB 23 at DET 31 | DET · DET covered |
| 2023 | DET 20 at TB 6 | DET · DET covered |
| 2020 | TB 47 at DET 7 | TB · TB covered |
| 2019 | TB 38 at DET 17 | TB · TB covered |
| 2017 | DET 24 at TB 21 | DET · DET covered |
| 2014 | TB 17 at DET 34 | DET · DET covered |
How the margin was built
- Rating gap
- DET +3.4 pts
- Home field
- DET +— pts
- Rest
- Even
- Quarterback
- Usual starters — no adjustment
- Weather / roof
- — pts on the total
- Model margin
- —
- Model total
- —
Market
- Spread
- —
- Total
- —
- Moneyline
- —
Per-book prices appear once the multi-book feed has this game (about a week out).
Tampa Bay Buccaneers injuries
- David Sills V WRInjured Reserve
- Deshawn McKnight DTInjured Reserve
- Josh Hayes CBInjured Reserve
- Mohamed Kamara LBInjured Reserve
- Xavier Williams SInjured Reserve
- Emeka Egbuka WRQuestionable
- Jalen McMillan WRQuestionable
- Rueben Bain Jr. LBQuestionable
- Sean Tucker RBQuestionable
From ESPN's report. The model prices the quarterback; other absences are context it does not yet price.
Detroit Lions injuries
- Brian Branch SOut
- Giovanni Manu OTOut
- Kerby Joseph SOut
- Cade Mays CInjured Reserve
- Damone Clark LBInjured Reserve
- Isiah Pacheco RBInjured Reserve
- Michael Niese GInjured Reserve
- Payton Turner DEInjured Reserve
- Derrick Moore DEQuestionable
- D.J. Reed CBQuestionable
- Ennis Rakestraw Jr. CBQuestionable
- Jimmy Rolder LBQuestionable
From ESPN's report. The model prices the quarterback; other absences are context it does not yet price.
Informational only. Winner probabilities are backtested and calibrated; spread and total calls are tracked leans. 21+, 1-800-GAMBLER.