Monday night was supposed to be Baker Mayfield's next chance to shine.
The Tampa Bay quarterback was facing a Detroit Lions secondary missing all four starters and several backups. Mayfield was getting star receiver Mike Evans back after three games out due to a hamstring injury. It seemed to have the perfect situation for the Buccaneers.
It didn't work.
Mayfield completed 28 of 50 for 228 yards, one touchdown and one interception in a 24-9 loss to the Lions in a game that proved extra costly, when Evans broke his clavicle and sustained a concussion in the second quarter.
Bucs coach Todd Bowles said he hopes his star receiver could be back before the end of the season.
“Obviously, losing Mike isn't great for the team, but I really hate it for him," Mayfield said. “Other guys are going to step up, but I know Mike is going to be around the team supporting those guys.”
Jahmyr Gibbs scored on a 78-yard sprint in the second quarter, a 5-yard spinning plunge in the third and accounted for a career-high 218 yards from scrimmage to lead the Lions.
Meantime, Detroit's defense frustrated Mayfield and the Bucs' offense. Tampa Bay was outgained by more than 200 yards in the first half, but trailed only 14-3 because Detroit had an interception, fumble, turned it over on downs and missed a field goal.
“As a skill group, we just didn't connect on enough plays,” Mayfield said. "We were behind the sticks a lot, and that allows their defensive line and linebackers to pin their ears back and come after me. That doesn't put the offensive line in a fair position.”
Tampa Bay wasn't able to establish the running game, finishing with 12 carries for 41 yards, and Mayfield was sacked four times and hit several more.
“Detroit did a good job of keeping Baker in the pocket and got pressure up the middle,” Bowles said. “That's an important part of the game. We have to block it better and protect him better.”
Even Lions coach Dan Campbell was stunned by his defense's achievements.
“I knew we were going to challenge them and do more than we did last week," he said. "But that’s a good quarterback over there and they’ve been playing good football. I had confidence, but nine points?”
The Buccaneers had just 58 yards of offense in the first half and needed the defense to force a Jared Goff interception to avoid being shut out. Chase McLaughlin kicked a 53-yard field goal as time expired to get them within 14-3.
Things got worse when Evans left the game in the second quarter. The six-time Pro Bowler was hurt when he attempted to make a catch.
After the team's medical staff evaluated Evans on the field, he slowly walked to the sideline. A cart took him to the locker room.
“He’s going to be gone until toward the last of the season,” Bowles said.
The injury would mean the end of Evans 11-season streak of 1,000-yard receciving seasons, an NFL record he shares with Jerry Rice.
Early in the third quarter, Bucs rookie Emeka Egbuka got behind the Lions defense, but Mayfield badly underthrew him, turning a possible touchdown into an incomplete pass.
Mayfield recovered, though, hitting Tez Johnson for a 22-yard score.
Bowles went for an early two-point conversion, but Mayfield’s pass was underthrown.
The Buccaneers didn't scored again, thanks in part to an odd replay review. On fourth-and-4 from the Tampa Bay 37, Mayfield hit Cade Otton over the middle. He dove for the first-down line and fumbled, with offensive guard Ben Bredeson recovering the ball downfield.
The officials ruled Otton had fumbled the ball after getting it past the first-down line, so it was Tampa Bay's ball at the 41. The Lions challenged the call, and the officials originally ruled Otton hadn't fumbled, because he was down before the ball came out.
Moments later, the officials announced that after a second look, Otton was short of the first-down mark, so it was Detroit's ball.
“I'm still confused about that double review,” Mayfield said. "There were a lot of things in that game were questionable, and that’s frustrating.”
Tampa Bay turned the ball over on downs on their last three possessions, including an 18-play drive that ended when Mayfield threw an incompletion pass on fourth-and-8 from the Lions' 12.
“We had to get something out of that drive,” Mayfield said. “We put so much energy into it and then came up empty.”
Gibbs, a third-year running back, finished with a season-high 136 yards rushing on 17 carries and a season-high 82 yards receiving on three catches, giving him a total that trails just four performances for the Detroit franchise this century.
Gibbs is the first NFL player with at least 135 yards rushing and 80 yards receiving along with two scores on the ground since Chris Johnson pulled off the feat with Tennessee in 2009.
“He’s a very talented running back and when you miss a gap, he can turn it into a big play,” Bowles said.
Gibbs took advantage of a big hole and his speed to score on a careerlong, 78-yard run late in the second quarter to put Detroit ahead 14-0.
“If you can get him to second level, he can do the rest,” Campbell said.
Goff was 20 of 29 for 241 yards with a 27-yard touchdown pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown on the game's opening drive.
Goff, though, lost a fumble and overthrew rookie receiver Isaac TeSlaa on fourth-and-2 on the next two possessions and later threw an interception — all in Tampa Bay territory.
