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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in a position to lock up a playoff spot on Saturday, should they pull off a road win against the Detroit Lions. You’d think it will come easy — for the first time this season, we’re going to see an NFL team without its head coach due to COVID-19 concerns. And not only will Detroit be without its interim HC in Darrell Bevell, but plenty of other assistant coaches as well.

But who knows? What if the Lions pull off something spectacular with wide receivers coach Robert Prince acting as the interim-to-the-interim head coach?

Vegas doesn’t think so: The Buccaneers are 9.5-point road favorites. The over/under is set at 54.

Below, you’ll find our staff picks and predictions for the game.

Zach Goodall: Buccaneers 35, Lions 24

Even without Bevell calling plays as he is also the offensive coordinator, the Lions should be able to score points behind the arm of Matthew Stafford and the brains of Sean Ryan, who will handle playcalling duties. Ryan is considered an up-and-coming bright mind in the league with ample experience developing quarterbacks, and this chance to put together a sound gameplan could help with future offensive coordinator interviews for the 48 year old.

The Lions have scored under 20 points in just one game this season, I should add. This game could have a bit of a shootout feel.

But, in the end, the Bucs are the more complete team and are certainly more comfortable with their on-field coaching staff at this point. The Lions own the NFL’s №30 team defense, №29 rushing defense, and №27 passing defense.

That should be enough for a double-digit dub in the Bucs’ favor.

Jason Beede: Buccaneers 38, Lions 21

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a lot to play for on Saturday while the Detroit Lions have nothing to lose.

The Lions are hoping to rain on the parade of the Bucs, who are in search of their first playoffs since 2007. While I am expecting the Bucs to still come out to a slow start, as usual, quarterback Tom Brady knows how to win when it’s needed most and has already won four games this season when trailing by at least ten points.

Last week, I predicted that tight end Rob Gronkowski would catch another touchdown, and while he didn’t, I have a feeling Santa Claus, or in this case Brady, will wrap up and gift him his sixth touchdown of the season against the Lions.

Despite a predictable slow start to the game on Saturday, the Bucs will lead at halftime by a touchdown, and when it’s all said and done, finish on top by multiple scores. Besides, the Lions will be down multiple coaches against the Bucs due to COVID-19 contact tracing.

The Detroit Lions need to shore up a defense that is allowing 31.07 points per game before their contest on Saturday. They will be home for the holidays to greet the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 1 p.m. ET at Ford Field. Detroit is out to stop a six-game streak of losses at home.

This past Sunday, the Lions got maybe a little too into the holiday spirit, gifting the Tennessee Titans an easy 46–25 victory. Detroit’s loss shouldn’t obscure the performances of WR Marvin Jones, who caught ten passes for one TD and 112 yards, and RB D’Andre Swift, who punched in two rushing touchdowns.

Meanwhile, Tampa Bay didn’t have too much breathing room in their matchup with the Atlanta Falcons this past Sunday, but they still walked away with a 31–27 win. The win came about thanks to a strong surge after the half to overcome a 17 to nothing deficit. Tampa Bay can attribute much of their success to QB Tom Brady, who passed for two TDs and 390 yards on 45 attempts, and RB Leonard Fournette, who punched in two rushing touchdowns. Brady ended up with a passer rating of 156.40.

Detroit is expected to lose this next one by 9.5. Those betting on them against the spread shouldn’t have high expectations for them since the team is 3–6 ATS when expected to lose.

The Lions are now 5–9 while the Buccaneers sit at a mirror-image 9–5. Tampa Bay is 5–3 after wins this year, and Detroit is 4–4 after losses.

How To Watch

When: Saturday at 1 p.m. ET

Where: Ford Field — Detroit, Michigan

TV: NFL Network

Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)

Follow: CBS Sports App

Odds

The Buccaneers are a big 9.5-point favorite against the Lions, according to the latest NFL odds.

Over/Under: -111

See NFL picks for every single game, including this one, from SportsLine’s advanced computer model. Get picks now.

Series History

Detroit and Tampa Bay both have one win in their last two gam

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Detroit Lions are set to kick off a Saturday triple-header in the NFL to further kickstart Week 16. Tom Brady and his club will travel up to Detroit to take on the Lions and hope to pick up a spot in the playoffs before they fly back to Florida. With a win or tie, the Buccaneers will clinch a playoff berth for the first time since 2007. As for Detroit, they’re simply trying to play spoiler at this point, sitting in last place in the NFC North.

In this space, we’re going to dive into all the different betting angles that this game has to offer, including the spread and total. We’ll also dive into a few of our favorite player props and detail how the lines moved throughout the week. All NFL odds via William Hill Sportsbook.

How to watch

Date: Saturday, Dec. 26 | Time: 1 p.m. ET

Location: Ford Field (Detroit, MI)

TV: NFLN | Stream: fuboTV (try for free)

Follow: CBS Sports App

The last time the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made the playoffs, Tom Brady was leading the New England Patriots to an undefeated regular season and a third Super Bowl appearance in five seasons. Fast forward 13 years, and TB12 can lock up the first step to getting back to the big game for a 10th time, by helping the Bucs clinch a postseason berth.

To do so, all Tampa Bay needs to do is beat a lifeless Detroit Lions team in Week 16, that was just pounded in Tennessee. The Lions have lost four of their last five, and oddsmakers aren’t expecting this matchup to be particularly close.

A Pristine Matchup For Tampa Bay

No team has allowed more quarterback production than the Lions over the last four weeks. They’ve surrendered point totals of 41, 30, 31, and 46, generating pressure on opposing QB’s on just 20% of drop backs. That’s good news for Brady, who has shredded defenses this season when kept clean.

Brady leads the NFL in passing yards and ranks second in touchdown passes from a clean pocket. Keeping pressure away from him was key in the Bucs Week 15 victory over the Falcons, as Atlanta put the heat on Brady on just 6.7% of his second half pass attempt. The extra time and room in the pocket, allowed TB12 to generate five scoring drives and 31 second half points, erasing a 17–0 deficit along the way.

Not only will Brady have plenty of time to throw on Boxing Day, but his receivers should have no issue getting open. The Lions are down multiple players in their secondary, including starters Jeff Okudah and Desmond Trufant.

The Detroit Lions (5–9) are +10 underdogs heading into their matchup on Saturday, December 26, against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9–5). The game’s over/under is set at 54.

The betting insights in this article reflect betting data from DraftKings as of December 22, 2020, 1:41 PM ET. See table below for current betting odds and CLICK HERE to bet at DraftKings Sportsbook.

Weather

This game will be played indoors at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan, so weather will not impact play. Be sure to monitor the gametime conditions for other games with our NFL weather info.

Key Injuries

Buccaneers: Carlton Davis CB (Doubtful), Donovan Smith T (Probable), Ronald Jones II (Out), Jason Pierre-Paul LB (Questionable), Antoine Winfield Jr. S (Questionable), Carlton Davis CB (Doubtful).

Lions: Mike Ford CB (Questionable), Halapoulivaati Vaitai T (Questionable), Tyrell Crosby OL (Out), Frank Ragnow OL (Questionable), Jeff Okudah CB (Out), Da’Shawn Hand DL (Out), Kenny Golladay WR (Out), Desmond Trufant CB (Out), Trey Flowers DE (Out), Jamie Collins Sr. LB (Questionable), Jayron Kearse S (Questionable), Matt Prater K (Questionable), Matthew Stafford QB (Questionable).

Find our latest NFL injury reports.

Another year, another disappointing season for the Detroit Lions, who are coming off a 21-point loss to the Titans and have lost four of their last five games. While Matthew Stafford continues to give Detroit solid quarterback play, he hasn’t had much help around him. And reinforcements aren’t coming as Detroit will continue to be without its best receiver in Kenny Golladay and top blocker in Frank Ragnow.

Not only have the Lions been taking more Ls than Trump’s legal team, but they’re also getting crushed, losing by at least 14 points in five of their last six defeats.

While the Bucs may not be living up to the insanely high expectations of Tom Brady fanboys, they’ve still been very good in sporting a 9–5 record — with five of those wins coming by 14 or more points.

Tampa Bay has been strong on both sides of the ball, ranking fifth in the league in both offensive and defensive DVOA, per Football Outsiders. They’ve also played well on the road, posting an average scoring margin of plus-8.6 points per game.

With the Lions just 6–13 ATS in their last 19 games as an underdog — and once again wistfully looking to the future — take the chalk with the Bucs.

Over trends are abound for both teams, with the Lions 11–2 to the Over in their last 13 home games and the Bucs 5–0 O/U in their previous five contests on FieldTurf.

Former All-Pro Wide receiver Antonio Brown had a breakthrough game against Atlanta on Sunday, giving Brady another dangerous weapon in addition to Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Rob Gronkowski.

Tampa Bay is seventh in the league in scoring at 28.6 points per game and while they’ve been limited by the best stop-units in the league, like the Saints and the Rams, they’ve absolutely shredded bad defenses. And boy, is this Lions defense bad, surrendering a league-high 31.1 ppg, with that number ticking up to 33.7 ppg at home.

Although we think Tampa Bay’s defense will be able to beat up Stafford and contain the Lions attack, we still see this game going Over the total.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will make their second straight road trip — and last of the regular season — in Week 16, and in many respects the opponent waiting on the other end is similar to the one they just faced in Atlanta.

Like the Falcons, the Detroit Lions are playing for an interim head coach, with Darrell Bevell in charge since the November 28 dismissal of Matt Patricia. Like Atlanta, the Lions immediately won their first game for their new coach, though a rash of injuries have made it difficult to sustain that success since.

Perhaps the greatest similarity is under center. Matthew Stafford, like Matt Ryan, is a proven veteran who has put up big numbers his entire career and continues to do so in 2020. Both the Lions and Falcons rely on their seasoned passer because their rushing attacks have been among the league’s worst this year despite each team having a big name in the backfield (Todd Gurley last week, Adrian Peterson this week). Both teams have also been in a lot of high-scoring games as their defenses have struggled; that’s a bit more of a prominent issue in Detroit, though, as the Lions have allowed the most points in the NFL this season.

One more similarity between the Falcons and the Lions: Despite being officially eliminated from playoff contention, both clubs are clearly still fighting as we near the end of December. This was most obvious for Detroit in last week’s performance by Stafford, who played through a ribs injury that, early in the week seemed sure to keep him out against the Titans. He lasted into the fourth quarter and threw for 252 yards in a loss to the Titans. Why did he play, with little on the line for his team?

“Because I’m the quarterback of the Detroit Lions, and it was Sunday, and I got a bunch of teammates that work their ass off,” Stafford said. “They fight to be available and fight to get out there and play and try to help us win. If there’s any way I can play, I’m never gonna not (play). I feel like I owe it to those guys, I owe it to the game, I owe it to this organization, everybody. If I’m good enough to play, healthy enough to play, my ass is gonna be out there.”

Stafford also said he felt better after that game than he did at the beginning of the previous week, so the Buccaneers should expect to see the Lions’ ultra-tough quarterback on the field this coming Saturday. Now in his 12th season, Stafford is putting up numbers right in line with his career averages; in fact, his completion rate (64.2%), touchdown rate (4.7), interception rate (1.8%) and yards per attempt average (7.6) are all better than his career norms. Unfortunately, Stafford has been sacked 37 times, tied for the fourth most in the NFL this season, although he was not sacked in Detroit’s most recent contest. The Lions played that game without their Pro Bowl center, Frank Ragnow.

He has done all of this without much from his 2019 breakout star receiver, Kenny Golladay, who has only played in five games due to a hip injury. Veteran Marvin Jones has stepped in as the leading receiver, and his 10 catches last week against the Titans gives him 65 on the year, including seven touchdowns. Second-year tight end T.J. Hockenson, just named to the Pro Bowl, has been Stafford’s other main target, with 60 catches and six TDs, and Danny Amendola (40 catches, 559 yards) remains an effective weapon out of the slot.

Rookie running back D’Andre Swift, who has replaced Peterson as the starter when healthy, has also proved to be a good pass-catcher out of the backfield, with 39 receptions. He didn’t play much early and missed a few games due to injury in the second half but still has 422 rushing yards, averaging 4.6 per carry and scoring seven times. The Lions made Swift, the former Georgia star, the third pick of the second round and the second running back off the board after Clyde Edwards-Helaire, and it is looking like a good decision.

Detroit’s defense is quite simply short-handed right now. Cornerbacks Jeff Okudah and Desmond Trufant, the former the third-overall pick in the 2020 draft, are out for the season, and cornerback Darryl Roberts is on injured reserve. Linemen Trey Flowers, Danny Shelton, Da’Shawn Hand and Julian Okwara are all on injured reserve as well. Untested defenders like cornerback Alex Myres and defensive linemen Frank Herron and Kevin Strong, all recently of the practice squad, stepped into significant roles with varying results. The front line was the biggest issue and it understandably struggled against Tennessee’s Derrick Henry, who ran for 147 yards. Detroit’s defense cycled in a lot of players last Sunday, with 19 different defenders seeing action, all getting at least 19% of the snaps and 15 getting at least 40%.

Linebacker Jamie Collins, one of many former Patriots on the Lions’ current roster, leads the team with 101 tackles and also has a sack, an interception, six passes defensed and three forced fumbles. The Lions defense has only generated seven interceptions, ranking 29th in interception percentage, with safety Duron Harmon on top of the list with two picks. Romeo Okwara, a former undrafted free agent, busted out with a 7.5-sack season in 2018 and, after a less productive 2019, is proving that wasn’t a fluke with 8.0 more sacks this year despite only starting seven games.

Overall, Detroit is allowing 401.4 yards per game and 6.08 yards per play, third and second-most in the league, respectively. The Lions have struggled around the end zone in particular, ranking 31st in touchdown percentage allowed in the red zone touchdown (73.2%) and last in goal-to-go situations (90.6%).

The Lions fired Special Teams Coordinator Brayden Coombs on Monday, apparently due at least in part to a “rogue” fake punt order by Coombs. That said, Detroit has gotten pretty good results out of most of its kick and return units, particularly from punter Jack Fox, who earned a Pro Bowl invite in his first NFL regular season. Fox has a gross punting average of 49.3 yards per kick and a net of 45.3, both of which rank second in the league. Elsewhere, the Lions have blocked three punts and are in the top 10 in coverage on both punt and kickoff returns.

Stafford’s display of toughness and devotion to the team last weekend is sure to have a motivational effect on his teammates for the last two games of the season. The Buccaneers head to Detroit with much more at stake than the Lions but expect to find an opponent just as primed to play on Saturday. Here are some specific challenges and opportunities the Buccaneers will face when they take on the Lions at Ford Field: