Netflix’s latest season of “Quarterback” put an unexpected spotlight on one of the Detroit Lions’ most memorable wins from last season.
The Week 7 Monday Night Football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers - a 24-9 Detroit victory - shows up in a brief segment of the show’s fourth episode, “Too Much Static,” from Baker Mayfield’s point of view. Mayfield is one of four quarterbacks featured this season, alongside Cincinnati and Cleveland’s Joe Flacco, Tennessee’s Cam Ward and Washington’s Jayden Daniels.
On the show, Mayfield describes the Lions’ defensive approach as a surprise, saying Detroit shifted to heavy man coverage despite having just one healthy Week 1 starter left in the secondary. He made it clear the Bucs were not ready for what they saw.
“When you go into a gameplan and you’re feeling like you’re a step behind, it’s never a good feeling,” Mayfield said.
That game had plenty of buildup before kickoff. Tampa Bay came in at 5-1, with Mayfield drawing MVP buzz, Mike Evans set to return from injury and Emeka Egbuka emerging as a major story. Detroit was 4-2, but the Bucs were widely viewed as the team with the edge because of their passing game and the condition of the Lions’ secondary.
Detroit’s injury situation was brutal. Cornerbacks Terrion Arnold and D.J.
Reed were both out, while safeties Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch were unavailable too - one because of injury, the other because of suspension. That left Amik Robertson, who moved outside to corner for most of the game, as the lone original starter in the secondary.
The Lions leaned on reserves Nick Whiteside, Rock Ya-Sin, Arthur Maulet and Thomas Harper and trusted them to survive in man coverage against Tampa Bay’s receivers. It was a bold call. It worked.
Mayfield’s night turned into a grind. He finished 28 of 50 for 228 yards with a touchdown and an interception against the Lions’ makeshift back end, later labeled the “Legion of Whom.”
The pass rush made things even rougher. Mayfield was sacked four times and hit eight times, and “Quarterback” shows him taking the punishment and moving gingerly afterward, including one moment where he blurts out a four letter word that begins with “F”.
Mayfield said he re-aggravated a bone bruise he first suffered in Week 2 and was feeling the effects throughout the game.
“Did not feel very good,” he said. “Kinda was limping to the finish line on that one.”
The loss in Detroit ended up being a major swing point for Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers beat a bad New Orleans Saints team the next week to improve to 6-2, but then dropped seven of their final nine and finished 8-9, missing the playoffs.
Detroit’s season also went sideways after that win. The Lions improved to 5-2 after beating Tampa Bay, but went 4-6 the rest of the way and finished 9-8, last in their division.
The two teams now find themselves in a very different place than they were entering that Monday night game, and they’ll meet again in Detroit in Week 11 this season. It will be their fifth matchup in the last four seasons.
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