Buccaneers vs. Detroit Lions 
LOSS - Tampa Bay Buccaneers 10 Detroit Lions 24
The Lions moved into sole possession of first place in the NFC central race, as the Buccaneers collapsed after taking a 10–0 lead.
The Buccaneers scored on their opening possession, a 66-yard drive which ended in a Garo Yepremian field goal. Curtis Jordan's recovery of a Billy Sims fumble led to a 12-yard touchdown pass from Doug Williams to Gordon Jones in the second quarter. Detroit answered with an 85-yard drive that ended with the Buccaneers defense overpursuing on a reverse, allowing Ray Williams to run 11 yards untouched for a touchdown. Jerry Eckwood fumbled on the following possession, giving the Lions the ball at the Buccaneer 32-yard line and setting them up for Sims' 24-yard touchdown run. The Lions later scored on a field goal set up by a long punt return by Williams, and a touchdown set up by Norris Thomas' penalty for a late hit on Horace King that gave Detroit the ball back when they had been stopped on third down.
Ricky Bell did not play due to a bruised thigh suffered in the previous week's loss to the Vikings.
Coach McKay was critical of the fumbling of Eckwood and Danny Reece (who fumbled two punts), stating that both would lose their starting roles.
GAMEDAY BRIEF
OFFICALS
- REFEREE: Bob Frederic
- UMPIRE: Lou Palazzi
- LINE JUDGE: Bob Beeks
- HEAD LINESMAN: Sid Semon
- BACK JUDGE: Bill Swanson
- FIELD JUDGE: Bob Wortman
- SIDE JUDGE: Ron Murphy
SCORING
- BUCCANEERS: 07:49-1Q Yepremian FG24
- BUCCANEERS: 11:06-2Q Jones 12 pass from Williams (Yepremian kick)
- LIONS: 05:56-2Q Williams 11 run (Murray kick)
- LIONS: 04:02-2Q Sims 21 run (Murray kick)
- LIONS: 01:22-3Q Murray FG33
- LIONS: 05:17-4Q Bussey 5 run (Murray kick)
STARTERS OFFENSE
- WR: #84 G. Jones
- LT: #75 D. Reavis
- LG: #68 G. Yarno
- C: #50 S. Wilson
- RG: #72 R. Snell
- RT: #73 C. Hannah
- TE: #88 J. Giles
- WR: #81 I. Hagins
- QB: #12 D. Williams
- RB: #27 T. Davis
- RB: #43 J. Eckwood
STARTERS DEFENSE
- LE: #77 B. Kollar
- NT: #76 D. Logan
- RE: #63 L. Selmon
- LOLB: #57 D. Lewis
- SILB: #61 D. Selmon
- WILB: #54 R. Wood
- ROLB: #56 C. Johnson
- LCB: #25 C. Jordan
- RCB: #40 M. Washington
- SS: #33 M. Cotney
- FS: #34 C. Brown
SUBSTITUTIONS
- 1 Yepremian, 16 Blanchard, 20 Colzie, 28 G Davis, 36 Berns, 38 J Davis, 41 Thomas, 46 Reece, 52 Brantley, 55 Brown, 59 Hawkins, 62 Leonard, 65 Stalls, 69 Austin, 74 Sanders, 78 Radford, 79 Lewis, 86 Obradovich, 89 House
DID NOT PLAY
- 14 Fusina, 42 Bell, 82 Shumann
INACTIVE
- 80 Samuels
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
- BUCCANEERS: Eckwood 12-27, Williams 1-12, J.Davis 1-3, T.Davis 1-2, G.Davis 1-1.
- LIONS: Sims 15-75, Bussey 12-28, Williams 1-11, Danielson 4-10, King 1-7, Kane 6-0, Robinson 1-(-2).
PASSING
- BUCCANEERS: Williams 34-18-171-1-1.
- LIONS: Danielson 29-22-157-0-0.
RECIEVING
- BUCCANEERS: Eckwood 6-45, Jones 4-48, Giles 2-17, G.Davis 2-12, Obradovich 1-21, Hagins 1-14, T.Davis 1-9, House 1-5.
- LIONS: D.Hill 7-31, Scott 5-74, Sims 5-33, King 3-10, Bussey 2-9.
INTERCEPTIONS
- BUCCANEERS: none.
- LIONS: Smith 1-23.
KICK RETURNS
- BUCCANEERS: G.Davis 2-43, Reece 2-37.
- LIONS: Kane 2-64, Williams 1-6.
PUNT RETURNS
- BUCCANEERS: Reece 6-53.
- LIONS: Williams 4-63.
SACKS
- BUCCANEERS: Stalls 2-22, L.Selmon 1-2.
- LIONS: Baker 1-12, Pureifory 1-4.
