TAMPA, Fla. — This game against the Detroit Lions (1-0) is a rematch of the one that bounced the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-0) from the playoffs last season.
Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield says that thoughts of “unfinished business” will run through his head when he walks back into that building on Sunday.
“You can sense it already within our building when you put up the personal, the game records, the scouting report, all that,” Mayfield said Wednesday. “You talk about the atmosphere and the memories instantly pop up. Our guys are ready. It’s a topic of conversation about how they ended our year, one that we’ve been looking forward to. It just so happens to be the one this week.”
“As a competitor, it’s really fun to go into places like that,” wide receiver Chris Godwin said. “You can feel the energy. It almost feels the stadium is shaking at times. They got windows, but it still feels real dark. That fan base is rabid right now.”
Tampa Bay scored 37 points in Week 1 against Washington. They may need to rely on that offensive output again with a banged-up defensive secondary. Cornerback Bryce Hall (ankle) is out for the season. Zion McCollum (concussion) and backup Josh Hayes (ankle) are both question marks this week, and all-pro safety Antoine Winfield, Jr. is expected to be out.
Godwin is confident the offense can help carry the team.
“As an offense, I think we are ready for any type of game,” he said. “I feel we have to be that way if we want to get to where we want to go at the end of the season. We have to play in close where we are running the ball, shoot-outs, and where we have to shoulder the load.”
It may only be Week 2, but this is one of those games that will have a postseason-type feel between two teams that are prime playoff contenders.
“This is one of those, on the road, with a team that was in the NFC Championship, where we aspire to be,” Mayfield said. "It’s one of those, you said, it, measuring stick to great competition. It’s a long season, but we can learn a lot from this one.”
Bucs and Lions kickoff at 1 p.m. on Sunday in Detroit.
A state report says hundreds of frail elderly nursing home residents were stacked side by side, head to toe in a small church with no working air conditioning or refrigerator during Hurricane Helene.
