Detroit Lions game balls: Week 14 at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
By Ash Thompson
The Detroit Lions came away with a 24-21 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Here are the players that were most responsible.
The Detroit Lions came apart at the seams in the second half against the Buccaneers. Luckily, there were a few players on the team that managed to keep it together. The Lions came away with the 24-21 victory over the Buccaneers. Detroit’s 21-7 lead evaporated as the team slowed the game down and played against their strengths, but a win is a win. Here are the Lions game balls for week 14.
The offensive game ball goes to Eric Ebron. The much-maligned Lions tight end for the Lions came up big today. He led the team in receptions, and yards from scrimmage. There were moments where the team needed him and he failed to make a truly great play, but he was a safety valve for quarterback Matthew Stafford all day.
The one that Ebron did not come away with had such a high degree of difficulty it will not be called a drop. Matthew Stafford gets an honorable mention for his 36 for 44 performance, but his 1:2 touchdown to interception ratio was simply not good enough.
The defensive game ball goes to Quandre Diggs. There has been a lot written about the coaching staff’s choice to make Diggs the starting strong safety over Miles Killebrew. Diggs responded with an interception and a forced fumble. in addition to seven tackles. His size is an impediment, if he were 1/4 inch taller he would have had another pass break up. Diggs more than made up for his size against the Bucs today.
The special teams game ball goes to Matt Prater. Once again prater came up big in the clutch for the Lions. He nailed the game-winner for the Lions in the final minute of the fourth quarter. Prater had an off week against Baltimore, it was nice to see him bounce back immediately.
Next: Red Wings clipped vs. St. Louis
The Lions kept their playoff hopes alive for one more week. They also reached my preseason win prediction for the year. They should still be favored in their remaining games. The magic number for Seattle is three, for Atlanta it is down to two. The magic number is how many opponents wins, or Lions losses to take Detroit out of contention. See you next week for more Lions game balls.