Tampa Bay is coming off back-to-back wins to open the pre-season. With Jameis Winston’s suspension hanging over the franchise, the urgency will be there to keep the positivity high with another victory this week.

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Dirk Koetter is trying to establish a winning culture in Tampa Bay. It seems like after not caring in his first two pre-seasons when the team went 3-5, something has changed. The Bucs are 2-0 so far and they’ve been impressive.

Meanwhile, there hasn’t been much room for optimism in Detroit following a 0-2 start to Matt Patricia’s tenure as head coach. While the exhibition games won’t count towards the Lions actual record, the team has showed a number of the same flaws from last year like a porous offensive line.

Detroit Lions

Patricia is already dealing with several concerns heading in to Week 3 of the NFL pre-season. On offense, the Lions haven’t been able to protect franchise quarterback Matt Stafford, who took seven hits in the opening quarter of last week’s 30-17 loss to the New York Giants before he exited. Stafford is an immense talent but Detroit will need to do a better job protecting him if he is going to perform to his potential this season. The running game, which was supposed to be improved with the additions of LeGarrette Blount and Kerryon Johnson, has run into a wall. They’ve compiled 155 yards on 45 carries (3.4 yards per carry average).

Meanwhile, Patricia’s defense will have a steep learning curve as they transition to a new scheme. A lot of the pieces Patricia inherited on that side of the football might not necessarily be the best fit for his defense so there will be some growing pains along the way. They played better in Week 2, giving up just 16 points to Oakland after allowing 30 to the New York Giants in Week 1.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Winston and Ryan Griffin combined for 314 passing yards and three touchdowns in last week’s 30-14 win over the Tennessee Titans. That quarterback rotation is what makes Tampa Bay a really strong team in the pre-season. With Ryan Fitzpatrick in there as well, this team has three competent quarterbacks to rotate.

What has also helped is that the team has an ongoing battle at running back too. While rookie Ronald Jones has done next to nothing, Peyton Barber has been excellent in the pre-season. Both will continue to fight for the starter’s role in this one.

Tampa Bay has more depth at key positions, is playing better and seems to care more about these games. Go with them in this spot

Lions vs. Buccaneers Prediction