On Sunday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers wanted badly to defeat the Detroit Lions. The Lions had kept them out of the playoffs in 2010 when the Bucs lost 23-20. It was anticipated that the Bucs, especially with the new draft picks, would handle the Lions and make the crowd at Raymond James Stadium yell for more.

But, it didn’t turn out like that. The Bucs lost their season opener 27-20, and the game was never really competitive.

The Buccaneer offense looked pitiful for three quarters, and the defense looked worse for the entire game.

On a day the Bucs were supposed to honor the late Lee Roy Selmon, they looked like they were never really prepared for the Lions. Buc quarterback Josh Freeman finished the evening completing 28 of 43 passes for 257 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception. His counterpart, Matthew Stafford, finished 24 of 33 for 305 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception.

The leading ground gainer for the Bucs was Freeman who gained 26 yards on four carries. LeGarrett Blount ran 5 times for 15 yards, and Earnest Graham carried the ball 6 times for 13 yards.
Detroit’s ground game totaled 126 yards and the Bucs could only muster 56 yards.

Calvin “Megatron” Johnson had 6 catches for 88 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The Buccaneer touchdowns came from an interception by Aqib Talib and a 5-yard pass to Mike Williams.

Next week the Bucs travel to Minnesota to face the Vikings in a 1 p. m. game that will be televised locally. The Bucs didn’t lose any ground in the NFC South, because the Saints, Falcons, and Panthers also lost their season openers.