- Jahmyr Gibbs exceeds 200 meters for the first time: The Detroit Lions’ leading running back found success on the ground and as a receiver, leading to more than 200 offensive yards for the first time in his NFL career.
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Detroit Lions
Monitor Mike Evans‘ health: The Buccaneers wide receiver suffered a concussion and shoulder injury in the second quarter, and the team quickly ruled him out.
Injuries have been an issue for the Buccaneers wide receivers all season. Chris Godwin didn’t make his debut until Week 4, suffered a fibula injury in Week 5 and has missed the past two games. He hasn’t practiced all week. Jalen McMillan suffered a neck injury in the preseason and has yet to make his 2025 regular-season debut.
However, there was some good news ahead of the match. Evans was back in the lineup after missing three straight games due to a hamstring injury. Emeka Egbuka seemed unlikely to play this week due to a hamstring injury, and although he did not practice on Thursday and Friday, he was surprisingly limited in practice on Saturday. Hours before kick-off it was announced that Egbuka would play.
Evans played 14 of a possible 19 snaps before suffering new injuries, returning to his usual role as the Buccaneers’ X-receiver. Egbuka had more snaps, playing 11 of the first 19 snaps and slightly more often on later downs. Egbuka started the season as the Buccaneers’ Z receiver, but moved to X after Evans’ injury. He was back at Z to start this game. Sterling Shepard was the third wide receiver in three-receiver sets, as he has done all season, with Tez Johnson rotating with Egbuka and Kameron Johnson taking some snaps for Evans. Ryan Miller strangely received the start but was at the bottom of the depth chart.
After Evans’ injury, Egbuka moved back to the X-receiver spot. Tez Johnson became the second primary receiver and played more often. That was consistent with how the Buccaneers handled Week 6 before Egbuka’s injury. The rookie was still traded off more than we were used to, but less than on the first few rides.
Head coach Todd Bowles reported after the game that Evans broke his collarbone, which could keep him out for most if not all of the season. This makes the Buccaneers’ wide receiver rotation easier. Egbuka will likely be the team’s X-receiver for the rest of the year, or until Evans returns. Godwin will assume the role of Z receiver once he returns from injury, and when McMillan rejoins the team, he will likely be the Z receiver in three-receiver sets, with Godwin moving to the slot.
In the short term, Tez Johnson is a great resource in case Godwin misses Week 8. The Buccaneers have their bye in Week 10, making it more likely they will give Godwin another two weeks to recover. Tight end Cade Oton is also a nice waiver wire option until the wide receiver room is healthier.
Jahmyr Gibbs stars in a larger role: Gibbs gained over 200 yards and scored two touchdowns with an increased workload.
Last season, the Lions typically used David Montgomery a lot in the first and third quarters to help wear down the defense, while Gibbs took on more of the work in the second and fourth quarters to be their home run hitter. Gibbs typically played between 40% and 60% of the Lions’ offensive snaps. Montgomery missed some time late in the season, a period in which Gibbs played up to 75% of the offensive snaps.
This season, Gibbs has started games with the Lions showing a willingness to give him multiple drives in a row at times. He was on pace to play more than 65% of snaps for the fourth time this season, but Detroit used Montgomery to seal the win. Gibbs accomplished that just once last season when Montgomery was healthy. He has achieved at least 15 PPR points in six of seven games this season, while Montgomery has only reached that mark twice. This week marked the fourth time this season that Montgomery has been held to single-digit PPR points. That only happened once last season, apart from the game in which he left early due to an injury.
The production per play between the two running backs is relatively similar, so the Lions can still equalize their snap rates and touches moving forward, in part to preserve Gibbs’ health for the playoffs. However, given how well Gibbs played in this hame, Detroit could give him even more snaps in the future, a workload comparable to other elite running backs. Regardless, Gibbs remains a must-start fantasy option. Meanwhile, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to trust Montgomery in fantasy starting lineups.
Various comments
- Buccaneers backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater did not practice Saturday due to an illness and was questionable, but he suited up.
- Starting halfback Bucky Irving did not practice all week and missed his third straight game with foot and shoulder injuries. He was ruled out on Saturday. Rachaad White played more this week than the last two weeks, likely because the Buccaneers played from behind the entire game.
- Buccaneers halfback Josh Williams was ruled out with concussion, his second straight absence. He did not practice Thursday or Friday, but was limited on Saturday before the team ruled him out. Tampa Bay moved Owen Wright from the practice squad to the third option for this game.
- Lions third-string halfback Craig Reynolds suffered a hamstring injury during a special teams play and was considered questionable to return.
- Lions halfback Sione Vaki did not train all week and missed his fourth straight game with a groin injury. He was ruled out on Saturday.
- Kalif Raymond suffered an injury in Week 5 and he was active but barely played in Week 6, allowing Isaac TeSlaa to become the Lions’ third receiver in those two games. This week, Raymond was the starting third wide receiver again, similar to the first four weeks of the season.
Houston Texans @ Seattle Seahawks
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Table notes
• Snaps include plays called back due to penalties, including offensive holding or defensive pass interference. These plays have been removed from the other three statistics.
• Objectives may differ from official NFL sources. The most likely discrepancy would be due to an obviously thrown pass, where the NFL could give the target to the nearest receiver, while this data does not.
• Carries are only available on designed plays. Quarterback scrambles do not count toward the total number of carries in the game.
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