With a 6-4 record at a home game against the lowly 2-8 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Detroit Lions had one of the easiest matchups of the weekend – at least on paper. But you play the games for a reason and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers gave the Detroit Lions all they could handle in Week 12, pulling out a thrilling victory in the games final seconds.
Things started off slowly as the only scoring of the first quarter came off a Buccaneers field goal.
The second quarter action however was much more exciting as the two teams exchanged leads multiple times, starting with Detroit who took a 7-3 lead off a Nate Burleson touchdown catch. The former Nevada receiver even mocked his car crash earlier this year with a pizza delivery celebration.
That lead wouldn’t last long though as Mike Glennon quickly found Tiquan Underwood for a seven yard touchdown catch, putting Tampa Bay back up 10-7. And yes, just like you figured, Detroit would answer back with another touchdown of their own as Matthew Stafford hit tight end Joseph Fauria in the end zone.
Not to be outdone, the Tampa Bay defense intercepted Stafford a few minutes later and returned the pick to the house, giving Tampa Bay a 17-14 halftime lead.
Scoring subsided in the third quarter with Detroit putting up the lone points, a pretty 18-yard, one-handed catch from Brandon Pettigrew which put Detroit back on top.
The seesaw battle continued into the fourth as Glennon found Underwood yet again, combining on their second touchdown of the day giving Tampa a three-point lead which they would take into the final minutes of the game. Detroit took possession of the ball late but an interception from Matthew Stafford, his fourth, ended the game. Unlike his previous three, this ball was relatively well thrown and was in the hands of Calvin Johsnon, who couldn’t handle the pigskin, deflecting it to the Tampa Bay defense.
The Buccaneers have now won three games in a row while the Lions dropped their second in a row.