Free Press sports writers share their Detroit Lions vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers game predictions for Sunday afternoon (1 p.m., Fox) in Week 2 of the 2024 NFL season.

Dave Birkett

The Lions are just the fourth team in NFL history to open a season against two teams they played in the previous year’s playoffs, according to ESPN, and all three of their predecessors went on to reach the Super Bowl. There’s a lot of season left before that happens, but there’s no denying the Bucs will be out to avenge their two losses to the Lions in the past 11 months.

Tampa is a good team with a dangerous offense, and Todd Bowles is one of the best defensive coaches in the NFL. But he’ll have his work cut out for him Sunday given Tampa’s injury-derived shortcomings in the secondary. I don’t think this game turns into a blowout, like the oddsmakers project. If Tampa has any success running the ball, this game won’t be decided until late in the fourth quarter. But as long as Jared Goff avoids turnovers, the Lions will walk away with the tiebreaker edge over another NFC playoff contender. The pick: Lions 28, Bucs 24.

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Carlos Monarrez

If the Bucs weren’t decimated by injuries to their secondary, I would be tempted to pick them based off last week’s dominant 37-20 win over Washington. But that was in Tampa, Florida, and Ford Field ain’t Tampa. The Lions’ defense needs to clean up its tackling and will be challenged by the Bucs’ potent pass game, which will get its points. But Ben Johnson’s offense will be too much for a shorthanded Tampa secondary. The pick: Lions 36, Bucs 30.

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Jeff Seidel

My ears were still ringing on Monday morning after the Lions’ season-opening win. Why point that out? Because Ford Field has turned into an amazing home-field advantage. It’s wildly loud and crazy and this team feeds on it. Perhaps, you recognize the score in my prediction — the final score against the Buccaneers in the divisional round of the playoffs last January. One thing to remember: That game was tied entering the fourth quarter, 17-17. This game will be close again, but Lions pull away late. The pick: Lions 31, Buccaneers 24.

Watch Lions vs. Bucs live on Fox

Shawn Windsor

For the second week in a row, the Lions have to play a team they just beat. Baker Mayfield and Co. return looking for revenge just as Matthew Stafford did Sunday. The Bucs are missing folks in the defensive backfield, but their offense looked primed and pumped in Week 1. This will be a good test for the Lions revamped defense. Meanwhile, the offense starts to work out some of the kinks. The pick: Lions 27, Bucs 23.

Detroit City FC got an early break Saturday night, capitalized on it and made it stand up for a crucial 1-0 victory over New Mexico United in a United Soccer League Championship match at Hamtramck.

Maxi Rodriguez scored on a penalty kick in the 20th minute and DCFC kept its hold on fourth place in the Eastern Conference, which was threatened by a 3-1 victory for Indy Eleven over El Paso Locomotive FC.

The pivotal moment in the match came in the 19th minute, when Laurent Kissiedou broke down the left side and attempted a crossing pass, which struck the right hand of Anthony Herbert.

Rodriguez converted the penalty with a boot to the lower left corner, and the lead held for the rest of the match.

Detroit keeper Carlos Saldaña parried away New Mexico’s best chance of the first half with a diving stop of a shot by Zico Bailey in injury time.

Ben Morris nearly doubled the DCFC lead in the 64th minute when a took a breakout pass and broke in on keeper Alex Tambakis, who made an impressive save to keep the lead a goal.

Saldaña came up big again in the 68th, when he stopped a point-blank shot off the toe of Marlon Vargas.

The best chance the rest of the way came when Stephen Carroll’s shot was toe-saved by Tambakis in the 6th minute of injury time. New Mexico had one last chance to level it three minutes later with a corner kick but with DCFC players packed into the goal crease it could not get a dangerous shot off.

DCFC’s lead over Indy is two points for fourth place and the final home playoff game in the first round, with Indy holding one game in hand. The Tampa Bay Rowdies are four points ahead of Detroit (11-8-9) in third place.

New Mexico is 16-8-3, in first place in the Western Conference.

DCFC will remain at home for next weekend’s match, this one a Sunday afternoon fixture against Louisville City FC. Kickoff is at 3 p.m.

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