The Lions put together another impressive showing in their 20-6 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.

The Lions were once again without star rookie players like running back Jahmyr Gibbs and safety Brian Branch. They held the Buccaneers to only six points all game shutting down veteran wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin and holding them to zero touchdowns and under 100 yards each.

This was the first time this year that the Buccaneers have been held to a single-digit score, and their offense looked uncoordinated against a shutdown Lions defense.

The Buccaneers defense held strong most of the game, but with their offense lacking in production it was only a matter of time before the defense would give up some points to one of the highest scoring offenses in football this season.

The rushing attack sputtered this game which is a large focal point of Ben Johnson’s offensive scheme didn’t get off the ground all game. David Montgomery went down with a rib injury which looks like he will miss some time after the testing was done. This could halt the rushing attack of the offense if Gibbs cannot make a return soon with the only two remaining backs being Craig Reynolds and Devine Ozigbo.

 The passing game stepped up big with Jared Goff throwing for over 350 yards and two touchdowns. Amon-Ra St. Brown had a great game back catching the ball 12 times for 124 yards and a touchdown.

The Lions advance to 5-1 on the season and with both the San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles losing this week the Lions have a shot to claim the number one seed in the NFC. The Lions are doing all of this without the big names they signed in free agency this offseason. Players like safety CJ Gardner-Johnson and Emmanuel Moseley have been out most of the season and their offensive line has been banged up with Jonah Jackson and Taylor Decker both missing games this season.

Barring a poor fourth down decision in the Seahawks game in Week Two, the Lions could easily have been the last remaining undefeated team and should rise in the power rankings with many teams above them losing or having poor performances.

The Lions will next go on the road to Baltimore to face the Ravens at 1:00 P.M. EST this Sunday. This is one of the few remaining games on their schedule that is a toss up and is expected to be a high scoring game.

If the Lions continue on the pace they are currently going at they can easily start putting their name in the bid for Super Bowl contenders.