The Detroit Lions were definitely up against it facing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday, but even under the circumstances, it was shocking to see how bad they were in the first half.
The Lions trailed at halftime 34-0 as they were consistently torn apart by Tom Brady and the Buccaneers’ offense. In total, it was the worst first half performance by any NFL team from a defensive standpoint in a decade.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have 410 net yards of total offense in the first half at Detroit – the most by any team in the NFL since 2010 (Philadelphia Eagles, 425 yards on 11/15/10 vs. Washington).
The 410 yards of total offense are also the most in a single half in team history.
— Buccaneers Communications (@BuccaneersComms) December 26, 2020
There are games where teams don’t get 410 yards of total offense, much less halves. Things were so lopsided that the Buccaneers simply sat Brady for the second half, bringing in Blaine Gabbert to see out the rest of the game while resting some regulars.
While few would have predicted it would get this bad, the Lions being flat isn’t exactly a shock. The major figures on their coaching staff are missing for this reason, and the team is looking ahead to 2021. That doesn’t excuse the performance, but there’s some context to how bad it is.
