Buccaneers' Todd Bowles reflects on Week 6 loss to Lions

Head coach Todd Bowles insisted during a Tuesday news conference that his Tampa Bay Buccaneers aren't the same team that lost 20-6 at home to the Detroit Lions in Week 6 back on Oct. 15. 

"We’re a different team now," Bowles explained ahead of this coming Sunday's divisional playoff game at Detroit, per Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. "We’re mentally tougher. I think we’ve gotten stronger from it, and we learned some things. We’re still piecing it together, but we’re happy where we’re at."

The Buccaneers entered their Week 5 bye at 3-1 but then dropped four straight games and six of seven to fall to 4-7. Just when it looked like both Bowles and quarterback Baker Mayfield could be looking for work elsewhere this offseason, Tampa Bay won five of six contests to claim the NFC South division title. The Bucs then stunned many in the NFL community when they thrashed the Philadelphia Eagles 32-9 in Monday's wild-card playoff matchup at Raymond James Stadium. 

Unlike the Week 6 showdown, this coming Sunday's game between the Buccaneers and Lions will be held at Detroit's Ford Field. The Lions earned a hard-fought 24-23 home win over the Los Angeles Rams this past Sunday night. 

"They’re a very good team," Bowles said about the Lions. "They’re coached very well. Very fast, very physical. An electric crowd is going to be up there."

Bowles added about the previous Tampa Bay-Detroit clash that "there are no lessons in losing but losing." That may not have been the case for this past Monday's game considering the Eagles defeated the Buccaneers 25-11 in Week 3. 

While Mayfield and the Buccaneers are "having fun" and "playing free" in January, many nevertheless are predicting their playoff run will come to an end this weekend. As of early Wednesday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook listed Tampa Bay as a 6.5-point road underdog against Detroit.