Bucs' huge Week 2 win over Lions comes at a major cost that could hurt the team in the big picture

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers pulled off its biggest win of the young 2024 season on Sunday against the Detroit Lions, but the team lost yet another foundational piece in the process.

Defensive tackle Vita Vea was ruled out of the game with a knee injury as the Lions were trying to catch up to the Bucs in a 13-9 game. The injury occurred in the second half, third quarter specifically. Second-year pass rusher Yaya Diaby fell into Vea's knee while trying to rush Lions quarterback Jared Goff and the former Pro Bowler immediately left the game and did not return.

From the looks of the injury, it could easily be one that keeps Vea out of action for a while.

It's another potentially huge blow to the Bucs defense. The unit lost All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr. in the Week 1 win over the Washington Commanders and he's going to miss at least another game before he can return to action. Losing Vea would be another gut punch the Bucs defense will have to find a way to overcome.

The defensive line is also currently without former first-rounder Calijah Kancey, who is dealing with a calf injury. Logan Hall returned to the lineup and played against the Lions, but the Bucs need the defensive line to get healthy, quick. Especially when also adding in the fact Tampa Bay placed reserve defensive lineman Earnest Brown IV on IR before the season-opener against the Commanders.

Bucs defense still finds a way to get the job done without Vea and with a banged up secondary

A chunk of the talk coming into the game was how banged up the Bucs secondary had become after just one game. At one point, rookie undrafted free agent Tyrek Funderburk was slated to start opposite Jamel Dean because of all the injuries, but that changed once Zyon McCollum was cleared to play.

The secondary played really well and made several big plays throughout the game. The same can be said for the Bucs defensive line after Vea went out. Sure, the Lions scored on the drive in which Vea left early, but they didn't score another point after that drive.

The line held its own well enough to where it was able to help garner enough pressure/take enough blocks to where the secondary and the linebackers could make plays. In all, it was a total group effort and it really put the Bucs' perseverance on full display.

The loss of Vea is a big deal and hopefully it's nothing major. It does put a damper on the Bucs' win, but at the same time, the team is 2-0, which is big enough in its own right.

Update: Per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, Vea suffered what is believed to be an MCL sprain against the Lions. He'll undergo an MRI on Monday to determine the full extent of the injury.