Can Bucs Contain Amon-Ra St. Brown?

Week 1 of the NFL season saw the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' secondary gashed with injuries. All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr. has landed on the injured reserve with an ankle sprain and three other defensive backs went down with various injuries.

Against an inexperienced Washington Commanders passing attack, the Bucs maintained through those blows but were not truly put to the test through the air.

This week, the task at hand almost guarantees more complication for Todd Bowles and his defense.

Tampa Bay heads up North, facing the Detroit Lions for a rematch of last year's NFC Divisional round clash. The Bucs pushed Detroit in a 31-23 defeat and have an early opportunity in the regular season for revenge.

Heading into this matchup, Tampa Bay has demonstrated early signs of an offense ready to put up points and push a defense with a variety of weapons.

However, those injuries on the defensive side question their ability to stop another team with the same capacity.

Amon-Ra St. Brown leads the Lions' dangerous receiving group, coming off an impressive 2023 campaign where he finished top five in the league in receptions, yards and touchdowns among wide receivers.

But the Los Angeles Rams held him in check last week, conceding only 13 yards on three receptions and six targets. Could the Bucs follow a similar blueprint?

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Bowles will have to find a coverage that keeps St. Brown from getting involved immediately and make the Lions work to get him involved. That could prove a difficult task given Tampa Bay's limited resources in the secondary.

Newly signed corner Keenan Isaac, Jamel Dean and rookie Tyrek Funderburk will need to learn fast against not only St. Brown. But along with the star receiver, the Bucs have to deal with Detroit's treasure trove of threats in the passing game and out of the backfield.

Tampa Bay's best chance likely rests in getting a pass rush to Jared Goff, disrupting his rhythm and forcing mistakes. If he has time in the pocket and can read through his progressions, the Bucs secondary could be pushed past its current limits.