Detroit (1-1) at Tampa Bay (3-0)

VIDEO PLAYLIST

• EA Sports Preview: Lions vs. Bucs

SCOUTING REPORT

Jones needs to get 30-plus carriesThe Lions are coming off their Week 2 bye and will look to capitalize on the extra preparation. They have too much talent at the wide receiver position for their passing game to look as inconsistent as it has so far in 2005. As much as the Lions would like to rely on RB Kevin Jones to carry the load, it promises to be tough sledding versus the league's most dominant run defense to date. If Jones does not get untracked against DT Anthony McFarland, LB Derrick Brooks & Co., all the pressure will shift to QB Joey Harrington and his trio of talented but unreliable wide receivers in Roy Williams, Charles Rogers and Mike Williams. On the flip side, the Buccaneers ground attack refuses to take no for an answer. Rookie RB Carnell "Cadillac" Williams has the most carries (88) in the NFL after three weeks, and that total promises to significantly increase when the undefeated Bucs play host to the Lions on Sunday.

· Full Scouting Report

Matchup
	W-L	PF	PA	HOME	ROAD	DIV	CONF
DET	5-11	254	345	3-5	2-6	1-5	3-9
TAM	11-5	300	274	6-2	5-3	5-1	9-3
· Complete Standings

Individual Leaders

Detroit Passing   CMP% YDS TD INT Staffo... 55.2 1911 11 14 Culpep... 56.5 384 1 2

Tampa Bay Passing   CMP% YDS TD INT Johnso... 50.4 685 4 8 Leftwi... 54.2 594 4 3

Detroit Rushing   CAR YDS AVG TD Smith 162 560 3.5 3 Morris 38 141 3.7 1

Tampa Bay Rushing   CAR YDS AVG TD Willia... 117 450 3.8 3 Ward 66 243 3.7 1

Detroit Receiving   REC YDS AVG TD Johnso... 39 597 15.3 2 Pettig... 29 334 11.5 2

Tampa Bay Receiving   REC YDS AVG TD Winslo... 47 483 10.3 5 Bryant 19 269 14.2 2

Full Player Stats: Detroit | Tampa Bay

TEAM AVERAGES & NFL RANKS
TEAM OFFENSE	TEAM	PER GAME AVERAGE
Total Yards	DET	270.0
	TAM	295.0
Yards Passing	DET	178.0
	TAM	180.6
Yards Rushing	DET	91.9
	TAM	114.1
TEAM DEFENSE	TEAM	PER GAME AVERAGE
Yards Allowed	DET	322.4
	TAM	277.8
Pass Yds Allowed	DET	194.9
	TAM	183.1
Rush Yds Allowed	DET	127.5
	TAM	94.7

HEAD TO HEAD MATCHUPS (SINCE 2001)
Tampa Bay leads 4-0
Dec 15, 2002	DET 20, @TAM 23
Dec 9, 2001	DET 12, TAM 15
Nov 11, 2001	DET 17, @TAM 20

Detroit (1-1) at Tampa Bay (3-0), Sunday 1:00 pm EDT

TAMPA, Florida (Ticker) -- The unbeaten Tampa Bay Buccaneers hope to feast on another former division rival when they host the Detroit Lions on Sunday.

The Buccaneers have presided in the NFC South since 2002 when the divisions were realigned. They used to play in the NFC Central with Green Bay, Minnesota, Detroit and Chicago.

Ironically, Tampa Bay will play all of its former division rivals this season and has already beaten two of them, posting wins at Minnesota and Green Bay en route to its first 3-0 start since 2000.

The Lions are next for Tampa Bay, which also hosts Chicago on November 27.

The teams last met in 2002 when Tampa Bay won the Super Bowl and the Buccaneers posted a 23-20 win at Detroit.

Tampa Bay still has numerous defensive players left from its Super Bowl team, including linebackers Derrick Brooks and Shelton Quarles, defensive ends Simeon Rice and Greg Spires, deensive tackle Anthony McFarland and cornerbacks Brian Kelly and Ronde Barber.

The Bucs intercepted Brett Favre three times in last week's 17-16 victory at Green Bay. Second-year safety Will Allen had two of the interceptions.

The Bucs' offense is now motored by Carnell "Cadillac" Williams, whose 434 rushing yards in his first three games are the most by a rookie running back in NFL history. The previous record of 410 yards was held by Alan Ameche for the Baltimore Colts in 1955. Former Lion Billy Sims is third on that list with 382 rushing yards in his first three games in 1980.

Williams has immediately played the role of workhorse for Bucs coach Jon Gruden, rushing for 158 yards on 37 carries in the win at Green Bay. He got stronger as the game went along, rushing for 81 yards on 14 carries in the fourth quarter.

"In my lifetime in the NFL, he's the best back I've ever coached," said Gruden, who coached Williams at the Senior Bowl and made him the fifth overall pick in the 2005 draft.

On Sunday, Williams faces a Lions' defense that yielded 139 rushing yards to Thomas Jones in a 38-6 loss at Chicago two weeks ago.

Tampa Bay is one of just four unbeaten teams left in the NFL with Cincinnati (3-0), Indianapolis (3-0) and Washington (2-0). But the last time the Bucs started 3-0 in 2000, they went on to lose their next four and finished 10-6.

Detroit hopes that Joey Harrington can recover from an abysmal performance two weeks ago. He was intercepted five times in the loss at Chicago, but had a bye week to assess his meltdown.

Harrington may already be on the bench if veteran Jeff Garcia did not suffer a broken left leg in the preseason. Rookie Dan Orlovsky, a fifth-round pick out of Connecticut, is the backup to Harrington.

Matchup to watch: Tampa Bay's Joey Galloway, who caught two touchdown passes last week at Green Bay, faces right cornerback Dre' Bly.

Series: The Buccaneers lead, 26-23.

Next week: Detroit hosts Baltimore, October 9 Tampa Bay visits the NY Jets, October 9

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