TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- One of the first signs of the growing respect for the Detroit Lions and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and their surprising success this season, was the change of starting time of their game Sunday.

Fox television was seeking an alternative to the Atlanta-San Francisco matchup the network was scheduled to carry nationally. It settled on featuring the Lions and Bucs, and wound up with a pair of teams with 8-4 records playing for first place in the NFC Central.

"They wanted a more attractive game," Warren Sapp, Tampa Bay's Pro Bowl defensive tackle, said of the rare move from an early to late-afternoon time slot. "Well, they got it. No doubt about it."

As improbable as it might have seemed when the season began and Minnesota and Green Bay figured to be the teams to chase, the Lions and Bucs are in a position to take command of the race.

Detroit has prospered despite the retirement of Barry Sanders and loss of key players Herman Moore and Charlie Batch to injuries. Tampa Bay has rebounded from a 2-3 start to win six of seven, including a franchise-record-tying five straight since losing to the Lions at the Silverdome on Oct. 31.

"We've put ourselves in a position to win this division and we're not going to go out and give it up lightly," Sapp said.

"The challenge this week is to come out and rectify a wrong that we went up and did on Halloween in front of a national audience. Here's another chance to go right in front of that national audience, with the same ballclub, and come out with a different result."

The defeat still gnaws at the Bucs, because they feel it was the only time this season neither the offense nor the defense played well enough to give them a chance to win.

Detroit's Greg Hill is the only opposing running back to gain more than 100 yards against Tampa Bay in the last 18 games. The defense didn't force any turnovers and Eric Zeier couldn't spark the offense in a short-lived stint as Tampa Bay's starting quarterback.

"Everyone was a little concerned. We weren't playing good football," coach Tony Dungy said, recalling the mood after the loss to the Lions dropped the Bucs to 1-3 within the division and 3-4 overall.

"We knew that we had to get back into the race by playing good football, and that's what we set out to do. We've gotten some breaks along the way, but I think the guys have created most of them."

After forcing just six turnovers in the first seven games, the Bucs have caused 18 during their current winning streak. Cornerback Donnie Abraham, who has five interceptions in the past three games, was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week two of the past three weeks.

But as well as the defense has played, the buzz surrounding Tampa Bay lately has been the emergence of rookie quarterback Shaun King. He threw a pair of touchdown passes last Monday night to beat the Vikings in his first pro start.

With Dilfer sidelined the remainder of the regular season with a broken collarbone and Zeier still not 100 percent after injuring his ribs against the Lions, Tampa Bay's playoff and division hopes are riding on King.

Dungy has said he will re-evaluate the quarterback situation when Zeier is healthy. Meanwhile, King shrugs off questions about what his performance against Minnesota means to his chances of keeping the job for good.

"The way I look at it, it was the first game of December. We're 1-0 in December. That was the biggest game of the year. Now, the biggest game of the year is Sunday," the rookie said. "This is for sole possession of first place. ... You don't want to be in a situation where you're waiting for other teams to lose. That generally doesn't work out for you."

Batch has missed the last four games and parts of two others because of injuries. However, Gus Frerotte has helped Detroit stay atop the division by throwing for 1,538 yards, eight TDs and just two interceptions. The Lions have won four of the six games he's played.

Detroit coach Bobby Ross knows what Dungy is going through in breaking in a rookie quarterback, although he turned to Batch under different circumstances last season when he decided to bench Scott Mitchell.

"I think every coach knows or should know, and Tony certainly knows, the pulse of his team and what his team needs," Ross said, adding that it's less risky going with young quarterbacks today than it probably was 10 years ago.

"In this day and time, kids come out of college from such sophisticated offenses ... The experience factor is a key factor, but I think kids come in a little bit better prepared than we think they do."

DETROIT Season schedule and results

TAMPA BAY Season schedule and results

September 12 @Seattle W 28-20 September 19 Green Bay W 23-15 September 26 @Kansas City L 21-31 October 10 San Diego L 10-20 October 17 Minnesota W 25-23 October 24 @Carolina W 24-9 October 31 Tampa Bay W 20-3 November 7 St. Louis W 31-27 November 14 @Arizona L 19-23 November 21 @Green Bay L 17-26 November 25 Chicago W 21-17 December 5 Washington W 33-17 December 12 @Tampa Bay 1:00pm ET December 19 @Chicago 1:00pm ET December 25 Denver 4:15pm ET January 2 @Minnesota 1:00pm ET

September 12 NY Giants L 13-17 September 19 @Philadelphia W 19-5 September 26 Denver W 13-10 October 3 @Minnesota L 14-21 October 10 @Green Bay L 23-26 October 24 Chicago W 6-3 October 31 @Detroit L 3-20 November 7 @New Orleans W 31-16 November 14 Kansas City W 17-10 November 21 Atlanta W 19-10 November 28 @Seattle W 16-3 December 6 Minnesota W 24-17 December 12 Detroit 1:00pm ET December 19 @Oakland 4:05pm ET December 26 Green Bay 4:15pm ET January 2 @Chicago 1:00pm ET

Records source: STATS, Inc.

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