DETROIT -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs couldn't even bring himself to watch Sunday.
After a failed third-and-6 connection between quarterback Baker Mayfield and Mike Evans that resulted in a 43-yard punt by Jake Camarda, Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions got the ball back at the Tampa Bay 44-yard line with 33 seconds to go.
"I had my eyes closed," said Wirfs, who relied on left guard Ben Bredeson and the crowd to tell him what was happening as the Bucs desperately clung to a four-point lead. "I was just nervous."
On the previous series, backup safety Christian Izien -- in for All-Pro Antoine Winfield Jr., who missed the game with an ankle/foot injury -- made a touchdown-saving tackle on Jahmyr Gibbs after a 23-yard run. The Lions got all the way down to the Tampa Bay 11-yard line on fourth-and-8. But Izien and fellow safety Jordan Whitehead converged on Gibbs after he caught a slant pattern for a turnover on downs at the Tampa Bay 6.
"They only had that one touchdown late in the game," Whitehead said, referring to a 1-yard score by running back David Montgomery in the third quarter. "They had three field goals, so we stopped 'em pretty good. We had that confidence that they're not gonna get into the end zone. Once you get down there, it gets tough down there."
But still, this was the team that beat the Bucs twice last year, including a 31-23 defeat in the divisional round of the playoffs.
"We had [this game] circled. ... We seen it. Y'all seen how it ended last year," outside linebacker Joe Tryon-Shoyinka said. "We had it on our mind basically all offseason -- these are the types of games you have to win.
"You gotta throw your last couple punches ... and just leave it all out on the field."
Six plays later -- including a diving pass breakup for cornerback Zyon McCollum on third-and-10 -- and the Bucs emerged with a 20-16 win. It was their largest upset win -- they entered the game as 7.5-point underdogs via ESPN BET -- since defeating Goff and the Los Angeles Rams in Week 4 of 2019, according to ESPN Research.
"You always remember your last loss of the season," said Mayfield, who described it as a "pure joy feeling" leaving Ford Field on Sunday. "Building chemistry and building this resiliency and the culture that we want -- this is a huge win for us, and so we have to continue to build on that."
There was a mixture of profuse sweating, pounding hearts and even some tears from assistant coaches and front office members in the elevator ride to the locker room. Much of their work this offseason was shaped by that January loss. Four of the team's owners, Bryan, Joel, Ed and Avram Glazer, beamed proudly while trading handshakes and high fives.
"That was a lot f---ing better!" Wirfs shouted as he left the field. "Hell yeah! There we go!"
Mayfield overcame five sacks -- 4.5 from 2022 No. 2 draft pick Aidan Hutchinson -- and completed 12 of 19 attempts for 185 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He led the team with 34 rushing yards, including 11-yard scrambles on back-to-back plays, with one producing the game-winning score. It was also the longest rushing touchdown of his career.
"Eleven yards? That's so sad. So sad," Mayfield joked. "I wasn't expecting to get in the end zone from that far out, but make a couple of guys miss and good things happen."
The Bucs had to do it with several players being pressed into bigger roles because of injuries. Backup swing tackle Justin Skule started at right tackle for Luke Goedeke, who missed the game with a concussion, and had the unfortunate experience of lining up against Hutchinson.
On defense, in addition to Izien stepping in for Winfield, Greg Gaines stepped in for 2023 first-round draft pick Calijah Kancey. When Vita Vea left the game with a knee injury at the beginning of the third quarter -- sources told ESPN that the preliminary diagnosis is a sprained MCL -- C.J. Brewer and Mike Greene, who both were practice squad call-ups Saturday, stepped in.
"No Calijah, no Antoine, Vita goes down halfway through, a ton of guys [stepped] up," Mayfield said. "... I can't say enough about our defense, especially in the fourth quarter -- bend-don't-break mentality. They had to get a touchdown and our guys understood that and executed."
Wide receiver Chris Godwin had a career-best 117 receiving yards in the first half and was on the receiving end of Mayfield's lone touchdown throw -- a 41-yard pass on a post-wheel drag combo. Godwin first faked a block as running back Bucky Irving was coming across the back side of the formation. He then ran the wheel toward the left sideline while Evans ran toward the center of the field with tight end Cade Otton running the drag route.
"[Offensive coordinator] Liam [Coen] did a great job drawing that one up," Mayfield said. "He was excited about that play call. He had been talking about it all week. So, it's always fun when it when it becomes true."
The Buccaneers moved to 2-0 for the fourth straight season, but they have failed to win No. 3 during that streak. They will have a chance to do it Sunday (1 p.m. ET, Fox), when they host the Denver Broncos.
Still, getting a win over the Lions to get there was a sweet victory for Tampa Bay.
"Hell of a game," Wirfs said. "They're not going to be pretty. They don't have to be. It was a gritty win."