What are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers talking about ahead of their Monday Night Football matchup against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field?

1. Bucs head coach Todd Bowles and Lions head coach Dan Campbell have had some good battles over the last two seasons with Campbell holding a 2-1 record, including a playoff win in 2023. Tampa Bay won last year's Week 2 contest in Detroit. What does Bowles think of this year's Lions team after watching the tape and beginning to put together a game plan for Monday?

"No different than last year. Tons of talent. Very well coached. A very tough team," Bowles said. "They got talent at every position. Always a tough place to go play up there. They're going to be battle tested. They are tough on both fronts offensively and defensively. They make plays on the backend of the secondary. They got big play receivers. They got a two-headed monster at running back. So, it's going to be a big challenge for us."

2. Bowles has a ton of respect for Campbell and said this week he considers Campbell a close friend and admires how the Lions take on their coach's personality.

"Dan is very tough but he's very smart," Bowles said. "He's very smart. He's very tough. He's always going to be disciplined and well coached. It's going to be a battle."

3. Bucs cornerback Jamel Dean was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week after recording four tackles, an interception, a forced fumble and a sack in Tampa Bay's win over the 49ers Sunday. Dean was asked about facing Detroit's No. 2 scoring offense on Monday and what he's seeing on tape.

Dean said one of the big points of emphasis this week is to stay disciplined because Detroit has 'weapons all across the board' and does a good job using motions and shifts as 'eye candy' to get those weapons in space to make plays.

4. Bryan McClendon, Tampa Bay's wide receivers coach, was asked about all of Detroit's injuries in the secondary heading into the game. He said Detroit's standards aren't going to change no matter who plays Monday, just how the standard in his room hasn't changed despite all their injuries at receiver this season.

"You look at those guys schematically and you know they got good players from top to bottom," McClendon said. "It's hard to be good in this league and not have a good roster from top to bottom. Whoever they put out there is going to uphold the standard that they have to play.

"At the end of the day we have to focus on us and do a really good job knowing what they do and knowing how they do it and understand it's going to take all we got over there on Monday."

5. Quarterback Baker Mayfield was complimentary of Detroit's back seven on defense, even with the Lions dealing with several injuries in their secondary. He said two things jumped out to him watching Detroit's defense on tape. First, he called veteran safety Kerby Joseph a ballhawk and said Joseph shows up all over the tape. Second, he mentioned Detroit's veteran linebacker group and how well they play together which allows Detroit to run so many different coverages because of their experience and versatility.

6. Mayfield on going against Lions pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson: "Guy is obviously talented as all get out. Just zero quit, continues to play through the echo of the whistle. He kind of embodies everything that Dan Campbell wants that team to be about."

7. Bowles said the hope is to get All-Pro wide receiver Mike Evans back at practice this week and then they'll determine if he's able to play Monday in Detroit. Evans, who has recorded at least 1,000 receiving yards in 10 straight seasons, has been out since Week 3 with a hamstring injury. The Bucs are already going to be without wide receivers Emeka Egbuka and Chris Godwin and running back Bucky Irving Monday.

8. Mayfield has a ton of respect for Lions quarterback Jared Goff and joked that everyone can relate to an underdog story as both Mayfield and Goff have found the right landing spots after being No. 1 draft picks and being let go by the teams that drafted them.