Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Detroit Lions Public-Betting Splits & Injury Reports

• For once, the Bucs have gotten good news on the injury front with the imminent returns of Mike Evans and Emeka Egbuka
• The Lions look for the second Monday night win of 2025
• Read below for the Buccaneers vs Lions public-betting splits and final injury reports on Oct. 20

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-1) and Detroit Lions (4-2) begin a Week 7 Monday Night Football doubleheader at 7:00 PM ET on Oct. 20 on an ABC broadcast. The Bucs look to maintain their conference-leading record while the look to keep pace with the five-win teams across the NFC.

The Lions are home favorites in the MNF odds, but the public expects the Bucs to cover the 6.5-point spread. The public is anticipating a lower-than-expected scoring game, with over half of the bets on the under.

Buccaneers vs Lions Public-Betting Splits

As of Monday morning, the ATS handle is favoring the Bucs in the NFL public betting splits. The Bucs are getting 66% of the ATS handle as 6.5-point road underdogs, with a healthy 74% of the bets coming in on them. The Lions are getting 34% of the handle, with only 26% of the bets. In other words, more bettors have bet on the Buccaneers to cover, and Buccaneers spread bettors have bet larger sums.

The moneyline favors the Lions. Detroit has received 71% of the moneyline handle with 72% of all bets placed. On the other hand, the Bucs are getting 29% of the moneyline handle spread across 28% of the bets.

The public is split on the total in this battle of NFC juggernauts. The over accounts for 64% of the total handle, but that comes on only 44% of bets. The under accounts for 36% of the total handle on 56% of bets. Fellow writer Chris Amberley is backing the over, taking Over 52.5 in his Buccaneers vs Lions Picks & Predictions.

TB Buccaneers vs DET Lions Injury Reports

While the Bucs will be without Chris Godwin for the fifth time this season, they might have both Mike Evans and Emeka Egbuka back in the lineup. Evans has been out since Week 3, while Egbuka got injured last week. Evans needs 860 yards in the final 11 games of the season to surpass 1,000 yards for the 12th consecutive season.

Mike Evans needs to average 78.2 yards per game over the rest of the season to hit the 1k mark 🎯 pic.twitter.com/K4D5PjGaCL

— Underdog (@Underdog) October 17, 2025

On the other hand, Egbuka cannot afford to miss much time if he wants to win Offensive Rookie of the Year. Egbuka has fallen to second in Offensive Rookie of the Year odds after a hot start from New York’s Jaxson Dart.

Beyond the receivers, the Bucs will be down two running backs and an offensive tackle on Monday night. Of the group, the most important is star running back Bucky Irving. Irving has missed two games, keeping him from following up an exceptional rookie season. Without Irving, Rachaad White has stepped up with 157 total yards and three touchdowns in the last two weeks.

Veteran Lavonte David has not missed a game since 2023. The lifelong Buc has record 40 tackles already this season with five tackles for loss. Without David, the Bucs would rely on SirVocea Dennis and Deion Jones in the middle of the defense.

On the Lions’ side, Taylor Decker would be a major loss. Veteran Dan Skipper would play left tackle if Decker does not play, a sizable downgrade against an aggressive Bucs defense.

Defensively, the Lions will be down four starters in the secondary alone. Safeties Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch (suspension) are out, and corners Avonte Maddox and Terrion Arnold have been ruled out. Without this group, the Lions will have a secondary featuring Rock Ya-Sin, Amik Robertson, Erick Hallett, and Thomas Harper.

#Lions S Brian Branch, who popped #Chiefs WR JuJu Smith-Schuster in the face after the loss to KC, was suspended one game by the NFL.

Detroit plays the #Bucs on MNF. pic.twitter.com/lJC1oi2eSh

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 13, 2025

The defensive line is also in a precarious spot with DJ Reader nursing a back injury. Alim McNeill has yet to come off injured reserve after sustaining an injury last season. The Lions could have both play, but they could also be without both – forcing rookie Tyleik Williams into an even bigger role.

Looking for Buccaneers vs Lions bets to tail? Check out …

• John Hyslop’s Buccaneers vs Lions same-game parlay
• Ryan Potts’ Buccaneers vs Lions touchdown-scorer picks
• Chris Amberley’s Buccaneers vs Lions picks and predictions