What they're saying about Bucs-Lions

Bucs coach Lovie Smith:

"We were beaten by a better football team today. We didn't really get anything going throughout the day."

Lions coach Jim Caldwell:

"That's a talented football team, and I think when you look at the teams that we play in the league, you've got to throw the record out of the window. … It certainly wasn't great, it wasn't perfect, but the games never are, particularly against a team that has the kind of talent they have."

Lions QB Matthew Stafford:

"You're trying to catch up, everybody in the building knows you're going to throw the football and we have a great defensive line. They were getting after (the QB) and that's part of football."

Bucs tackle Demar Dotson:

"I think they kept coming. They played hard from snap to whistle. We expected that. We expected them to play hard, and they did just what we expected. They won the battle."

Bucs DT Gerald McCoy:

"Third down killed us today. For the most part, they didn't run the ball. They had the big run at the end, but it was little dinks and dunks."

Bucs WR Vincent Jackson:

"This is one of the roughest years I've been a part of, and the thing I can take out of it is the fact that our guys played hard. Guys are still fighting, nobody's pointing fingers in this locker room, and that's saying something. It's the quality of men we have here."