DETROIT — Tampa Bay dug a big hole against a bad team, rallied and won.

Again.

The Buccaneers fell behind the winless Detroit Lions by 17 points, then scored five unanswered touchdowns en route to a 38-20 victory Sunday.

The Buccaneers came back from a 24-3 deficit two weeks ago against the lowly Kansas City Chiefs and won in overtime.

Tampa Bay (8-3) earned its third straight victory to maintain its strong standing in the playoff race.

Detroit (0-11) moved a step closer toward becoming the NFL's first 0-16 team.

The Bucs trailed the Lions 17-0 after the first quarter before all three phases scored to contribute to a rout.

Warrick Dunn ran for a touchdown and Jeff Garcia connected with Ike Hilliard and Jerramy Stevens for scores in the second quarter to put the Bucs ahead 21-17.

Clifton Smith returned a punt 70 yards early in the third to give them an 11-point cushion.

Garcia's second fumble of the game gave Detroit the ball in Tampa Bay territory, but Ronde Barber stepped in front of Daunte Culpepper's next pass and returned the interception 65 yards for a 35-17 lead.

Hilliard failed to handle the ensuing punt and Detroit gained just 4 yards, settling for Jason Hanson's second field goal of the game and the 400th of his career.

Tampa Bay tried to give the Lions the ball back quickly, but Cory Redding was called for a late hit on third down to keep a drive alive that ended with Bryant's 48-yard field goal to end the scoring.

Dunn — starting in place of the injured Earnest Graham — accounted for 127 yards of offense and his 13-yard run started Tampa Bay's comeback in the second quarter.

Carnell "Cadillac" Williams had 27 yards rushing on 16 carries in his first game since a knee injury almost ended his career 14 months ago.

Garcia was 13-of-18 for 165 yards with two TDs, no interceptions and two fumbles.

Culpepper completed just eight of 20 passes for 121 yards, a score and two interceptions. The lackluster quarterback was benched in the third quarter, but had to go back in the game because Drew Stanton was sidelined with a concussion.

Detroit's Kevin Smith ran for 86 yards and Calvin Johnson had 66 yards receiving and a TD, which sparked a strong start.

Daniel Bullocks scooped up Garcia's first fumble and returned it 44 yards for a score and Hanson kicked a field goal to give the Lions a 17-0 lead — their largest of the season — late in the first quarter.

The lowly Lions, though, fell apart in every way and will have a quick turnaround before hosting the Tennessee Titans on Thanksgiving.