On Sunday, October 15, 2023, in Tampa, Florida, during an NFL football game, Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta (87) had the pass swatted away by Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Carlton Davis III (24). (Photo by Peter Joneleit for AP)
ALLEN Park The Detroit Lions’ only opponent in the NFC championship game is a team they have already defeated by double digits this season.
At 3 p.m. on Sunday at Ford Field, Detroit (13-5) of the divisional round will play Tampa Bay (10-8) of the fourth seed. DraftKings has the Lions as early 6.5-point favorites.
On Monday Night Football, the Bucs defeated Philadelphia 32–9 to go to the game. After defeating the Los Angeles Rams 24-23 in a historic game played at Ford Field the night before, Detroit had the luxury of watching that game live.
Head coach Dan Campbell stated, “I think you get a benefit from watching it every way you can.” The TV copy is in addition to the several chopped-up feeds that we have. I believe you can always locate some decent nuggets.
It’s not as though the Lions needed to watch Monday’s game to be familiar with the Buccaneers, of course. They went to Tampa for Week 6 back in October, and they pounded the Bucs 20–6 while putting on one of their greatest defensive displays of the year. Manhandling quarterback Baker Mayfield, Detroit allowed just two third-down conversions and no scores while playing without standout rookie cornerback Brian Branch and top free-agent safety Ceedy Duce.
Against the Lions, Mayfield had his poorest performance of the season, completing just 19 of 37 passes for 206 yards and a quarterback rating of 56.8, which was a season low. Branch’s injury substitute, Will Harris, also scored on him.
That day, Detroit’s defense was even more effective against the run, giving up 46 yards on 16 carries, or an average of 2.9 yards per carry.
“We didn’t play our best ball (against Detroit),” Mayfield said to ESPN following the Monday night match. “They’re playing incredibly well at the moment. For us, repairing the minor issues meant revisiting that movie. Simply attempting to maintain our unity and drive. That’s the primary concern. Simply stay united.
In part because they were playing without backfield partner Jahmyr Gibbs and lost running back David Montgomery in the first half, the Lions’ offense got off to a considerably slower start in Tampa. However, quarterback Jared Goff had one of his best games of the year. He opened up the scoring in the third quarter by connecting with Jameson Williams for a 45-yard touchdown pass after establishing some separation with a 28-yard touchdown connection to Amon-Ra St. Brown shortly before halftime.
With a season-high 353 yards, two touchdowns, zero turnovers, and a passer rating of 107.5, Goff concluded the game. He is now gaining even more momentum as Detroit looks to win two games in a postseason for the first time since the Super Bowl era, having just played the finest playoff game of his career.
It won’t be simple, though, against Tampa, which has won six of its past seven games because of better play from Mayfield and an outstanding defense that allowed no third-down conversions against Philadelphia. As the departed Tom Brady was replaced, the former No. 1 pick had one of his best seasons, finishing 64.3% of his throws for 4,044 yards, 28 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions.
On Monday night, Mayfield ran wild against Matt Patricia’s defense for 337 yards and three touchdowns, most of which came from broken tackles in the secondary. This season, Detroit has struggled with coverage, and on Sunday night, Puka Nacua of Los Angeles was particularly difficult to find as he caught nine passes for a total of 181 yards.
This week, after taking six additional hits against the Eagles and being listed as doubtful to play against Philadelphia due to a rib ailment, Mayfield’s health will be constantly monitored.
Todd Bowles, who leads the Bucs, first consented to interview for the head coaching position with the Lions in 2021, but he later withdrew his application because “they had their minds made up,” as the Detroit Free Press reports. It turned out that Detroit had hired Dan Campbell.
Now, those two will face off with the chance to win a trip to the conference finals.
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