The Detroit Lions continued their miraculous season on Sunday, January 21 with a 31-23 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Lions quarterback Jared Goff became the third quarterback ever to lead two different teams to 14-win seasons (including playoffs), joining Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. Goff threw for 287 yards, 2 touchdowns, and tallied 30 completions. Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield threw for 349 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions.
One of the reasons Detroit came away victorious was due to the confusion that defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn caused for the Buccaneers’ offensive line. There were plenty of examples where nose tackles/edge rushers dropped back into coverage and where safeties came off the edge unblocked and tallied a few sacks (Safety Ifeatu Melifonwu 1.5 sacks, DB Brian Branch 1 sack). Pro-Bowler Aidan Hutchinson also sacked Baker Mayfield once on Sunday, giving him 8 sacks in his last 4 games.
Running back Jahmyr Gibbs continued his stellar rookie campaign in the Divisional Round, picking up another 74 rushing yards, 40 receiving yards, and a touchdown. Another key play for Detroit was the 4th and goal at the 1 yard line. RB3 Craig Reynolds was lined up in the backfield and he had been used in pass protection throughout the season. With the Buccaneers thinking pass, the Lions decide to give the ball to Reynolds and he powers into the endzone. The ability to cause confusion on both sides of the ball is a testament to the offensive and defensive coaches and coordinators on the Lions.
Baker Mayfield had a phenomenal season for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. For a quarterback who had been discarded by so many teams in his career, it is nice to see Mayfield have the season that he had. The former #1 overall pick threw for 4,044 yards, 28 touchdowns, and put up a 94.6 passer rating. He is expected to return to Tampa Bay in the 2024-2025 season.
The Detroit Lions will head down to Santa Clara to face the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game. San Fran is coming off of a comeback win against the Green Bay Packers on Saturday 24-21. Both coaches in Kyle Shanahan and Dan Campbell will look to continue their pursuit of their first Super Bowls in their head coaching careers.