Lions beat Buccaneers, move to NFC Championship vs. 49ers

DETROIT – The Detroit Lions are heading to the NFC Championship for the second time in the Super Bowl era.

After a back-and-forth battle with the visiting Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Ford Field on Sunday, the Lions pulled away with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns, and linebacker Derrick Barnes delivered a game-sealing interception to put the Lions on the cusp of a first Super Bowl appearance in franchise history.

With the 31-23 victory over the Buccaneers, the Lions will travel to San Francisco to play the top-seeded 49ers next Sunday. The game is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

“Here we are, sitting, one of the last four teams,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “That was the type of game I envisioned against Tampa. That’s an outstanding team, that’s a hot team. We knew it was going to come down to the end. … We delivered body blows and ultimately, we did what we had to do to win that game. There’s nothing easy about it.”

The game was tied at both the half and after three quarters as both teams struggled to get into a rhythm. After going three-and-out to open the game, the Lions’ offense was gifted quality field possession when Buccaneers star receiver Mike Evans couldn’t handle a third-and-long pass across the middle. Popping the ball into the air, Lions safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson corralled the deflection for an interception, setting his team up across midfield.

The Lions translated the turnover into points, but not a touchdown, as the team’s second drive stalled deep in the red zone and they were forced to settle for a short Michael Badgley field goal. The team was fortunate to get the three, as quarterback Jared Goff put a throw directly into the hands of Jamel Dean on second-and-goal, but the Buccaneers cornerback couldn’t hold on for the pick.

Tampa Bay managed a quick counter, netting a field goal of their own on the ensuing possession. Chase McLaughlin knocked the kick down from 43 yards out after it was set up by back-to-back completions to Evans and Trey Palmer for 41 yards.

Detroit regained the lead early in the second quarter with a methodical 14-play, 75-yard drive where they converted on four third downs. The first came courtesy of a successful sneak by Goff, followed by a pair of drive-extending completions. The quarterback capped the series by finding Josh Reynolds in the back of the end zone for a 9-yard score, putting the Lions up, 10-3.

That lead looked like it would hold heading into the half after McLaughlin missed a 50-yard field goal off the left upright. But after the Lions punted the ball back with 1:28 remaining, the visitors managed to orchestrate a quick-strike, 92-yard drive in 73 seconds to tie the game.

Quarterback Baker Mayfield gained 14 yards on a keeper before connecting with Evans on consecutive deep balls down to Detroit’s 2-yard line. On the next snap, Mayfield found tight end Cade Otton open on the left side of the end zone with 15 seconds remaining in the second quarter.

Tampa Bay looked poised to grab their first lead to start the third frame, driving to the edge of field-goal range, but defensive end Aidan Hutchinson broke through for a sack to drive the Buccaneers back and force a punt. The Lions would end up punting it right back when a 25-yard, third-down pass to Reynolds was wiped out by a chop-block against running back David Montgomery.

The punts would persist, as Detroit’s defense responded by forcing a three-and-out of its own. That momentum funneled into a long touchdown drive for the offense, fueled by a 29-yard catch-and-run on a dump-off to tight end Brock Wright.

Following a St. Brown reception setting the Lions up with first-and-goal from the 5, the team still needed four tries, including three from the 1-yard line, to get across the goal line against the formidable Buccaneers defense. On fourth-and-1, little-used running back Craig Reynolds unexpectedly got the call and plowed into the end zone behind the blocks of Taylor Decker and Kayode Awosika, who replaced injured starter Jonah Jackson in the first half.

A pair of penalties against Detroit’s secondary kick-started Tampa Bay’s response, leading to a busted-coverage, 27-yard completion to Otton into the red zone. Then, facing third-and-10, Mayfield countered Detroit’s blitz with a quick throw to running back Raschaad White, who found a lane for the 12-yard score that tied things at 17 late in the third quarter, following McLaughlin’s extra point.

Quickly morphing into a heavyweight slugfest, the Lions opened the fourth quarter with a series of chunk gains, starting with a 12-yard checkdown to Gibbs and an 18-yard pass across the middle to Josh Reynolds. Two snaps later, Gibbs took a handoff going left, cut back through a hole that opened to his right, and juked past Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield Jr. – a first-team All-Pro this season – for a 31-yard, go-ahead score.

Benefiting from a drop and a rush-induced misfire by Mayfield, the Lions defense kept the pressure on by forcing a quick punt.

Working just shy of midfield with a 24-yard pass to Jameson Williams, the Lions got knocked back when linebacker Lavonte David ran through Montgomery’s attempt to pick up his blitz and sacked Goff, leaving the Lions facing a third-and-15. But provided stellar protection by his offensive line, the quarterback had an answer, finding St. Brown from a chain-moving conversion.

Another 20-yard reception for Gibbs would lead to Goff finding St. Brown on a wheel pattern from the right slot for a 9-yard touchdown, putting the Lions up, 31-17, with a little more than six minutes left on the game clock.

But the Buccaneers refused to go quietly, driving 75 yards in under two minutes to cut the Lions’ lead to one score. Overcoming a sack and two incompletions early in the possession, Mayfield would connect on four of his next five throws, culminating with a 16-yard scoring strike to Evans.

Attempting to add to Detroit’s consternation, Tampa Bay went for two after the touchdown, but safety Ifeatu Melifonwu broke up a back-shoulder throw to Evans, leaving the Lions up, 31-23 with 4:37 remaining.

The Lions managed to kill more than half that time with a trio of first downs, but were ultimately forced to punt by the Buccaneers, as Jack Fox pinned them at their 10-yard line with 1:59 to go.

But Tampa Bay’s effort to tie the game lasted just two plays. Targeting Otton across the middle, Barnes undercut the throw and picked the pass to seal the victory for the Lions.

“You see it on film,” Barnes said. “He wants to go down the seam. I literally was emphasizing that myself when he called that play, and I wanted to insulate a bit, see if he was going to throw the dagger (route) behind me. But I turned around, I see the ball coming, I’m like, ‘There’s no way I’m about to drop this. I’m gonna go grab it.’ It’s amazing. I can’t really express the feeling. It’s great.”

Next Sunday will be the first time the Lions will play in a conference championship since 1992, when they were crushed by eventual Super Bowl champion Washington, 41-10.