The Detroit Lions defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-23 at home on Sunday night to advance to the NFC Championship Game.
Next week, the Lions travel to San Francisco to play the 49ers.
On their opening drives, both teams had an unlucky start. After winning the coin toss, the Lions sought the ball, but they began the game three-and-out.
However, when quarterback Baker Mayfield took the field for the first time with the Bucs offense, the Lions defense would come through. On third-and-long, Mayfield’s go-to target, Mike Evans, was unable to bring in a pass that he should have, tipping it into the air where safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson intercepted it to turn the field.
Gardner-Johnson even demonstrated to the onlookers that both teams would be trading blows in this game by flipping the ball back to Mayfield. After the interception, the Lions were the first to score, making it 3-0 with a short field goal. But the Bucs responded with a field goal of their own to tie them.
Quarterback Jared Goff didn’t fully get going until the third drive for the Lions, during which he put together a 14-play masterpiece that culminated in a Josh Reynolds slant across the back of the end zone for the touchdown.
