DETROIT — It is not a dream.
The Detroit Lions, who have dwelled in the NFL basement for far too long, came through with a 31-23 win over the Tampa Bay Bucs in an NFL divisional round game on Sunday to advance to the NFC Championship game next Sunday at San Francisco.
The Lions, your Lions, are one win away from playing in the Super Bowl.
“Here we are, sitting one of the last four teams. That was – that’s the type of game that I envisioned against Tampa,” coach Dan Campbell said. “I mean, that’s an outstanding team. That’s a hot team. We knew it was going to come down to the end.”
It had not completely sunk in with the players after the last bit of confetti had fallen from the Ford Field rafters.
“Frank (Ragnow) said it to me when we got in the locker room, ‘We’re playing in the NFC Championship.’ Of course we always work for this and towards this, but it’s here and it’s real. It’s kind of surreal in a sense,’’ said left tackle Taylor Decker, who was drafted by the Lions in 2016 and has experienced plenty of heartache.
Coach Dan Campbell has believed in this bunch all along. He repeatedly has said throughout the season that they “were built for this.”
“Dan talks about it all the time. This team was built a certain way for a reason,’’ Decker said. “And everybody in this locker room was hand-selected to be here. It’s a special group.”
They are not done. It’s back to work on Monday to prepare for the 49ers who defeated the Packers in a divisional game on Saturday night.
Five reasons the Lions won:
1.Let’s start with the very end. Linebacker Derrick Barnes intercepted Baker Mayfield on a second-and-5 from Tampa’s 15-yard line with 1:33 remaining and the Bucs down by 8 points. It sealed the win, allowing Jared Goff to go on the field for the victory formation – just like last week against the Rams. Aidan Hutchinson said it wasn’t the call played. Barnes said he wanted to see if Mayfield was going to throw the dagger behind him. “I turned around and I see the ball coming and I was like, ‘There’s no way I’m going to drop this.’’ He was so emotional he doesn’t even remember getting to the sideline. He said when the ball hit his hands and he dropped to the turf, his first thoughts were: “What the hell just happened? First career interception, my son’s first game, a lot of emotions out there.”
2. Lions quarterback Jared Goff stayed patient. The Lions managed just 10 points in the first half, but came away with three second-half touchdowns. “It was huge, especially because we know that defense is very stingy. They have a great group especially against the run. We knew we might have to soften a little with the pass to open up the run game,’’ Decker said. “It’s one of those things, you keep chopping, keep hammering. Those 2-, 3-yard gains in the run game are going to go to 10-yard gains.’’ And that’s exactly what happened. Goff completed 30 of 43 passes for 287 yards and a pair of touchdowns. “Goff made – I mean, fourth quarter, he really showed up there and made some big throws. And we knew we needed to throw the ball to move it today,” Campbell said. “That was – we went out there to Tampa and I’ve said this before, it was like swinging a sledgehammer against a steel door. I mean, we were just over and over and over. And so, we knew we needed to loosen them up before we started to run it and we did that.”
3. When it mattered the most, the defense came up big. Mayfield was sacked four times — Aidan Hutchingon (1), Brian Branch (1), Ifeatu Melifonwu (1.5) and Jalen Reeves-Maybin (.5). While Tampa won the battle in total yards – 408 to 391, the Bucs were just 4-12 on third downs and were held to just 89 rushing yards. They also had eight quarterback hits and two interceptions (Barnes and C.J. Gardner-Johnson).
4. In big games it’s key for the best players to be at their best. It happened for the Lions with wide receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown (8 receptions, 77 yards, 1 touchdown), tight end Sam LaPorta (9 catches, 65 yards) and running back Jahmyr Gibbs (9 carries, 74 yards, 1 touchdown and four catches for 40 yards). They had help which is what makes this Lions team special. WR Josh Reynolds and running back Craig Reynolds each scored a touchdown..
5. The game was not too big for the Lions, a young NFL team. Give Dan Campbell credit for his belief in this team. Look at the rookies – Gibbs, LaPorta and Brian Branch – they play like veterans. They got their first taste of the postseason a week ago in another close game, they digested it all, and came out firing on all cylinders on Sunday with a performance that will be remembered for a long time.
UP NEXT: NFC Championship Game with Lions at 49ers, Sunday, Jan. 28 at 6:30 p.m.
Lions Lowdown 