Lions hold on vs. Bucs, advance to NFC Championship Game-ZoomTech News

DETROIT — The Detroit Lions stored their storybook season going and superior to their first NFC Championship Recreation since 1991 following a 31-23 divisional-round victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.

Detroit will play the San Francisco 49ers on Jan. 28 with a Tremendous Bowl berth on the road. This is a more in-depth take a look at every group’s efficiency:

Detroit Lions

Detroit, internet hosting its second playoff sport in the identical postseason for the primary time in franchise historical past, acquired off to a sluggish begin offensively.

The sport was tied on the finish of the primary, second and third quarters earlier than the Lions broke free within the fourth as rookie working again Jahmyr Gibbs got here alive to spark the bottom assault.

Promising pattern: Over his previous 4 video games, second-year edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson has registered eight sacks — together with one in opposition to Tampa Bay. Previous to that, Hutchinson went with no sack in three straight video games, however stated he “found out my very own id” throughout that stretch. The Lions’ protection recorded three sacks in a playoff sport for the fourth time since group sacks turned official in 1963.

QB breakdown: Goff went 30-for-43 for 287 yards, and he threw for 2 touchdowns in a playoff sport for the primary time in his profession. The Lions ended with 391 yards of whole offense in opposition to Tampa Bay after posting 334 whole internet yards of their wild-card sport in opposition to the Los Angeles Rams on Jan. 14. Goff went 11-for-12 for 131 yards and a TD within the fourth quarter.

Greatest gap within the sport plan: The Lions’ secondary. Tampa Bay receiver Mike Evans torched Detroit’s protection with eight catches for 147 yards, and the Buccaneers registered 349 passing yards. Throughout their wild-card matchup versus the Los Angeles Rams, the Lions additionally struggled to cowl rookie receiver Puka Nacua, who went off for 181 receiving yards on 9 catches — together with a 50-yard landing. That is an space of concern for the Lions when dealing with good receivers. — Eric Woodyard

Subsequent sport: Jan. 28 at San Francisco, 6:30 p.m. ET

Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles instructed his gamers all week to “climate the storm within the first quarter” in opposition to the Lions — the league’s highest-scoring first quarter offense in 2023 — however the fourth quarter stung them probably the most. They surrendered two touchdowns to Goff and Co., who accomplished 9-of-9 passes for 120 yards and a landing and Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield threw a devastating interception to seal the sport for Detroit.

This ended the Bucs’ “Revenge Tour” as inside linebacker Devin White put it, with no redemption in opposition to the Lions after a Week 6 loss and no shot to avenge their Week 11 loss to the 49ers. They did, nonetheless, defy expectations outdoors the group within the wake of Tom Brady’s retirement, ending the yr at 10-9 after dropping 5 out of six video games halfway by the season with questions raised about Bowles’ job standing. Now, the Bucs enter the offseason with questions looming over two key figures on offense: quarterback Baker Mayfield and huge receiver Mike Evans.

QB breakdown: Mayfield accomplished 26 of 41 passes for 349 yards, with three TDs and two interceptions. On fourth-and-14, trailing 31-17 within the fourth quarter, Mayfield discovered Evans for a 16-yard landing to make it 31-23 with a failed two-point conversion try as Evans was out of bounds. Mayfield’s first decide got here through the Bucs’ opening drive on a tipped go meant for Evans that was intercepted by security C.J. Gardner-Johnson, establishing a 23-yard subject purpose for the Lions. His second decide — and the game-ender — got here with 1:35 remaining and the Bucs trailing by 8 factors.

Greatest gap within the sport plan: The Bucs pressured Goff on 26% of his dropbacks regardless of blitzing 47% of the time. He was sacked twice however appeared largely unaffected by every little thing the Bucs threw at him.

Pivotal play: The Lions went for it on fourth-and-goal on the Tampa Bay 1-yard line with 3:51 to go within the third quarter, and RB Craig Reynolds ran it up the center for a 1-yard landing. The choice to go for it bolstered the Lions’ probabilities of profitable the sport by 70.5% based on ESPN Analytics.

Eye-popping NextGen stat: Mayfield was sacked in beneath 3.10 seconds twice Sunday, the 2 quickest sacks he took all season. He was sacked in 2.77 seconds by Hutchinson and in 3.07 seconds by security Ifeatu Melifonwu. — Jenna Laine