DETROIT – The Detroit Lions will host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next weekend in the second round of the playoffs.
Detroit welcomed playoff football to the city for the first time on Sunday night, as the Lions took down Matthew Stafford and the Rams in a 24-23 thriller.
Since the Lions were the No. 3 seed in the NFC, they would have had to travel to No. 2 Dallas for the divisional round this coming weekend, but the Cowboys were upset by the seventh-seeded Packers.
That put the Lions in position to host the winner of the Eagles-Buccaneers game, which kicked off on Monday night.
The Buccaneers won five of their final six games to hang on and win the NFC South Division, so they earned one home playoff game against the Eagles.
Baker Mayfield and the defense took care of business in blowout fashion, crushing Philadelphia 32-9. Now they get to head to Detroit for a rematch of the Week 6 meeting between these two teams.
When Detroit traveled to Tampa Bay earlier this season, the Buccaneers were one of the surprise teams in the league. But the Lions’ defense stifled Mayfield, Mike Evans, and company, holding them to just a pair of field goals in the 20-6 victory.
Both teams have gone through their ups and downs since then, but now, they’ll meet at Ford Field with a spot in the NFC Championship Game on the line.
If the Lions can win Sunday evening, they’ll face either the No. 1 49ers or the No. 7 Packers with a spot in the Super Bowl on the line.
They would have to travel to San Francisco if the 49ers win, but if the Packers pull another upset, we would get to see a Thanksgiving Day rematch at Ford Field.
