The last time the Detroit Lions and San Francisco 49ers played was back in 2021.
Things were very different at Detroit back then. It was Dan Campbell’s first year as coach; Jared Goff’s first season as quarterback too. The team finished last in the NFC North.
Now, fast-forward to 2024 and the Lions will play the 49ers for a spot in the Super Bowl after overcoming the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-23 in a thrilling divisional round playoff game on Monday morning [AEDT] at Ford Field.
The victory sees Detroit progress to its second NFC championship game, having last made it that far all the way back in 1991.
Second Round Playoffs
The Tampa Bay defence made an early statement on the road as it forced a three and out from the Detroit offence, giving quarterback Baker Mayfield a chance to put the first points on the board. Instead, he gave it straight back to the Lions — although wide receiver Mike Evans was more at fault for the interception on Tampa Bay’s first drive of the game as he tipped the ball up and into the hands of C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who later flipped the ball back to Mayfield. It only added to the theatre of Monday morning’s must-win game given the Lions safety’s comments earlier in the week, where he complimented Tampa Bay’s supporting cast while taking a dig at Mayfield in the process. “This group probably is one of the better groups we faced all year, besides that Tampa group,” Gardner-Johnson said, via the Detroit Free Press. “If you give that Tampa group a good quarterback, that’s a great group. [Mike] Evans, [Chris] Godwin, [Russell] Gage, that’s a great group. I played against them for real.” The pick gave the Lions possession 37 yards out from the end zone and an 11-yard completion to Jameson Williams along with a face mask penalty marched Detroit into scoring position. Lions quarterback Jared Goff should have been picked off in the end zone by Jamel Dean after he targeted Amon-Ra St. Brown on a 2nd-and-3 but the Bucs cornerback couldn’t make the play, with Detroit eventually settling for a field goal to go ahead 3-0. A few big completions to Evans and rookie Trey Palmer saw Tampa Bay move into field goal range on its next drive, with Chase McLaughlin making no mistake to level the game. The Lions then methodically worked their way up the field as Goff connected with rookie tight end Sam LaPorta for three straight completions to put Detroit back in scoring position. The offensive line then really stepped up on a 3rd-and-5, giving Goff a clean pocket to find Josh Reynolds on a deep crossing route as Detroit went up 10-3. The usually reliable McLaughlin missed a 50-yard field goal attempt on the following drive, putting the Lions in a position to land a killer blow right before half time. Instead, a crucial sack from rookie defensive tackle Calijah Kancey on Goff on a 3rd-and-1 saw Detroit pushed back four yards — and crucially — enough to convince coach Dan Campbell to punt the ball back to the Bucs. A pair of long catches by Evans for a gain of 56 yards then put Tampa Bay one yard out with 19 seconds on the clock and Mayfield found tight end Cade Otton for the game-tying score. The Lions were dealt a big blow when played resumed in the third quarter, with confirmation guard Jonah Jackson had been ruled out for the remainder of the game with a knee injury. Center Frank Ragnow also went down but gutted it through, coming up with a crucial block on Vita Vea to help set up a touchdown for third-string running back Craig Reynolds on a bold 4th-and-goal call from coach Campbell. Just as Detroit looked to be gaining ascendancy Tampa Bay hit right back as Mayfield dumped a short screen pass to running back Rachaad White, who took it 12 yards to the end zone in a brilliant play call against the blitzing Lions defence. It came after two big strikes to Otton, including one bullet pass from Mayfield after the Bucs quarterback somehow bumped off a sack to not only avoid a negative play but actually turn it into a positive gain. Mayfield also seemed to avoid another sack the play before the White touchdown to throw the ball away, although replays later showed his calf was down and that the Bucs would have been pushed back if the Lions had challenged the call. There was little Detroit could do at that point but answer back on its next drive and the Lions did just that, with dynamic rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs splitting the defence for a 31-yard touchdown. The Lions then forced the Bucs into a three-and-out on the next drive to put themselves in a position to extend the lead beyond one score. Detroit did just that as a poised Goff led the team on another scoring drive, this time connecting with St. Brown for his first touchdown of the game to put the Lions ahead 31-17. 49ers fight back to beat Packers | 02:27 All the pressure was on Mayfield to respond and it looked like he had no answers, with a sack and two incompletions leaving the Bucs facing a 4th-and-14 with the game on the line. But Mayfield stepped up to find Evans for the first down and went back to the veteran receiver in the end zone to reduce the deficit to 31-23 with just under five minutes left. The Bucs decided to go for the two-point attempt in a bid to put themselves in a position to win the game in regulation but Evans couldn’t haul in the Mayfield pass. Tampa Bay was then able to force a quick three-and-out, giving Mayfield two minutes and a timeout to work with as the Buccaneers looked to force overtime. Instead, Mayfield tried to force a ball to Otton that was perfectly read by Derrick Barnes and picked off, sending the Lions to Levi’s Stadium next week.
