Lions hold on against Buccaneers and head to NFC Championship Game

DETROIT — The Detroit Lions maintained their storybook season and advanced to their first NFC Championship Game since 1991 with a 31-23 divisional round victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.

Detroit will travel to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday with a Super Bowl bid on the line. Here's a closer look at each team's performance:

Detroit Lions

Detroit, which hosted its second playoff game in the same postseason for the first time in franchise history, got off to a slow start on offense.

The game was tied at the end of the first, second and third quarters before the Lions broke free in the fourth when rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs came to life to spark the running game.

Promising trend: In his last four games, second-year running back Aidan Hutchinson has recorded eight sacks, including one against Tampa Bay. Before that, Hutchinson went without a sack in three straight games, but said he “discovered my own identity” during that span. The Lions defense recorded three sacks in a playoff game for the fourth time since team sacks became official in 1963.

QB Breakdown: Goff was 30 of 43 for 287 yards and threw two touchdowns in a playoff game for the first time in his career. The Lions finished with 391 yards of total offense against Tampa Bay after posting 334 total net yards in their wild card game against the Los Angeles Rams. Goff was 11 of 12 for 131 yards and a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Biggest hole in the game plan: The Lions secondary. Tampa Bay receiver Mike Evans torched Detroit's defense with eight catches for 147 yards, and the Buccaneers recorded 349 passing yards. During their wild card matchup against the Los Angeles Rams, the Lions also had trouble covering rookie receiver Puka Nacua, who had 181 yards on nine receptions, including a 50-yard touchdown. This is an area of ​​concern for the Lions when facing good receivers. –Eric Woodyard

Next game: at San Francisco 49ers, 6:30 p.m. ET on Sunday

Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles told his players all week to “weather the storm in the first quarter” against the Lions, the league's highest-scoring first-quarter offense in 2023, but the last fourth hurt them more. They allowed two touchdowns to Goff & Co., who completed 11 of 12 passes for 131 yards and a touchdown in the final frame. On the Bucs' final drive, quarterback Baker Mayfield threw a devastating interception to seal the win for Detroit.

This ended the Bucs' “Revenge Tour,” as inside linebacker Devin White put it, with no redemption against the Lions after a Week 6 loss and no chance to avenge their Week 11 loss to the 49ers. The Bucs, however, defied expectations outside the organization in the wake of Tom Brady's retirement, finishing 10-9 after losing five of six games midway through the season with questions over Bowles' employment status. Now, the Bucs enter the offseason with questions about two key figures on the offense: Mayfield and wide receiver Mike Evans.

QB Breakdown: Mayfield completed 26 of 41 passes for 349 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. On fourth-and-14, trailing 31-17 in the fourth quarter, Mayfield found Evans for a 16-yard touchdown to make the score 31-23 (after a failed 2-point conversion attempt). Mayfield's first pick came during the Bucs' first drive on a slant pass intended for Evans that was intercepted by safety CJ Gardner-Johnson, setting up a 23-yard field goal for the Lions. His second pick, and the one that ended the game, came with 1:35 left and the Bucs trailing by eight.

Biggest hole in the game plan: The Bucs pressured Goff on 26% of his dropbacks despite blitzing 47% of the time. He was sacked twice, but didn't seem to be affected by everything the Bucs threw at him.

Fundamental game: The Lions went for it on fourth-and-goal at the Tampa Bay 1-yard line with 3:51 left in the third quarter, and running back Craig Reynolds ran up the middle for a touchdown. The decision to do so increased the Lions' chances of winning the game by 70.5%, according to ESPN Analytics.

Surprising NextGen Statistic: Mayfield was sacked under 3.10 seconds twice on Sunday. He was sacked in 2.77 seconds by Hutchinson and in 3.07 seconds by safety Ifatu Melifonwu, marking the two fastest sacks he made all season. – Jenna Laine