Lions vs. Buccaneers line, odds, picks: Our experts pick Detroit to ...

21 Jan 2024

The Athletic

Lions vs Buccaneers line odds picks Our experts pick Detroit to

Will the Lions continue their post-season run or will the Buccaneers ruin their run to the NFC Championship game?

The Detroit Lions look to end another postseason drought when they host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday afternoon. Fresh off of their first playoff victory in 32 years, the Lions are favored against a Buccaneers team that’s already pulled off one postseason upset.

This NFC divisional playoff game will kick off at 3 p.m. ET Sunday from Ford Field. NBC will handle the broadcast. Detroit fans are still reveling in Sunday night’s 24-23 win over the Los Angeles Rams and hoping this Lions team can take that next step – advance to the NFC Championship Game for the first time since the 1991 season. To do so, the NFC North champs must secure a second win against the NFC South’s top team.

The Lions (12-5) won the first matchup, defeating Tampa Bay 20-6 on the road back in Week 6. That started a four-game skid, but the Buccaneers turned things around in a big way, winning five of their last six to claim the division title.

Then came Monday night, a 32-9 rout of the Philadelphia Eagles highlighted by Baker Mayfield’s stellar performance (337 passing yards, three touchdowns) with plenty of defensive help. Tampa not only held the Eagles to 42 rushing yards, but they were shut out on third and fourth down (combined 0-for-11).Detroit had to work harder for its wild-card victory. The Lions built an early 21-10 lead before the offense bogged down. The defense did its part, holding the Rams to a pair of field goals in the second half before coming up with a critical stop late in the fourth quarter.

Jared Goff was efficient (22-of-27 for 277 yards and a touchdown), but the offense managed only a field goal over the final five drives, and Detroit was outgained by nearly 100 yards (425 to 334). David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs each had a rushing touchdown but otherwise combined for 82 yards on 22 carries. That production must improve against a Bucs defense that has been strong against the run all season.

Another concern for Detroit is the health of Pro Bowl tight end Sam LaPorta. He was questionable with a knee injury entering last week but ended up playing. He caught Goff’s lone touchdown pass but wasn’t 100 percent. If he can gut it out once again, his presence will take some of the defensive attention off Amon-Ra St. Brown, who led the team with seven catches for 110 yard in the wild-card round. LaPorta is questionable for the game.

As impressive as Mayfield looked in slicing up Philadelphia’s defense, the encouraging sign has to be that he didn’t do all of his damage by throwing to Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Instead, tight end Cade Otton led the way with 89 yards on eight catches while wide receivers David Moore and Trey Palmer each caught touchdown passes that covered 40-plus yards.

Mayfield’s ability to spread the ball around will put more pressure on a Lions defense that gave up 367 passing yards to the Rams. It also could help open up a few more holes for Rachaad White, although Detroit continued its strong showing against the run (No. 2 in regular season) by limiting Los Angeles to 68 yards on 17 carries. Either way, Mayfield must be wary of Aidan Hutchinson, who had two sacks in his postseason debut.

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