Detroit Lions one win from first Super Bowl after beating Tampa Bay Bucs, 31-23
The Detroit Lions scored touchdowns on three consecutive possessions in the second half Sunday to hold off the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 31-23 at Ford Field, moving one win from their first Super Bowl appearance.
The No. 3 seed Lions will play the No. 1 seed San Francisco 49ers at 6:30 p.m. next Sunday at Levi's Stadium in the NFC championship game, the winner advancing to Super Bowl 58 in Las Vegas. It's the second time the Lions are one win from a Super Bowl, losing 41-10 to Washington in the 1991 season in the NFC title game.
Jared Goff and Baker Mayfield, in a battle of former No. 1 overall picks, each had standout quarterbacking games, with Goff throwing for two scores and Mayfield throwing for three with two interceptions. Derrick Barnes had the game-sealing pick with 1:33 remaining.
Craig Reynolds (1-yard) and Jahmyr Gibbs (31 yards) each scored second-half rushing touchdowns for the Lions, with Reynolds' coming on fourth-and-goal late in the third quarter. The 4-seed Bucs, six-point underdogs, never led.
The Bucs got the ball back after a defensive stop with 1:59 remaining from their own 10-yard line, but on the second play, Mayfield was intercepted over the middle by Barnes, a third-year linebacker.
Jonah Jackson, the Lions' starting left guard, exited in the first half with a knee injury. The Bucs lost cornerback Jamel Dean (lower back) in the second half.
This story will be updated. Stay tuned to freep.com/sports for all your Detroit sports coverage.
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions one win from first Super Bowl after beating Bucs, 31-23
