Detroit Lions vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Old NFC Central mates had epic rivalry in past

The Detroit Lions and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who'll face each other in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs on Sunday, have a long history with one another and will enter another chapter in that relationship this weekend.

The Lions host the Bucs at Ford Field on Sunday, trying to win two games in a single postseason for the first time in the Super Bowl era and make it to the NFC championship game for just the second time ever. The Buccaneers, meanwhile, are trying to return to the NFC title game for the first time since 2021.

The two teams met twice a year when they both called the NFC Central home, until NFL realignment. They've met 61 times in all, with the Lions holding a 32-29 advantage in the series (including the most recent meeting, won by the Lions back in October).

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Most of the series' matchups came before the 2002 realignment which created the NFC North and South divisions, but the Lions have played the Buccaneers 12 times since then. They've split those games with six wins apiece.

Here is a look at five major games through the rivalry:

Oct. 15, 2023: Lions 20, Buccaneers 6

The most recent matchup between these teams happened just three months ago during the early stages of this season. The 4-1 Lions visited Tampa to face the 3-1 Buccaneers.

The Lions’ defense was the story, holding the Buccaneers to just two field goals to move Detroit to 5-1, which was tied for the best record in the league at the time. The Lions held Tampa to 251 yards of offense, including just 46 yards rushing, while forcing one turnover (which led to a field goal). Tampa quarterback Baker Mayfield completed 19 of 37 passes for 206 yards and an interception.

Injuries hindered the offense, which put up its third-lowest point total of the season, but the Lions were able to strike on big passing plays: Jared Goff was 30-for-44 for a season-high 353 yards and two touchdowns. Amon-Ra St. Brown, who finished with 12 catches for 124 yards, had one of the scores, and Jameson Williams, in his second game back from a gambling suspension, had the other.

The Lions were without running back Jahmyr Gibbs and left guard Jonah Jackson in the matchup, then lost David Montgomery mid-game with a rib injury and only gained 40 rushing yards against Tampa’s tough-nosed front seven. They were also without defensive backs C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Brian Branch in the first matchup.

Dec. 26, 2020: Buccaneers 47, Lions 7

The Matt Patricia era feels like forever ago when talking about the Lions; one of the most humiliating defeats from that era came against the Buccaneers. A month after Patricia and general manager Bob Quinn were fired, the Lions faced the Tom Brady-led Bucs, who delivered a 40-point walloping in the next-to-last game of the 2020 season.

The Lions entered the game with five coaches in quarantine due to COVID-19 contact tracing, including interim head coach Darrell Bevell and defensive coordinator Cory Undlin. That forced receivers coach Robert Prince to take over as interim head coach, with assistant Evan Rothstein calling defensive plays and quarterbacks coach Sean Ryan calling plays on offense.

The Buccaneers jumped all over the shorthanded Lions from the jump to go up 34-0 at halftime, the third-worst halftime deficit in franchise history. Brady completed 22 of 27 passes for 348 yards and four touchdowns before giving way to Blaine Gabbert at the start of the third quarter, and the Bucs set franchise records for points (34), total yards (410) and passing yards (341) in a first half.

Matthew Stafford left with an ankle injury in the first quarter, giving way to veteran backup Chase Daniel, and the Lions' offense was kept out of the end zone. Jamal Agnew scored the Lions’ only points on a 74-yard punt return touchdown.

Dec. 28, 1997: Buccaneers 20, Lions 10

Once upon a time, the Bucs were as equally inept a franchise as the Lions. And yet, for one season, the two met in the wild-card round of the playoffs. For the Lions, the wild-card team, it was their fourth playoff appearance in five seasons; but the Bucs, as NFC Central champs, were making their first trip to the postseason since 1982. They came away with a postseason win for the first time since 1979 (their fourth season of existence).

The Lions and Bucs split the two regular-season matchups, but the Bucs proved superior in the rubber match. Barry Sanders, who was fresh off his MVP campaign of 2,053 yards and 11 touchdowns, was held in check by Tampa Bay’s defense: 65 yards on 18 carries (and five catches for 43 yards). The only touchdown came from reserve running back Tommy Vardell — to be expected from the back nicknamed "Touchdown Tommy" — after the game was already out of reach.

The Bucs built a 20-0 lead in the third quarter as quarterback Scott Mitchell struggled. He left on a stretcher late in the quarter with his neck immobilized after a scary hit — he failed to slide on a third-down scramble. He was replaced by Frank Reich, who finished the game 11-for-15 for 129 yards. Mitchell, who never quite clicked on his five-year free-agent deal, played just two games for the Lions the next season before being replaced by rookie Charlie Batch, an Eastern Michigan alumnus. The Buccaneers’ final touchdown came on a 31-yard run from burly running back Mike Alstott, who powered through three defenders on his way to the end zone.

Oct. 12, 1997: Lions 27, Buccaneers 9

Sanders had plenty of highlights that are permanently seared into the brains of Detroit fans, particularly from the 1997 season, but his move on Bucs Hall of Fame safety John Lynch is safely near the top of the list.

In the second of three matchups in 1997, Sanders ran for 215 yards and two TDs (and added a 7-yard catch for a TD in the fourth quarter). The highlight was delivered in the first quarter, as Sanders cut back and met Lynch in the hole. Lynch, a two-time All-Pro and nine-time Pro-Bowler known for his bone-rattling hits, lowered to meet Sanders, but Detroit’s Hall of Famer juked him out and raced for an 80-yard touchdown to put the Lions ahead, 7-3.

Sanders was far from done: In the third quarter, soon after a Jason Hanson field goal put the Lions ahead 10-9, the Lions found the end zone on another epic TD from Sanders. This time, Sanders broke an 82-yard touchdown run, the third-longest rush of his career, on an outside run in which he made one Buc miss at the line of scrimmage and another along the right sideline before cutting back up midfield, putting the Lions ahead, 17-9.

Nov. 13, 1994: Lions 14, Buccaneers 9

Sanders delivered plenty of indelible moments against Tampa Bay, including setting his single-game career high during the teams' Week 11 game, their second matchup of the season. Sanders grabbed 237 yards on 26 carries to power Detroit to a 5-5 record.

In the first quarter, Sanders was kept in check: four carries for 6 yards as Tampa held a 3-0 lead. He picked up 31 yards on five more carries in the second half, foreshadowing what was to come, but the Bucs still led, 3-0, at halftime.

He topped his first-half total on the Lions' first drive alone, carrying them down the field to a touchdown with six rushes for 40 yards on the nine-play drive. The Bucs responded with a field goal to make it 7-6, but the Lions responded with a three-play drive, largely sparked by a 69-yard Sanders run, to make it 14-6. The Lions did not score again, but the defense held and Sanders was able to kill the clock with nine rushes in the fourth quarter, which included a 48-yard gain. In 20 career games against the Buccaneers, Sanders had 410 carries for 2,260 yards — an average of 5.5 yards a carry — and 16 touchdowns.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions vs. Tampa Buccaneers: 5 games from past rivals