Unsung heroes Craig Reynolds, Derrick Barnes are why Detroit Lions can get to Super Bowl

Running back Craig Reynolds had one carry for 1 yard, which happened to be for a pivotal touchdown.

Linebacker Derrick Barnes defended one pass — his first of the season — that also happened be the game-clinching interception in the Detroit Lions’ 31-23 NFC divisional-round win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday at Ford Field.

We can talk about Jared Goff’s redemption and excellent play. We can speak of Frank Ragnow, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Aidan Hutchinson in mythological ways usually reserved for folk heroes like Paul Bunyan, Robin Hood and the Incredible Hulk.

But Reynolds and Barnes are real people and epitomize a different kind of hero for the Lions, namely the unsung variety. Lower draft picks, or guys who weren’t even drafted. Special-teamers who help on the periphery as well as on offense or defense.

A winning football team definitely needs stars who perform at the highest level in the biggest moments, but it also needs players like Reynolds and Barnes. They aren’t the most obvious playmakers. They’re sometimes overlooked by opponents. But their contributions are part of the reason why the Lions stand a chance of beating the top-seeded San Francisco 49ers in next week’s NFC championship game.

“I think it kind of goes back to kind of what I was saying of everyone’s brought in here for a reason,” quarterback Jared Goff said, “and Barnes and Craig are perfect examples of guys that haven’t had the necessarily flash plays all year.

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“But they’ve been kind of waiting in the weeds for their chance and practice hard and do everything right and then show up on time and continue to do everything right for moments like that. And happy for those guys. Man, they deserve it, just as much as anyone else and played well.”

In their own way, Reynolds and Barnes represented two major accomplishments for the Lions in their seminal victory that sent them to the franchise’s second NFC title game. Reynolds’ TD represented the Lions’ ability to run the ball against a dominant run defense. Barnes’ interception presented the ability of much-maligned defense to step up, make plays and make a difference.

Reynolds is the Lions’ third-string, undrafted, free-agent running back who is overshadowed by his more talented and flashier teammates, Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery. That’s why the Bucs probably thought on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line, with the score tied at 10 and both offenses struggling late in the third quarter, the Lions would only put Reynolds in the backfield to protect Goff, instead of taking his first handoff since October.

But Reynolds took the ball and burst up the middle through the hole center Frank Ragnow cleared for him like a snowplow moving a foot of fresh powder.

“We’ve got a lot of faith in Craig,” coach Dan Campbell said. “Craig’s a good downhill runner and it just — it was kind of what we had packaged for him. So, it wasn’t — it was just one of those things. I wouldn’t read anything into it.”

This is just a guess, but I get the feeling Campbell doesn’t want anyone to think too much about a play and a package he might use again.

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Barnes’ play was also just as unlikely, made by a converted defensive end at Purdue too small, at 6 feet, to play the position in the NFL. He became a bit of a project, never starting more than six games in each of his two previous seasons.

“Derrick, he’s one of our guys that we drafted in the first year here and he was a later bloom, later bloomer guy,” Campbell said of the 2021 fourth-round pick. “It took him a little bit and then he really came on this season and he’s playing at a high level and just to see him — one of the biggest areas he’s grown at, not only just being able to up his level of play on defense but his psyche.”

Barnes took Malcolm Rodriguez’s starting spot this year and made steady if unspectacular and consistent plays. He was one of the few defensive players who wasn’t penalized all season.

“Something bad happens, something doesn’t quite go the way you want it to, man, he’s able to bounce back in a big way and it doesn’t affect him negatively,” Campbell said. “Man, he just — he keeps going. That’s where I feel the most growth and it’s why he’s playing at a high level. But that was a — what a huge play.”

The Bucs trailed, 31-23, and got the ball at their 10-yard line with 1:59 left after a Lions punt. After a short gain, Tampa Bay faced second-and-5 when Baker Mayfield targeted tight end Cade Otton in the middle of the field. Barnes was guarding him in man-to-man coverage. He drifted back and threw his hands up as the ball was about to reach Otton. Barnes grabbed the ball and fell to the ground as the crowd came to its feet.

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“He’s one of those guys that just plugs away every day, every day,” Hutchinson said. “He deserves the world, and I’m so happy for him. There’s not enough words to describe how happy I am for him, and him having his moment in the biggest game so far of all our careers.”

Barnes was so excited, he didn’t remember the celebration after his play. He didn’t even remember how he got back to the bench.

The answer was easy, because it was the same way he finally came off the bench this year. He did it with the rest of his defensive teammates after proving he belonged next to them.

Contact Carlos Monarrez: cmonarrez@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @cmonarrez.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Stars? Sure. But unsung heroes can push Detroit Lions to Super Bowl