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Lions advance to first NFC title game since 1991 season with win vs. Buccaneers

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By Larry Holder, Colton Pouncy and Mike Jones

This is only the second time in NFL history that this statement is true: the Detroit Lions are one win away from a spot in the Super Bowl.

The Lions pulled away in the fourth quarter after both teams flip-flopped through the first three quarters as Detroit defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-23 in the NFC divisional round on Sunday at Ford Field.

Detroit travels to face the San Francisco 49ers next Sunday in the NFC Championship at Levi's Stadium. The Niners defeated the Green Bay Packers in Saturday's divisional round.

This will be the Lions' second NFC Championship Game appearance of the Super Bowl era. Detroit fell to Washington in its first appearance in the 1991 season.

Rookie tailback Jahmyr Gibbs darted through the middle of the offensive line and then took his swing to the left for a 31-yard touchdown run with 13:13 left in the game to push the Lions ahead 24-17. Then Detroit sealed it when Jared Goff hit Amon-Ra St. Brown for a 9-yard TD pass, making it 31-17 with 6:22 left.

Goff went 30 of 43 passing for 287 yards with two touchdowns, resulting in a passer rating of 103.5.

The Bucs managed to cut the lead to 31-23 on the next possession when Baker Mayfield found Mike Evans for a 16-yard TD pass at the 4:41 mark. The two-point conversion attempt failed. However, Lions linebacker Derrick Barnes picked off Mayfield with 1:33 remaining to thwart any comeback.

The Lions' fourth-quarter scoring streak erased the trend from the first 45 minutes.

Detroit's Craig Reynolds punched in a 1-yard touchdown run on fourth down to put Detroit up 17-10 with 3:48 left in the third quarter. Mayfield helped Tampa Bay tie the ensuing possession with a second game-tying TD by hitting Rachaad White on a screen pass for a 12-yard scoring connection.

Mayfield went 26 of 41 passing for 349 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions for a passer rating of 94.5. Evans racked up eight receptions for 147 yards and one touchdown.

The back-and-forth scoring trend started in the first half. Detroit broke a 3-3 tie when Goff hit Josh Reynolds on a crossing route for a 9-yard touchdown connection early in the second quarter.

The Athletic has live coverage of Chiefs vs. Bills in the AFC Divisional Round matchup

Then Evans added consecutive catches of 27 and 29 yards from Mayfield with less than a minute left to put the Bucs at the 2. Mayfield capped a 92-yard drive by finding Cade Otton on the next play for a TD grab from 2 yards to make It was 10-10 heading into halftime.

Lions fans, this is happening!

The Lions are going to the NFC Championship. Yes, you read that correctly.

Those Lions are one win away from a Super Bowl appearance. They are in this position because they took care of business against the Buccaneers and did everything they needed to. The offense put up 31 points, kept its foot on the gas pedal and capitalized in the red zone. The defense kept the Lions in this until the offense was ready, closing out the play on a Barnes interception. That was a complete playoff win for this Lions team. Detroit is moving forward.

The Lions face their biggest test yet as they travel to San Francisco to take on the 49ers. It won't be easy going up against Christian McCaffrey and the NFC's No. 1 seed, but these Lions believe they can play and win anywhere, against anyone. Next week we'll see what they have in store. — Colton Pouncy, Lions beat writer

GO DEEPER

Lions win playoff games and change the perception of what they can achieve

Tampa Bay's valiant fight comes to nothing

Tampa Bay put up a valiant fight, but just couldn't come up with the stops needed to catch the Lions in the fourth quarter. And then Detroit's defense stepped up in a big way with the interception to seal the game. Detroit was simply the better team. This match felt – especially in the second half – like a prize fight, but the Lions were the slightly more skilled and slightly more talented fighter and had the upper hand.

This one will sting for Mayfield for a while, but he delivered some very sharp plays under pressure for the Bucs and gave them a chance until that final possession. — Mike Jones, National NFL Writer

Required reading

(Photo: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

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