The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were dead in the water two-thirds of the way through the 2023 NFL season. They've turned it around completely and now are moving on in the NFL playoffs.
On Monday night, the Buccaneers finished burying the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card round. It was a largely dominant performance for the Bucs even though it was only a seven-point game at the half.
In the second half, Tampa's defense forced a safety and Baker Mayfield tossed touchdown passes to Trey Palmer and Chris Godwin to put things out of reach.
Who is up next?
Tampa Bay Buccaneers will play the Detroit Lions next in the NFL Playoffs
The two feel-good stories of the NFL postseason will duke it out in the Divisional Round as the Buccaneers take on the Detroit Lions on Sunday, Jan. 21 at 3:00 p.m. ET.
This time, the Bucs will be on the road, traveling to Ford Field with hopes of making the NFC Championship Game.
Tampa Bay and Detroit met once already this season. On Oct. 15, the Lions pulled away for a 20-6 victory at Raymond James Stadium. After taking a 10-3 lead into halftime, Jameson Williams broke free for a 45-yard touchdown late in the third quarter and Riley Patterson booted in a fourth-quarter field goal to put a cherry on top of the winning scoreline.
Baker Mayfield and the Bucs offense struggled to get anything going on that day. The quarterback was 19-of-37 for 206 yards and a touchdown while the rushing attack was limited to 2.9 yards per carry.
On the other side of things, Jared Goff and Amon-Ra St. Brown ruled the day. Goff was 30-of-44 for a season-high 353 yards and two touchdowns. St. Brown caught 12 passes for 124 yards and a score.
Tampa Bay will look to flip the script when they meet again with even more on the line.