One week after a historic NFL Wildcard playoff win for the Detroit Lions against the Los Angeles Rams last Sunday with a score of 24-23, the Lions are hosting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers today in the NFL Divisional Round of playoffs.
Last week the Lions fans crowd seemed as loud as could be, but today's game prove otherwise as fans are even more excited to possibly see their team go into the Conference Championships.
In week six of the regular season, Detroit rolled into Tampa Bay, facing off against the same team led by the same Baker Mayfield and Mike Evans. Jared Goff led the Lions to a 20-6 victory with 353 passing yards and two passing touchdowns. Of those 353 passing yards, 124 of those -- and one receiving touchdown -- was hauled in by the lions leading receiver, Amon-Ra St. Brown. Lions fans hope to see a performance like that again today, especially as Jared Goff has been playing well recently.
Michigan State senior and life-long Lions fan Joshua Alcock has waited eagerly for the Lions to succeed as they have done. However, Alcock recognized the team they are up against and knows it will not be just another walk in the park, but instead a hard-fought and nail-biting game.
“The lions defense is in a good spot and I think getting (Chauncey Gardner-Johnson) back is huge for our secondary,” Alcock said. “I trust our defensive line, I’m a little worried about (Alex) Anzalone not being able to play because he is a huge part of our defense.”
Anzalone, the Lions leading tackler, left late last game against the Rams with an apparent injury, was not listed in the injury report and will suit up to play today against the Buccaneers most likely. Alcock predicts a narrow win for the Lions with a high scoring affair, predicting a 31-24 Lions victory.
“The lions (will) win by a touchdown,” Alock said. “The scary thing about the Bucs is that with many weapons -- and Baker Mayfield playing well -- they can score at almost any time. However, I think they will score often but not as much as us.”
Season ticket holder Trevor Tuttle expressed what this success means for Lions fans, especially with Detroit's long history of being playoff win-less for over 30 years.
“It is something I have never experienced before," Tuttle said. "I have been going to games for as long as I can remember and seeing this success that we have never achieved before is awesome.”
Lions fans have had a string of terrible seasons, going 0-16 in 2008, a team that Dan Campbell was playing Tight End for. The fans have anxiously waited for an opportunity of this magnitude, and it could finally happen this season.
“The fans deserve this," Tuttle said. "We need to have the mentality that this shouldn’t be a one-year thing.”
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