After an NFL football game on Sunday, October 15, 2023, in Tampa, Florida, quarterbacks Baker Mayfield (6) of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Jared Goff (16) of the Detroit Lions shake hands. Jason Behnken/AP Photo
ALLEN PARK — The oddsmakers are taking note of the Detroit Lions’ 20-6 away victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers earlier in the season, which comes before this weekend’s divisional round matchup.
The Lions are favored by six points at Caesars Sportsbooks, and most of the regular suspects agree; only a few critics have the line maintained at seven points. In contrast to last week, 68% of bets placed by the general public favor the Lions returning to Ford Field, according to the Action Network.
It is important to remember the advantage of having home field. An hour before kickoff, the more than 66,000 spectators in the building were humming with excitement, and they didn’t stop until Detroit’s victory over the Los Angeles Rams in the wild-card round.
Noise in the second half led the Rams to take two timeouts, and that cost them dearly when they punted away their last opportunity with 4:15 remaining in the game.
“Hey, it was pretty much exactly what I imagined it to be. However, it was undoubtedly the best I’ve ever been a part of, according to Lions head coach Dan Campbell’s Monday statement. “I mean, that was— so much of it was the fact that the event began an hour before kickoff and consisted of just four hours of fans chanting for (Jared) Goff and just going crazy. It was just— what a special, special environment.”
Anyone who was present will never forget that, in my opinion. That’s not going to be something you talk about for the rest of your life. That was unique.
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Point being, the Buccaneers are now on a roll. To go this far, they had to destroy the Philadelphia Eagles. QB Baker Mayfield is finding ways to get the ball into the hands of his playmakers, and their defense is playing well together.
After winning six of its previous seven games, Tampa took the NFC South title. With Vita Vea blocking gaps, their defense is among the finest in the game when it comes to stopping the run. And that passing attack has been elevated to the top half of the league by Mayfield and Mike Evans.
Point being, the Buccaneers are now on a roll. To go this far, they had to destroy the Philadelphia Eagles. QB Baker Mayfield is finding ways to get the ball into the hands of his playmakers, and their defense is playing well together.
