Our staff makes their picks and predictions for the NFC Divisional Round game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Detroit Lions.
The Detroit Lions and Tampa Bay Buccaneers meet on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. ET for a chance to advance to the NFC Championship Game. The San Francisco 49ers are waiting there after their exciting victory over the Green Bay Packers on Saturday evening.
The Lions are hoping to reach their second NFC title game in franchise history after the team has already had a historically good season. The Buccaneers largely played a minor role this year, narrowly escaping the poor NFC South as winners. However, they've turned it into a nice little series here, winning six of their last seven games.
But the Lions have faced hot teams before and cooled them down considerably. Consider the Denver Broncos, who had won six of seven games before the Lions eliminated them on a Saturday night. Or the Los Angeles Rams, who won seven of eight games last week before the Lions sent them packing.
Will the Lions be able to defeat another streaking team or will their magical season end here?
Here are our expert picks for Lions vs. Buccaneers:
Brandon Knapp (16-2): 27-17 Lions
Ryan Mathews (14-4): 35-24 lions
Alex Reno (14-4): Lions win
Jerry Mallory (13-4): 27-17 Lions
Kellie Rowe (13-5): 31-28 lions
Meko Scott (13-5): 27-13 Lions
Jeremy Reisman (13-5): 27-23 Lions (paper preview)
Morgan Cannon (12-6): Lions 31-20
Erik Schlitt (12-6): Lions 28-23 (10 keys to victory)
Kyle Yost (12-6): Lions 28-21
Hamza Baccouche (12-6): 28-23 lions
John Whiticar (10-8): 33-27 lions
Chris Perfett (0-0-18): I'm just happy to be there
Check out all of our divisional round picks here.
Now it's time for you to make all your predictions. Choose the winner in the poll below. Then scroll down to the comments section and share your outcome prediction!
GO LIONS!
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