From left, former Detroit Lions running back Barry Sanders stands with musicians Eminem and Big Sean and former receiver Calvin Johnson during pregame of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Los Angeles Rams victory on Jan. 14 in Detroit.
Paul Sancya | AP
DETROIT — Eminem stood alongside Pro Football Hall of Famers Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson before the Detroit Lions hosted a playoff game for the first time in three decades, soaking up an electric atmosphere at Ford Field.
“The energy in the building was amazing,” Johnson said in a telephone interview, taking a break from snowboarding in Utah. “You could feel it. I wish we could’ve had that kind of experience.”
He’s not alone.
Detroit was an NFL powerhouse a long time ago, winning three league titles from 1952 to 1957 in the pre-Super Bowl era, and the franchise had only one postseason win and that was with Sanders in the backfield 32 years ago and didn’t have success after the regular season with Johnson catching passes from Matthew Stafford.
Until last Sunday’s victory.
The Lions beat the Stafford-led Los Angeles Rams 24-23 in a wild-card game that whipped the crowd into so much of a frenzy that the decibels were almost as loud as a jet engine.
Detroit’s party might get kicked up a notch.
The Lions are hosting Tampa Bay on Sunday, playing a second home playoff game in one postseason for the first time in team history.
Singer Bob Seger, actor Jeff Daniels, actor, writer and producer Keegan-Michael Key — all from Michigan — are expected to attend the divisional game along with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and one of the team’s biggest fans: Eminem.
The rapper has expressed himself and shared his fandom recently on Instagram, saying his New Year’s resolution was for the Lions to win the Super Bowl and asking Stafford for a favor.
“Can you just let us have this one?” Eminem asked in a post last week.
Now, Eminem is playfully asking coach Dan Campbell to put him in the game.
“I’m going to be there that night,” Eminem said. “I will suit up, and I will score us the winning touchdown in the third quarter.”
If Detroit, which is favored by almost a touchdown by FanDuel Sportsbook, beats the Buccaneers, it will move a step closer to potentially reaching the Super Bowl for the first time.
While there are scores of long-suffering fans in the Motor City, it has also attracted some new ones and engaged with them in the digital age.
Sweta Patel, who was born in India and lives in suburban Detroit, didn’t know what a first down was about a decade ago. The 41-year-old Patel has developed her knowledge of the game and affinity for the organization thanks to some interactions on social media and in person as a season-ticket holder.
When she posted on social media about having knee surgery, Lions players wished her a speedy recovery. When Patel shared that she had a miscarriage in 2021, she heard from Campbell himself shortly after he was hired.
“He’s just a man of the people,” she said. “His voice was almost cracking in that video, and it just really brought some comfort to me.”
Mike McCord and millions more in Michigan have waited a long time for their favorite team to bring them joy.
The 68-year-old McCord was a toddler when his late father, Darris, a Pro Bowl defensive lineman, helped Detroit beat Cleveland at Briggs Stadium, which was later known as Tiger Stadium, for the NFL title in 1957.
McCord began attending games six-plus decades ago and his family has had season tickets for more than a half-century, passing the passion for the Honolulu Blue and Silver down to his 36-year-old daughter, Riley.
“It’s been a long 50 years,” he said. “We’ve been through thick and thin — mostly thin.”
The Lions hit rock bottom in 2008, becoming the NFL’s first 0-16 team, during the worst nine-season stretch in the league since World War II. During a particularly putrid stretch of futility, football historians had to go back to the Dayton Triangles during the 1920s to find a team that lost so often.
When coach Matt Patricia was fired during the 2020 season, Mike McCord was ready to give up his tickets on the 40-yard line in the 22nd row behind Detroit’s bench.
McCord’s daughter, hoping to seal the deal to renew the family’s four tickets, had a custom coffee cup made with the words “One More Year” under the team’s logo.
“We didn’t know what that next season was going to look like,” Riley McCord said. “So, I got that cup.”
Team owner Sheila Ford Hamp began to turn the team around three years ago when she finally landed a winning combination in the front office and on the sideline, hiring general manager Brad Holmes and Campbell.
The Lions built momentum by closing the last season with eight wins over the last 10 games and lived up to unusually high expectations in 2023, tying a franchise record with 12 wins in the regular season and earning a division title for the first time in three decades.
“Detroit’s a great sports town,” McCord said. “We’ve seen the Tigers win it. We’ve seen the Pistons win it. We’ve seen the Red Wings win it. We’ve seen a lot of good things, but never from our Lions.
“We hope this is the year to finally relieve that pain, and I think they could do it. That’s the good thing. We’re still in it, and we could go all the way.”
TAMPA BAY (10-8) at DETROIT (13-5)
Sunday, 3 p.m. EST, NBC
OPENING LINE: Lions by 6 1/2, per FanDuel Sportsbook.
AGAINST THE SPREAD: Bucs 12-5-1, Lions 12-6.
SERIES RECORD: Lions lead 32-29.
LAST MEETING: Lions beat Bucs 20-6 Oct. 15, 2023, in Tampa Bay.
LAST WEEK: Bucs beat Eagles 32-9, Lions beat Rams 24-23.
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Rams minus-3; Lions minus-1.
BUCCANEERS OFFENSE: OVERALL (23), RUSH (32), PASS (17), SCORING (20).
BUCCANEERS DEFENSE: OVERALL (23), RUSH (5), PASS (29), SCORING (7)
LIONS OFFENSE: OVERALL (3), RUSH (5), PASS (2), SCORING (5).
LIONS DEFENSE: OVERALL (19), RUSH (2), PASS (27), SCORING (23).
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Buccaneers plus-8; Lions even.
BUCCANEERS PLAYER TO WATCH: QB Baker Mayfield. He resurrected his career, leading Tampa Bay to a third straight NFC South title and a franchise-record fourth consecutive playoff berth. He threw for career highs of 4,044 yards and 28 touchdowns while also cutting down on costly mistakes that undermined him in previous stops with Cleveland, Carolina and Los Angeles Rams. The No. 1 overall pick from the 2018 draft threw for 337 yards and three TDs in last week’s 32-9 wild-card victory over Philadelphia, becoming the first Bucs QB to throw for 300-plus yards and three touchdowns in a playoff game.
LIONS PLAYER TO WATCH: QB Jared Goff. General manager Brad Holmes had faith Goff would be more than a stopgap when he acquired him and a pair of first-round picks for him from the Rams for Stafford three years ago. Goff has validated the move, guiding Detroit to 21 wins in its past 28 games. He completed his first 10 passes and finished 22 of 27 with 277 yards and a TD to rookie TE Sam LaPorta on a fourth down last week. If Goff throws at least 20 passes and completes 75% or more of his attempts, he will be the first player in NFL history to do that in three straight playoff games, including his finale with the Rams in the 2020 season.
KEY MATCHUP: Detroit’s running game against Tampa Bay’s defense. The Lions are looking forward to playing the Bucs with RBs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs after the veteran was hurt in the second quarter and the rookie missed the game with an injury three months ago. The duo, running behind a strong offensive line, has helped Detroit flourish on the ground with 135.9 yards rushing per game. The Bucs have been one of the league’s best against the run, giving up just 95.3 yards rushing per game.
KEY INJURIES: The Bucs are as healthy as they’ve been all season, although Mayfield has sore ribs and played through an ankle injury the past two games. … Lions LB Alex Anzalone was limited in practice after playing with shoulder and rib injuries last week. … Punt returner and receiver Kalif Raymond may miss a second straight game with a knee injury.
SERIES NOTES: Goff threw for a season-high 353 yards and two TDs in the most recent meeting, connecting with WR Amon-Ra St. Brown 12 times for 124 yards and a score in a Week 6 win at Tampa Bay. That began a stretch in which the Bucs lost six of seven to fall to 4-7 before rallying to win five of the last six games in the regular season. … Tampa Bay beat Detroit 20-10 on Dec. 28, 1997, in a wild-card game in the franchise’s only previous postseason matchup.
STATS AND STUFF: Detroit is the No. 3 and Tampa Bay is the No. 4 seed in the NFC playoffs. … The Lions won the NFC North, and the Bucs won the NFC South. … The Bucs are the only team in the conference that has made the playoffs each of the past four seasons. They’ve won six postseason games since 2020, trailing only Kansas City’s total of eight playoff wins. … Mayfield, who’s with his fourth team in six seasons, is 2-1 in three playoff starts. He’s one of three QBs — along with Jordan Love and Brock Purdy — who had 15 or more TD passes on the road this season. … WR Mike Evans had 10 receptions for 181 yards and two TDs the previous time he faced the Lions at Ford Field late in the 2020 season. … Evans is the only player in NFL history to begin a career with 10 consecutive seasons with 1,000 yards-plus receiving. He had 79 catches for 1,255 yards and tied for the league lead with 13 TD receptions this season. … Tampa Bay’s defense is coming off one of its best performances of the season. In addition to limiting the Eagles to nine points and just 42 yards rushing in the wild-card round, Philadelphia was 0 of 9 on third down and 0 for 2 on fourth down. … Although Tampa Bay didn’t force any turnovers last week, the defense leads the league with 16 takeaways over the past four postseasons. … The Lions are coming off their first playoff win in 32 years, ending an NFL-record, nine-game postseason losing streak. … Detroit is hosting two playoff games in a season for the first time in franchise history, hoping to earn two postseason victories for the first time since winning the 1957 NFL title. … St. Brown has had 100 yards receiving or more in 10 games, including the playoffs, to lead the league. He had seven catches for 110 yards against the Rams. … Gibbs and LaPorta have combined for 23 scrimmage TDs, including the playoffs, for the highest total by a pair of rookies on a team since the 1970 merger. … LaPorta has 11 TDs and only Mike Ditka, who scored 12 times in 1961, had more TDs as a rookie TE in NFL history. … WR Josh Reynolds became the first Lion with at least 75 yards receiving in the first quarter of a postseason game against his former team last week. … DE Aidan Hutchinson has a chance to join another former Michigan star, LaMarr Woodley, as the two players to have at least a pair of sacks in their first two playoff games since sacks became an official statistic in 1982.
