DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Lions are the fourth team in NFL history to open a year with two straight playoff rematches.
And they’ll be hoping to end the season just as the other three teams did — by winning a league championship.
The Lions (1-0) will play Tampa Bay (1-0) on Sunday at home, a week after hosting the Los Angeles Rams.
Detroit coach Dan Campbell expects the Buccaneers and Rams to contend for division championships, potentially setting up tiebreaker scenarios for playoff positioning in four months.
“You get an early one and you just don’t know what this is going to mean down the road,” Campbell said. “If you can put some money in the bank early in the season, it will pay big dividends.”
The 2007 New England Patriots, 1984 San Francisco 49ers and 1966 Green Bay Packers won NFL titles after starting seasons with two consecutive games against postseason opponents from the previous year.
Detroit beat the Bucs 31-23 in the divisional round in January at home after a 20-6 win last October on the road.
“Looking back and seeing the shots that we missed, it’s frustrating to see,” Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield said. “But I’m excited about the group that we have and going in to see how we handle this adversity, the environment and all that.”
Staying power
The Bucs, who routed Washington 37-20 in Week 1, are the only NFC team that made the playoffs in each of the past four seasons.
After losing to the Lions, their focus shifted to keeping the core of a roster that has won three straight NFC South titles.
Tampa Bay re-signed Mayfield to a $100 million, three-year contract and kept the franchise’s receiving leader Mike Evans off the market with a $41 million, two-year deal. All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr. signed a four-year, $84 million contract and Pro Bowl left tackle Tristan Wirfs was retained with a $140.63 million, five-year deal, earning record-breaking deals for their positions.
“This is going to be a good test for us,” Campbell said.
Switching sides
Detroit was determined to improve at cornerback in the offseason and the makeover began by acquiring veteran Carlton Davis from Tampa Bay for a third-round draft pick.
While the 27-year-old Davis did not expect to get traded, he’s not bitter.
“It’s a business,” he said. “I do have a lot of love for those guys over there, but on Sunday it’s football. There’s no friends on the field and there won’t be on Sunday.”
The Lions, whose pass defense was a weakness last season, went on to sign veteran Amik Robertson in March. In the NFL draft, they selected Terrion Arnold in the first round and Ennis Rakestraw in the second round.
Fresh start
Liam Coen had quite a debut as Tampa Bay’s offensive coordinator. Mayfield threw for 289 yards and four touchdowns against the Commanders, producing points on seven of eight drives he played. Coen, a former Rams assistant, was brought in from the University of Kentucky after former offensive coordinator Dave Canales was hired to lead the Carolina Panthers.
The offense is designed to get the ball out of Mayfield’s hand quickly on passes.
“It’s a great job of him processing and throwing to the right guys and getting rid of the ball and those guys getting open and the O-line blocking for him,” Bucs coach Todd Bowles said.
Detroit debut
Lions defensive tackle DJ Reader, a key offseason acquisition, is expected to play after missing Week 1 with a leg injury.
“When you add DJ, the neighborhood gets a little tougher,” Detroit defensive line coach Terrell Williams said.
The 30-year-old Reader has 96 career starts as a run-stopping force for Cincinnati and Houston. He will play next to an emerging standout, defensive tackle Alim McNeill, and defensive end Aidan Hutchinson.
“We want to be feared,” McNeill said. “We want to be violent.”
Pivotal plays
Tampa Bay had an NFL-high 69.2% conversion rate on third down last week. Detroit, meanwhile, was 6 of 13 on third down in Week 1.
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