There are quite a few interesting narratives to follow in the NFC Divisional Round as the Bucs head to Motown for a matchup with the Lions.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

First, it’ll be a rematch of the Week 6 contest between the two teams. The Lions visited Raymond James Stadium for the creamsicle game and beat the Bucs 20-6. After avenging their Week 3 loss to the Eagles by beating them in the NFC Wild Card Round, the Bucs will look to keep their revenge tour rolling in Detroit.

Another big story thread will be the fact that the Lions just won their first playoff game since the 1991 season. It was their first home playoff game since the 1993 season and they took care of business, narrowly beating the Rams by a score of 24-23. Can Detroit make it two playoff wins in two weeks, or will its playoff glory be short-lived?

Finally, there’s perhaps one of the more intriguing storylines of this game, and that’s the quarterback matchup between two former No. 1 picks who are on their own respective redemption arcs. One of those redemption arcs will continue into the NFC Championship Game next week, while the other will come to an end, at least as far as the 2023 season goes.

Bucs’ Mayfield, Lions’ Goff Both Have Impressive Comeback Stories

It’s not that both stories are exactly the same, as the two have taken different paths to where they are now. But Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield and Lions signal-caller Jared Goff are both in the midst of comebacks that would’ve once seemed improbable.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield And Lions QB Jared Goff – Photo by: USA Today

For Goff, he was the Rams’ No. 1 overall pick in 2016. Coming out of Cal, his career started unceremoniously. He threw for five touchdowns and seven interceptions as a rookie, going 0-7 as a starter. But in 2017, he was a Pro Bowler, throwing for 28 touchdowns and seven interceptions as Los Angeles went to the playoffs.

The 2018 season saw Goff throw for 32 touchdowns and 12 interceptions as the Rams went all the way to the Super Bowl, only to fall 13-3 at the hands of Tom Brady and the Patriots. Goff was a Pro Bowl selection again that year and while he took a step back to 22 touchdowns and 16 interceptions in 2019, he got the Rams back to the playoffs in 2020 before they were dumped out in the NFC Divisional Round.

That offseason, Goff was written off by the team that drafted him first overall in 2016. The Rams traded him and several picks to the Lions for quarterback Matthew Stafford. That trade paid off immediately for Los Angeles, as it won the Super Bowl in Year 1 with Stafford.

Meanwhile, Goff was in Detroit, where the team was in the very early stages of trying to rebuild. But as the Lions have gone from 3-10-1 in 2021 to 9-8 last year and 12-5 this year, Goff has been a steadying presence. He has thrown for 12,258 yards and 78 touchdowns to 27 interceptions in three years with the team, and the highlight so far came just this past week when he and the Lions beat Stafford and the Rams for Detroit’s first playoff win in over three decades.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

By now, Bucs fans are familiar with Mayfield’s story. He, like Goff, was drafted with the No. 1 overall pick, going to the Browns in the 2018 Draft. Cleveland’s awful quarterback history quickly became a thing of the past with Mayfield in town, as the former Heisman Trophy winner at Oklahoma was the PFWA Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2018 before a career year in 2020 led the Browns back to the playoffs for the first time since 2002.

Not only that, but Mayfield led the Browns to their first playoff win since the 1994 postseason. He battled injuries and inconsistency throughout 2021, though, and then Cleveland gave up on him. The Browns traded for Deshaun Watson, sexual assault and misconduct allegations and all, signaling the end of Mayfield’s tenure. They ended up shipping him to the Panthers and after things didn’t work out there early in the 2022 season, he was let go and finished the year with the Rams.

Now, this year, Mayfield has shined on a prove-it deal with the Bucs. He threw for 4,044 yards and 28 touchdowns to 10 interceptions in the regular season, helping Tampa Bay to a third straight NFC South title. Little was expected of Mayfield and the Bucs, but they reached the playoffs. The journey isn’t over, either, as his 337 yards and three touchdowns in the 32-9 Wild Card win over the Eagles now has Tampa Bay headed up to Detroit in the NFC Divisional Round.

And it’s Ford Field where Mayfield and Goff’s comeback stories will intertwine come Sunday. Both quarterbacks were made castaways by the teams who drafted them first overall and were largely counted out. But now here they are, squaring off with a trip to the NFC Championship Game on the line.