In Sunday's wild card battle, the two teams scored on their first three drives of the game. However, Detroit managed to hang on in the fourth quarter to secure a 24-23 victory against the Rams.
After leading 21-17 at halftime, the Lions kicked off their opening possession in the third quarter with a 54-yard field goal. However, following that, the offense froze, resulting in two punts that allowed the Rams to gain the lead.
However, similar to the rest of the season, Los Angeles struggled in the red zone. Cooper Kupp was not completed by Matthew Stafford on third-and-8 from the Detroit 11 yard line. Los Angeles could only manage a field goal from 29 yards out in order to cut Detroit's advantage to one.
Rob Havenstein was called for holding on third-and-4 from the Detroit 34 on the following drive by the Rams. The ball dropped incomplete, but no flag was given because sensational rookie receiver Puka Nacua was targeted on third-and-14 and seemed to be held when the pass came in.
Since the Rams punted the ball back to the Lions, who refused to hand it back, it was their final opportunity. After the two-minute warning, Goff completed a game-winning first down throw over the middle to Amon-Ra St. Brown for eleven yards. That was the first playoff win for the Lions since they advanced to the conference finals in 1991.
With a 7.7-yard per-play average, the Rams racked up 425 yards. In contrast to the Lions' 3-for-3 performance in the red zone, the offense went cold. The game's defining feature was that.
In the end, Goff completed 22 of 27 passes for 277 yards and a score. In the first half, he lost the ball, but the Lions were able to get it back. An offence that got 334 yards and 23 first downs was led by St. Brown, who had seven receptions for 110 yards.
With nine receptions for 181 yards, Nacua established a new rookie record for a playoff game. He scored a touchdown in the second quarter from 50 yards out.
During his time back in Detroit, Stafford was spot-on as well, throwing for 367 yards and two scores without picking off a single ball. Neither side committed a turnover in the game. Leading Detroit, Aidan Hutchinson recorded 2.0 sacks.
Next week, the Cowboys will be out on Sunday against the Packers, therefore the Lions will host Monday night's game, featuring the victor of the Eagles and Buccaneers.