Detroit Lions Vs San Francisco 49ers: Early Preview, Watch Party

DETROIT — For the second time in franchise history, the Detroit Lions will play for a chance to go to the Super Bowl. The Lions defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-23 Sunday afternoon, earning them a spot in the NFC Championship game against the San Francisco 49ers.

The Buccaneers held their own until the Lions pulled away with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns and a game-ending interception.

"That was the type of game I envisioned against Tampa. That's an outstanding team, that's a hot team. We knew it was going to come down to the end," Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell said after the game. "We delivered body blows and ultimately, we did what we had to do to win that game."

The Lions will travel to Santa Clara to play the top-seeded 49ers next Sunday at Levi's Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m on Fox. Early weather forecasts show mostly cloudy skies with temperatures in the 60s at kickoff.

After Sunday's victory, the Lions announced they will be hosting a watch party at Ford Field. Tickets for the watch party go on sale Monday at 3 p.m. (pre-sale will be available at 10 a.m. for Lions Loyal Members), according to Ticketmaster.

The Lions suffered a couple of key injuries in Sunday's victory, including two starting offensive linemen: guard Jonah Jackson, center Frank Ragnow and tight-end Brock Wright. Ragnow returned to the game after injuring his knee, while Jackson (knee) and Wright (forearm) did not return.

The Lions could be without Jackson and Wright for the NFC Championship game, while Ragnow should be able to go. If Wright can't go, that leaves the Lions with just Sam LaPorta, who's battling a knee injury, at the tight-end position.

The 49ers, who had to complete a fourth-quarter come back to defeat the Green Bay Packers in Santa Clara on Saturday, also suffered a key injury in Deebo Samuel. Samuel suffered a shoulder injury early in the game against the Packers and did not return.

Next Sunday's game will be the Lions first NFC Championship game since they lost to the Washington Redskins 41-10 in the 1991 season. The Lions are one of just four teams to have never played in the Super Bowl (Texans, Jaguars and Browns).