The Detroit Lions are the fourth team in NFL history to begin a season with two consecutive rematches from the playoffs.
They will be hoping to finish the season like the other three teams that did this — by winning a league championship.
The Lions (1-0) will face Tampa Bay (1-0) at home on Sunday, after playing the Los Angeles Rams the previous week.
Detroit coach Dan Campbell believes both the Buccaneers and Rams will compete for division titles, which could create tiebreaker situations for playoff spots later in the season.
“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 all won NFL titles after starting their seasons with two games against playoff teams from the previous year.
Detroit defeated the Buccaneers 31-23 in the divisional round at home in January, following a 20-6 win on the road last October.
“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.”
