All the time Derrick Barnes put into preparing for his Detroit Lions’ Divisional Round playoff game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday paid off in a big way.
Barnes made an incredible leaping interception to seal the Lions’ 31-23 win over the Bucs at Ford Field in Detroit, Mich.
The INT that sealed it for Detroit! #AllGrit pic.twitter.com/uUvFQhXEnS
— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) January 21, 2024
Barnes also had 4 tackles, but it was that great interception that fans will remember.
Barnes was asked in his postgame interview with Kaylee Hartung about his interception. He gave an in-depth description about how his preparation paid off.
“I think it’s just preparation from the coaches. Coach (Kelvin) Sheppard was on us about packing the seams and what the quarterback wanted to see. Just in that drop, I knew that the tight end wanted to be in the way from where we drop. It’s usually in between the hash and the numbers. I knew that’s where Baker Mayfield wanted to go. He showed it all week on film. When I felt that, I kinda turned back around and see his eyes trying to throw behind me, I just jumped the route,” Barnes said.
Teammate Aidan Hutchinson teased Barnes about giving such a descriptive “football” answer, but Barnes said he wanted to show off his IQ.
The point is that players spend tons of time preparing, watching their opponents, and looking for tendencies that will help them when the game comes. In this case, all of that studying paid off in a huge way for Barnes. It helped him make an incredible play that sent his Lions to the NFC Championship Game.
