It’s the question we almost thought we’d never get to ask: Is Ford Field ready for some playoff football?

Yes, it’s the Detroit Lions’ first home playoff game downtown in the stadium that opened for the 2002 season. (Though not the first NFL playoff game there — Detroit hosted Super Bowl XL in 2006.) That also makes it the first Lions playoff game within Detroit city limits since the franchise won the 1957 NFL championship at what was then called Briggs Stadium; the structure at the corner — er, The Corner — of Michigan and Trumbull wouldn’t be known as “Tiger Stadium” for another four years.

Of course, the franchise only hosted two playoff games from 1958-2001, with the Lions beating the Cowboys on Jan. 5, 1992, at the Pontiac Silverdome and then losing to the Packers on Jan. 8, 1994. How long ago was that game? Just 12 players on the Lions and Rams rosters combined were alive for that game: The Rams have Cooper Kupp, Tyler Higbee, Carson Wentz, Rob Havenstein, Aaron Donald, Brett Maher, Carson Tinker and, of course, Matthew Stafford, while the Lions have Jake McQuaide, Graham Glasgow, Teddy Bridgewater and Taylor Decker.

WATCH: Tune into Lions-Rams live with Fubo (free trial)

Still that’s all in the past, which Stafford has plenty of with the Lions; in his 12 seasons with the franchise that selected him No. 1 overall in 2009 (following 2008’s 0-16 campaign), Stafford completed 3,898 passes for 45,109 yards, 282 touchdowns and had 2,326 incompletions that include 144 interceptions — those are all Lions franchise records, and not by a little in every category.

But back to the present, or at least the past six months: The Rams won seven of their final eight games in the regular season, with the only loss coming in overtime to the Baltimore Ravens on Dec. 10, a wild game in which the Rams scored 10 points in the final 5 minutes of regulation, then gave up the winning score on a 76-yard punt return TD. (The Lions, you may remember, were decimated by the Ravens on Oct. 22 in a 38-6 rout that really wasn’t even that close.)

The Lions, meanwhile, went 5-3 over their final eight games (including that loss to the Cowboys on Dec. 30 that we still don’t really want to talk about). Over that stretch, the Lions passed for 1,994 yards — an omen?!? — with 1,109 of those yards (55.6%) coming on passes to just two Lions: Amon-Ra St. Brown (54 catches for 694 yards and six TDs) and Sam LaPorta (56 catches for 415 yards and six TDs).

The winner of tonight’s game will play next week — that much we know. But who, when and where? We won’t know that until the 4:30 p.m. game between the Cowboys and Packers game is through, but if Green Bay upsets Dallas, and the Lions win, they’d host the winner of Monday’s game between the Bucs and Eagles. If Dallas prevails, though, the Cowboys will host either the Lions or the Bucs/Eagles winner. (With a Rams win sending them on the road to play the top-seeded 49ers.) Got all that? Don’t worry, we’re pretty sure it’ll come up during NBC’s broadcast tonight.

Here's everything you need to know about this game, including time, date, TV and stream info, and more:

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What channel is Detroit Lions vs. Los Angeles Rams?

TV channel: NBC.

Streaming live: Try Fubo (free trial).

Radio: WXYT-FM (97.1) in Detroit (find all Lions radio affiliates).

The Lions host the Rams, televised by NBC. Ann Arbor resident Mike Tirico would have had a short commute to call the game ... but he spent Saturday night doing the Dolphins/Chiefs game in Kansas City. In Detroit, he'll be working with Cris Collinsworth in the booth and Melissa Stark on the sideline reporting. If you don't pay for a cable or streaming subscription, you can watch the game live on Fubo with a free trial.

Detroit Lions vs. Los Angeles Rams start time

Date: Sunday, Jan. 14.

Time: 8 p.m. ET.

Where: Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan.

Be sure to check out freep.com/sports for our live updates and analysis during and after the game.

Detroit Lions vs. Los Angeles Rams betting odds

Odds from BetMGM as of Saturday night:

Spread: Lions (-3).

Over/under: 52 points.

Moneyline: Lions (-165), Rams (+140).

Want to bet on the NFL? Find more information on legal sports gambling.

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Detroit Lions schedule 2023

A look at the Lions' regular season schedule:

Contact Ryan Ford at rford@freepress.com. Follow him on X (which used to be Twitter, y’know?) @theford.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions game today vs. Los Angeles Rams: Channel, start, TV