Brian Branch figured he wouldn’t last past the first half of the first round in the 2023 NFL Draft. Instead, the Alabama defensive back didn’t get drafted until the 45th selection – 14 picks into the second round.

“The team I for sure thought was going to get me was the Commanders at 16,” Branch said during a Tuesday night appearance on NFL Network Spaces. “They told me if I’m still available at 16, they were going to get me. But I guess you can never take their word, somebody’s word. Got to let it play out.

“But, you know, everything happens for a reason, so I’m glad I’m with Detroit.”

Washington chose Mississippi State cornerback Emmanuel Forbes at No. 16, and the Lions got Branch 29 picks later.

The Commanders have a 4-9 record and have given up more points and more passing yards than any team in the NFL this season. The Lions have a 9-3 record and rank 23rd in scoring defense and 21st in passing defense after finishing 29th and 30th, respectively, among the NFL’s 32 teams last season.

“Things didn’t go my way,” Branch said about the draft. “But I feel like in the end it was God’s plan, and he landed me in Detroit right where I was supposed to be.”

Detroit holds a three-game lead in the NFC North with five games remaining on its regular-season schedule. The Lions haven’t participated in the postseason since 2016, and the division title would come with a home playoff game, something that Detroit hasn’t had since Jan. 8, 1994.

“These last five games are going to be the most important games of our lives,” Branch said. “It’s crunch time. In a way, we got to treat these games like playoff games. …

“We’re going to scratch and claw to make it happen these last five games.”

The Lions and Cleveland Browns are the only teams that have been in existence throughout the NFL’s Super Bowl era without reaching the big game. Since its most recent playoff victory on Jan. 5, 1992, Detroit has lost nine postseason games.

The Lions own four NFL championships, won in the 1935, 1952, 1953 and 1957 seasons before the Super Bowl existed.

“The goal’s the Super Bowl,” Branch said. “I feel like we can do it if everybody just really buys in to these next few games. That’s the main goal, and I feel like we got the talent to do it. We just got to do it.”

While Branch played at Alabama, the Crimson Tide won the SEC championship twice and the CFP national-championship once. Alabama lost four games, including the national-title contest once.

With Detroit, Branch has experienced three losses, including one in overtime. In each case, the Lions rebounded to win their next game.

“It’s still a horrible experience losing games,” Branch said. “Now I take them as lessons that we can improve on, instead of dwelling on it and just keep on moving forward. That’s the good thing in the NFL. There’s a lot more opportunities, a lot more games to be played and just the fact that we took some early losses in the season and I felt like we learned from our mistakes. And we just got to keep on going.”

An ankle injury caused Branch to miss two games in October, but he’s still been on the field for 85 percent of Detroit’s defensive snaps this season while playing safety and slot corner. He has two interceptions (including one returned for a touchdown), is tied for the team lead in passes defended with seven and ranks fourth in tackles with 58.

Branch said playing at Alabama for coach Nick Saban, he learned about “doing the little things right. That’s what makes a difference in the league. It’s all about the little details. And just that nothing’s guaranteed. Coming from Bama, you’re scared to like kind of mess up, like play bad because there’s somebody that’s coming behind you. Just knowing that anything can happen in this league, you’ve got to give it your all every day.”

Branch said his toughest matchups with wide receivers so far have been against the Chicago Bears’ Darnell Mooney and the Green Bay Packers’ Jayden Reed.

Branch will see Mooney again on Sunday when the Lions visit Chicago. Detroit defeated the Bears 31-26 in an NFC North game on Nov. 19. Branch recorded six tackles, three tackles for loss and one pass breakup in that game.

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The Alabama Game of the Week is the Philadelphia Eagles-Dallas Cowboys contest on Sunday night. Seventeen players from Alabama high schools and colleges are on the teams’ active rosters.

The Arizona Cardinals and Washington Commanders do not play this week.

The complete Week 14 schedule (with all times Central and point spreads from Catena):

Thursday

· New England Patriots at Pittsburgh Steelers (-6), 7:15 p.m. (Prime Video)

Sunday

· Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Atlanta Falcons (-1.5), noon (WHNT, WAKA, WTVY)

· Los Angeles Rams at Baltimore Ravens (-7), noon

· Detroit Lions (-3.5) at Chicago Bears, noon

· Indianapolis Colts (-1) at Cincinnati Bengals, noon

· Jacksonville Jaguars at Cleveland Browns (-3), noon (WIAT, WKRG)

· Carolina Panthers at New Orleans Saints (-5.5), noon (WALA, WCOV, WDFX)

· Houston Texans (-3.5) at New York Jets, noon

· Minnesota Vikings (-3) at Las Vegas Raiders, 3:05 p.m.

· Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers (-10.5), 3:05 p.m. (WBRC, WZDX)

· Buffalo Bills at Kansas City Chiefs (-1.5), 3:25 p.m. (WIAT, WHNT, WKRG, WAKA, WTVY)

· Denver Broncos at Los Angeles Chargers (-2.5), 3:25 p.m.

· Philadelphia Eagles (-3.5) at Dallas Cowboys, 7:20 p.m. (NBC)

Monday

· Tennessee Titans at Miami Dolphins (-13), 7:15 p.m. (ESPN)

· Green Bay Packers (-6.5) at New York Giants, 7:15 p.m. (ABC)

CHECK OUT MAPS OF SUNDAY’S BROADCAST TV COVERAGE

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.