Defensive back Brian Branch spent three seasons playing before the ardent supporters of Alabama, but he said he’d never felt the love and appreciation from fans the way he does as a rookie with the Detroit Lions.

“It means they believe in me,” said Branch, WXYT-FM reported, about the ovation he received during player introductions for Sunday’s NFC playoff game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. “It shows that they respect my game. Yeah, like, I ain’t get that at Bama. For them to do that, it means a lot.”

The Lions posted their second straight playoff victory by beating the Buccaneers 31-23. Detroit already owned a regular-season victory over Tampa Bay on Oct. 15, but Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield said his offense faced a tougher task in the postseason with Branch on the field. The rookie missed the regular-season game because of an ankle injury that cost him two contests.

“First game, we didn’t play against Branch,” Mayfield said. “I think he’s a hell of a player, I’ll be honest. For a young guy, he’s a smart guy and, obviously, very talented.”

Working mainly as the slot corner, Branch tied for the Detroit lead with nine tackles, recorded one sack and made two tackles for loss against Tampa Bay.

In the Lions’ 24-23 first-round victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Jan. 14, Branch recorded seven tackles and knocked down a pass. Branch broke up a third-down pass with Los Angeles at the Detroit 6-yard line, and the Rams settled for a field goal in the first quarter.

Branch is the only rookie to have 16 tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack and one pass defended in a single postseason since 1999.

“I got a lot to work on, to be honest,” Branch said after Sunday’s victory. “Today wasn’t my best game or a good game. It’s a team game, and the guys around me played extremely good. And, shoot, I just feel like we got to keep on stacking, stacking these games.”

After winning its first division title since 1993 with a 12-5 regular-season record, Detroit has reached the NFC Championship Game for the first time since the 1991 season.

“It means a lot,” Branch said of the Lions’ success after six straight years without a postseason appearance. “Crazy to be my first year. I guess I’m spoiled in a way. I feel like I’m blessed. We put in a lot of hard work in the offseason. We went through a lot of ups and downs. But we stayed with each other, and we just kept pushing.”

The NFC’s spot in Super Bowl LVIII will go to Detroit or the San Francisco 49ers. The teams will square off at 5:30 p.m. CST Sunday at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

“San Fran is a really good team,” Branch said, “but I feel like, shoot, we’re a really good team, too. If we’re clicking, there’s going to be a rude awakening.”

Both the Lions’ postseason victories this month have come at home. Detroit hasn’t won a playoff game on the road since downing the 49ers 31-27 at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco on Dec. 22, 1957. That victory advanced the Lions to the NFL Championship Game, where Detroit defeated the Cleveland Browns 59-14 to win the most recent of the franchise’s four league titles.

“It was huge,” Branch said of the support of Lions fans at Ford Field during Detroit’s playoff victories. “Hey, I’m going to miss it next week. It’s going to be an away game, and our fans, they’re part of the reason we won this game, too. Just them being electric out there. You can see we ain’t won nothing in a minute. Shoot, they’re happy.”

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