Lions Still Hot, Buccaneers Are Still Not : NFC: Detroit rolls into playoffs, but 37-10 victory may be last game in Tampa.

NFC Central title or not, the Detroit Lions are ready for the playoffs.

The NFL’s hottest team won its seventh consecutive game Saturday, beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 37-10, to remain in contention for the division title and a home game in the playoffs.

It was the second consecutive rout for the Lions (10-6), who crushed Jacksonville, 44-0, last week and haven’t lost since a Nov. 5 defeat at Atlanta that prompted owner William Clay Ford’s much-publicized “playoffs-or-else” ultimatum to Coach Wayne Fontes.

Brett Perriman scored on a 91-yard reception, Tracy Scroggins returned a fumble 81 yards for a touchdown and Scott Mitchell threw for 352 yards and two touchdowns to pace the Lions in what Buccaneer fans fear might have been their team’s last game in Tampa.

Detroit clinched a playoff berth when Minnesota lost to San Francisco last Monday night. If Pittsburgh defeats NFC Central leader Green Bay today, the Lions will win the division and play host to their first playoff game.

Regardless of the outcome of the Packers’ finale, the Lions feel good about the way they are playing and their chances of going a long way in the postseason.

“I told the team in the locker room two weeks ago that we can get to the Super Bowl,” Fontes said. “What we have to do is play hard, believe in ourselves and get some breaks. We’re not afraid to talk about it.”

Perriman and Herman Moore, the most prolific single-season receiving tandem in NFL history, each had 100-yard days. Perriman had five catches for 135 yards, and Moore caught 10 passes for 105 yards to set a league record for receptions in a season with 123.

“It feels good to know we’re clicking right now and we’re right where we want to be at this point of the season,” said Moore, who broke Cris Carter’s mark of 122 receptions for Minnesota last season.

“Going into postseason play, we couldn’t ask for a squad as healthy as it is and running on all cylinders.”

The Buccaneers (7-9) finished with a losing record for the 13th consecutive season amid speculation that they might be playing their last game under Coach Sam Wyche as well as for the final time in Tampa.

Malcolm Glazer, who bought the team last winter for a record $192 million, is considering relocation--possibly to Cleveland--because plans to build a new stadium here have been slow to materialize.

Wyche, meanwhile, is 23-14 in his four seasons with Tampa Bay.