Although the Lions did win their first preseason game of 2008, there was a lot of room for improvement.  There were a few players that played great in game number one, but it was evident many others needed to shake the rust off.  I can say confidentially after watching the Lions play the Bengals last night that the rust is gone as Detroit looked great from top to bottom.  There were the usual occurrences that made you shake your head, but all in all, the Lions looked very impressive in their 27-10 victory over Cincinnati.  It is only the preseason, so take it for what it's worth, but the Lions did play awfully well.

For the second consecutive game, the Lions elected to receive after winning the opening coin toss.  Rod Marinelli obviously wanted his starting offense to get as much time on the field as possible, and that was a good decision as things looked good from the get-go.  In fact, on the very first play of the game, Jon Kitna hooked up with Calvin Johnson for a gain of 40 yards, setting the tone for this contest.  Kitna simply lobbed the ball downfield and all Johnson had to do was jump up and take it out of the air.  Former Michigan Wolverine Leon Hall had no chance at making a play as he simply was not big enough to come anywhere close to the ball.

An offensive interference penalty on Roy Williams would stall this drive, but not before Kevin Smith had his best run of the preseason.  The Lions' offensive line opened up a few large holes for Smith to run through, and he did just that for a gain of 16 yards.  His next run wasn't as nice as he lost a yard, bringing up fourth down and forcing the Lions to punt the ball away.

Thankfully for Detroit, the defense would quickly get the ball back for the offense.  Cornerback Brian Kelly really looked impressive on Cincinnati's first drive of the game as he made two big plays that really turned the tables on the Bengals.  First, he swatted a pass away from Chad Johnson to cause an incompletion.  And then one-upped himself on the very next play by ripping the ball out of Ocho Cinco's arms to get an interception.  Johnson appeared to have made the catch, but Kelly wasn't having any of that.

After the interception, the Lions wasted little time before getting into the endzone.  Jon Kitna found Calvin Johnson out-running defenders across the middle of the field, making for an easy touchdown pass from 27 yards out.  Johnson had nobody in his face when the pass came in and he simply ran into the endzone untouched, putting the Lions on top 7-0.

Looking for some redemption, Carson Palmer did manufacture a pretty decent drive the second time the Bengals' offense went out onto the field.  Unfortunately for Palmer, though, that work went unnoticed on the scoreboard as Dewayne White blocked a 46-yard Shayne Graham field goal attempt.  The Lions have had a knack for blocking field goals the last few years, and it's good to see that continue in 2008.

Following a pair of three and outs, the Lions got the ball back and Dan Orlovsky did a nice job at quarterback.  He got the Lions into field goal range, but just as we saw with the Bengals, his work produced no results thanks to a failed field goal attempt.  Dave Rayner just barely missed his first field goal attempt as a Lion wide left (it was from 47 yards out), keeping the lead at only 7 points.

With neither offense able to do anything on the two drives following the field goal miss, the Bengals did finally get the ball moving.  To basically close out the first half, Cincy first picked up yardage on the ground before moving to an air attack.  The end result was a shredded Lions defense and 7 points for the Bengals via a 12-yard TD pass from Ryan Fitzpatrick to Glenn Holt.  The Lions could have prevented the halftime score from being 7-7 on a 3rd and 8 during this scoring drive, but Fitzpatrick scrambled away from a pretty bad pass rush and gained 21 yards.  That helped set up the eventual TD.

The Lions' defense did its job as it opened the second half by forcing a three and out, and Detroit was able to retake the lead on the proceeding possession.  After a Brian Calhoun fumble nearly ended the Lions' drive, Dave Rayner hit a 48-yard field goal, putting the Lions back on top by a score of 10-7.

Cincinnati followed the field goal with hopes of taking the lead for the first time in this game, but the Lions' defense was having none of that.  After 6 minutes and 79 yards, the Bengals found themselves at the 1-yard line with 4th and goal and decided to go for it.  That is when safety Greg Blue lived up to his hitting ability and tackled DeDe Dorsey for no gain, giving the ball back to the Lions.

Detroit didn't do anything on their next possession.  After all, they did start it from the 1-yard line.  Either way, Nick Harris managed to boom a punt well into Bengals territory, but he actually outkicked his coverage.  That allowed Cincinnati to get a big return and gave them a shot at hitting a field goal when their offense once again went three and out.  Shayne Graham connected on a kick from 50 yards away to tie the game at 10-10. 

10-10 is what the scoreboard read heading into the fourth quarter, but Dave Rayner changed that around 4 minutes in.  Artose Pinner entered into the game and played well again, and he put the Lions in position to kick a 23-yard field goal.  Rayner easily made it and put the Lions back on top by a score of 13-10.

After yet another three and out, Drew Stanton came into the game for the first time and quickly got Detroit into the endzone.  The Lions would have been nowhere near the endzone if Stanton hadn't scrambled for a first down on 3rd and 8, but he did just that.  Stanton avoided pressure and ran out to the right side.  It appeared he would not be able to get to the first down marker, but Stanton dove forward past the chains to keep the drive alive.  On the very next play, he found Brandon Middleton wide open for a 50-yard TD pass, increasing the lead to 10 points.  Stanton's throw was perfect and all Middleton had to do was haul the pass in.

Kenneth Moore did a nice job of returning a Cincinnati punt and gave the Lions awesome field position shortly after the Stanton to Middleton TD.  This allowed Detroit to give the ball to Artose Pinner before letting Stanton do his thing on 3rd and 1.  Stanton dropped back and faked a handoff that even had the cameraman fooled.  Evidently, it fooled the Cincinnati defense as well.  Stanton kept the ball on the naked bootleg and only had to make one defender miss as he ran into the endzone for the touchdown.  He showed great athleticism on the run as he blew by the only defender in his way and basically sealed the Bengals' fate.

The bootleg is a play we have seen the Lions run quite a bit this preseason, and it works best with Stanton because of his scrambling ability.  Kitna has done a nice job passing when running the bootleg and Dan Orlovsky has had no luck at all.  He actually tried to run the bootleg three or so times in this game and had a Bengal in his face right after the fake every single time.  Stanton's fake kept that from happening, though, and gave the Lions a 27-10 lead.  That is what the final score would read as the Lions left Paul Brown Stadium with a 2-0 preseason record.

Detroit's third game of the preseason comes on Saturday when the Cleveland Browns come to town.  Kickoff is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. ET, although I don't believe the game will be on TV at that time.  It is looking like this game is headed for another blackout, meaning we would have to wait until Saturday night to watch the Lions and Browns meet in their annual preseason game.  Regardless of when the game does start on TV, Pride of Detroit will have live updates from the opening kickoff to the final whistle.

Thanks to a challenge that got a fumble call overturned and a late fourth quarter field goal, the Detroit Lions beat the New York Giants 13-10 to begin the preseason on a positive note.  Although the starters only played around two drives before calling it a game, we were able to get an idea of what the Lions need to work on as the preseason continues.  In the same respect, with the backups playing most of the game, we also got on an idea of which players will be sticking around past the preseason and which ones will be looking for work come August 30 (the last day to cut the roster down to 53 players).

When the starters were in for the Lions, the team's best strategy was to throw the ball.  Actually, to be more specific, throwing the ball to Calvin Johnson seemed to work best.  The Lions did attempt to run the ball quite a bit during the game's opening drive, showing that they were serious about a change in philosophy.  However, the Lions were only able to move the ball when Jon Kitna dropped back to pass.  Every time Tatum Bell was given the ball he barely was able to pick up any yardage as the offensive line simply gave way to the defense.

Even with such struggles on the ground, Kitna was able to throw the ball with ease.  He completed all of his four attempted passes during the game's opening drive, and the first three went to Calvin Johnson.  The best throw came on a 3rd and 3 when Kitna was forced to leave the pocket due to pressure from the Giants.  Kitna scrambled around and was able to find Johnson downfield for a gain of 38 yards, helping get momentum shifted in the Lions' favor.

With the ball now in Giants' territory, the Lions went back to Bell, hoping the run game could get rolling.  Unfortunately, it didn't, and it took another Kitna to Johnson connection to set the Lions up for a 3rd and short.  Bell was able to pick up a first down with only a 2-yard gain, but those 2 yards certainly didn't come easy.  Just two plays later, Kitna hooked up with Roy Williams for a change to put the Lions on the board.  Kitna got the pass off right before a hit was coming and Roy took care of everything else.  Williams caught the ball and simply ran by the defense and into the endzone for the touchdown, giving Detroit an early 7-0 lead.

Riding the momentum created by the Lions' offense, the defense stepped up to the plate and forced the Giants to punt after only giving up a single first down.  When the offense came back out on to the field, Kitna wasted little time in finding Calvin Johnson for another big gain.  After Bell went nowhere yet again on first down, Kitna lobbed a pass down the sidelines and Johnson was there waiting to make the catch.  He hauled the ball in for a gain of 25 yards, but that's about as far as the Lions' drive went this time around.  After the Giants picked up a defensive holding call, the Lions failed to pick up another first down and eventually punted the ball away.

The Giants' starters returned to the field to finish out the first quarter and hoped to put some points on the board before exiting the game.  They were unable to do so, but did set up the backups with a good opportunity to get at least a field goal.  In fact, the Giants' backups moved the ball into field goal range before their drive stalled.  Lawrence Tynes, who is a starter, came out to kick a 44-yard field goal, but missed wide left, meaning the Lions still led 7-0.

Dan Orlovsky and his fellow second-stringers entered the game for the Lions and Jim Colletto really tried to pound the ball down the Giants' throats.  That was a strategy I was more than okay with as it gave us a chance to get a look at rookie running back Kevin Smith. 

Smith didn't have a whole lot of success running the ball, but I did like his running style more than Tatum Bell's.  Unlike Bell, who went down fairly easily, Smith kept his feet moving and showed some power when he ran into a pile.  The offensive line didn't do either player any favors, so it was really up to the running back himself to make a play out of nothing.  With Bell, that rarely happened.  With Smith, however, he was powering his way over defenders to pick up an extra yard or two on a consistent basis.

Since the Lions' running game continued to go nowhere, they were forced to punt.  New York decided to air it out on the following drive and that decision instantly paid off.  On the first play of the drive, Anthony Wright connected with Sinorice Moss for a 46-yard gain, putting the Giants on the Lions' 30-yard line just like that.  Wright found tight end Kevin Boss two plays later to pick up another first down, but then threw three consecutive incompletions.  That meant that Lawrence Tynes had a chance to redeem himself, and he did so by successfully kicking a 33-yard field goal.

The Lions followed New York's strategy on the proceeding drive as they let Dan Orlovsky actually throw the ball.  What I liked about Orlovsky most is that he looked comfortable in the pocket and spread the love around by hitting different targets.  That eventually resulted in getting the Lions into field goal range after Kevin Smith was stuffed on 3rd and 1.  Jason Hanson came out and kicked a 50-yard field goal with ease, putting the Lions up 10-3.

With only 55 seconds remaining before halftime, the Giants went into hurry up mode to try and cut the lead down.  They once again were having success throwing the ball and it looked as though they would at least have a chance to throw a hail mary before the clock ran out.  However, Anthony Cannon had other ideas as he forced a fumble and LaMarcus Hicks recovered with only 3 seconds left in the second quarter.  The Lions took a knee and went into the locker room up 10-3.

To open the second half, the Lions defense rose to the occasion on two short yardage situations.  First, Detroit held strong on a 3rd and 2 as Ruben Droughns only picked up a yard, and then on 4th and 1 it was more of the same.  Jordon Dizon made a tremendous play to tackle Droughns for a 2-yard loss, giving the ball back to Detroit.  I'll admit, I was waiting and waiting for Dizon's name to be called, but he certainly delivered when the time came.

On the following drive, Dan Orlovsky once again was having success passing.  With the run game continuing to do nothing, that was the only way to even move the ball.  Orlovsky did get a little bit of luck to aid his success as he had a pass that was thrown downfield tipped.  After the deflection, Brandon Middleton came back to bobble the ball before finally making the catch that was good for a gain of 25.  That put the Lions in position to increase their lead to 10 points when Eddie Johnson came out to kick a 37-yard field goal, but he clanked it off the right upright.

After both teams ran off the rest of the third quarter by going three and out over and over again, the Giants' offense finally woke up.  David Carr orchestrated a successful drive that actually put the Giants into the endzone twice, although only one of those trips past the goal line was done legally.  New York thought they had scored their first TD of the preseason on a 9-yard run by Danny Ware, but a holding penalty nullified the score.  Really, the penalty just delayed the inevitable, though, as the Giants scored just two plays later on a David Carr pass from 13 yards out to tie the game at 10.

Following the touchdown, both teams again went three and out before Drew Stanton finally started to have some success as the Lions' quarterback.  He had been in the game since around the middle of the third quarter, but only on this next drive was he able to get the Lions moving down the field.

Stanton began the drive with a 7-yard scamper after finding that no receivers were open.  Artose Pinner then came into the game and had back-to-back 4-yard runs before Stanton again took off for 7 yards of his own.  On the next play, Stanton threw a dump off pass to Pinner that was good for 12 yards thanks to some nice moves by the Lions' running back.

Those moves would actually get Pinner into some trouble on the proceeding play as he tried to avoid a defender and in turn had the ball knocked out of his hands as he was falling to the ground.  The Giants recovered the fumble and were poised to take over with great field position, but Rod Marinelli smartly threw the red challenge flag onto the field.  As it turned out, Pinner was actually down literally a millisecond before the ball was knocked loose, meaning the call was overturned and the Lions got to keep the ball.

Keeping with the scrambling tendency we had already seen from Stanton on this drive, he took off yet again following the challenge by running 15 yards down the left side of the field.  That was the biggest play of the drive yardage-wise as it put the Lions in field goal range, which was much appreciated by kicker Eddie Johnson. 

Soon after the Stanton scamper, Johnson trotted back out looking for some redemption of his own after hitting the upright earlier in the game.  Just as we saw with Tynes, Johnson got his redemption as he booted a 41-yarder right down the middle of the goalpost, giving the Lions a 13-10 lead with just under 3 minutes remaining.

Needing to at least get in field goal range with a limited amount of time remaining, the Giants had to throw the ball.  Although they had success airing it out earlier in this game, the Lions defensive line prevented that from happening on this drive. 

On first down, pressure created by a great blitz caused David Carr to throw the ball away and in turn receive an intentional grounding penalty.  On the very next play, rookie Andre Fluellen wrapped up Carr for a sack and a loss of 7 yards.  That set up a 3rd and long where the Giants did gain back 12 yards, but a false start made 4th and long even longer.  Carr's desperation pass on 4th down went out of bounds, allowing Drew Stanton to simply take a knee three times to run out the clock and give the Lions a 13-10 victory.

Detroit's second preseason game comes a week from Sunday when they travel to Cincinnati to play the Bengals.  Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET and can be seen on WWJTV and other local affiliates.

Although I have pretty much shifted all my focus towards the offseason, let's take a look at the Lions' final game of the season before completely moving on.

Even though the Packers had nothing to play for and got a lot of backups into the game, the Lions still couldn't get a win to reach the .500 mark.  Overall, the game itself just seemed like one team was going through the motions whereas the other was playing to win.  Considering Green Bay had nothing left to prove, you would think they would be the ones just going through the motions.  Well, that wasn't the case.  It was Detroit who looked like they just wanted the game and season to end, and that translated to a 34-13 loss.

Again, despite playing against quite a few backups and a team that was just out there playing for nothing, the Lions still managed to get beat convincingly at Lambeau Field.  I guess some things will never change.

Below is the boxscore and scoring summary from NFL.com.

Photo Courtesy NFL.com

It took 7 tries, but the Lions finally got their 7th win of the season last Sunday.  Things certainly become easier when the team you play only has 4 wins themselves, but still, it was great to see the Lions prevent another double digit-loss season, which was exactly what was accomplished by defeating the Kansas City Chiefs by a score of 25-20.

After a slow start scoring-wise for both teams, the Lions broke the ice with a T.J. Duckett touchdown just past he halfway point of the 1st quarter.  Duckett got into the endzone from 11 yards out to put Detroit up 7-0.  The TD was set up by two 20+ yards passes to Calvin Johnson, giving the hometown fans a chance to see the #2 overall pick rack up some stats.

Following the TD, the Chiefs went three and out, and the Lions took full advantage of the defensive stand.  On the ensuing punt, Lions tight end/fullback Casey FitzSimmons broke through the offensive line and blocked the attempted punt.  It was such a forceful deflection that the ball bounced out of the endzone for a safety, putting the Lions on top 9-0.

Although the Chiefs were able to hold the Lions to a field goal when Detroit got the ball following the safety, it would be another big non-offensive play that put more points on the board.  Chiefs quarterback Brodie Croyle was intercepted by Paris Lenon, who had a great game overall.  Lenon took the INT back 61 yards for the touchdown and put Detroit ahead 19-0, leading most to think this game would be a blowout, which would have been similar to the last Lions victory.  To add to that feeling, Croyle injured himself trying to make a tackle on the interception, so with the backup coming in, all signs pointed to an easy Lions victory.

Croyle's replacement, Damon Huard, really can't be considered a backup in the sense that he and Croyle have been fighting for the starting job all season long. Although he was the backup in this game, it's not like he had no in-game experience like many backups in this league. With that in mind, Huard came out and successfully led the Chiefs down the field in his first drive. Kansas City scored on a short run after Huard got the Chiefs' offense moving, cutting the lead to 19-7. To continue to show off what he's got, Huard again led the Chiefs down the field for a touchdown after a Lions three and out, this time getting into the endzone in just over 2 minutes. The second TD came right before the end of the half and cut the deficit down to 19-14.

Something that should be noted is that on the second to last play of the half (Detroit got the ball back with 23 seconds left in the half), Kevin Jones was injured. He spent this past offseason rehabbing a foot injury to get ready for this current season, and it appears he may be doing something similar in the upcoming offseason. Jones didn't return after the injury, and his season is done considering there's only 1 game left anyways. Check an above post for an update on his status.

The third quarter was pretty uneventful other than a Jason Hanson field goal, but the Chiefs did start to get their offense rolling again as the third came to an end. Once the fourth quarter arrived, Damon Huard hit rookie Dwayne Bowe from 34 yards out for a spectacular catch in the endzone just a minute and a half in. With a chance to tie the game as they only trailed by 2 points, the Chiefs unsuccessfully attempted a 2-point conversion. It was unsuccessful because Jared DeVries got pressure on Huard quickly and knocked down an ill-advised pass, keeping Detroit in the lead at 22-20.

Following this latest score that really made things close, neither team could get things going. Detroit would eventually add a field goal to force Kansas City to score another touchdown, but other than that it was a defensive struggle. The Chiefs did start to get the ball moving again on the final drive of the game, but simply ran out of time. Thankfully this time around, the Lions were able to keep their opponent out of the endzone in this situation long enough until the clock ran out to preserve the 25-20 win.

I can't say that it was pretty considering a big lead was blown, but the Lions got the win, and after losing 6 straight before this victory, that is all that matters. Finally, a Detroit Lions season won't end in double digit losses, which is something we all can be thankful for, even if this season ends up being disappointing. Regardless, my preseason expectations of a 6-10 record have been exceeded, so at least that happened.

Detroit finishes out the season in Green Bay this coming Sunday, hoping to win at Lambeau Field for the first time since the Brett Favre era began. The Lions' quest for .500 and final game of the season kicks off at 1:00 p.m. ET on FOX.

And now the season is officially over.

Detroit went to San Diego yesterday hoping to pull off an upset to keep their fading playoff hopes alive.  Instead of prolonging the false hope another week, the Lions decided to pack it in once and for all.

The Chargers came out and were the better team from the get go, and that continued all day long.  I'll be honest with you guys, I watched 1 quarter of this game before turning it off.  The effort out there was just too pathetic for me since it seemed like they were just going through the motions and that was that.  With a slim chance at making the playoffs still existent, there is absolutely no excuse for losing 51-14.  Not when your season is on the line.

I really don't have much to add to the score itself as I'm just simply disgusted right now, so take a look below at how the score got as ugly as it did and hopefully the end streak at least comes to an end next Sunday.  The lowly Chiefs come to Ford Field on a 7-game losing streak themselves, so hopefully the Lions can finally get their 7th win.  Kickoff is at 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS.

Photo Courtesy NFL.com

With its season on the line, the Detroit Lions were in a tough position on Sunday.  After dropping 4 straight games and falling out of second place in the wild card, it really wasn't a choice to win, it was a necessity.  Going up against the Dallas Cowboys made that necessity look impossible, and even I said that a win wouldn't happen all last week.  My prediction was for this game to be a blowout, but instead it went down to the final seconds.  The end result was the same - a loss - but to be honest, a blowout would have been easier to watch.  The Lions led almost the entire game before Dallas came back to score the go-ahead touchdown in the final seconds, getting them a 28-27 win.  Detroit missed out on chances to put the Cowboys away twice in what will go down as the probable season-ender for 2007.

Dallas got the ball first to start this game and all Lions fans knew that if an upset were to happen, Detroit had to get things going in the first quarter.  In most of the losses this year the Lions waited until it was too late to get the offense clicking, so an early score or two would definitely be nice.  First, though, it would be the defense that needed to make something happen.  With that in mind, the defense did get a stop, putting the Cowboys in a position where they had to kick a 50-yard field goal.  Nick Folk pushed it wide, and the Lions came away after 1 possession still tied 0-0.

Since the running game has been so nonexistent in previous weeks, Mike Martz put together a solid gameplan that included running the ball.  As surprising as that may sound, it was even more surprising that running the ball worked so well.  Kevin Jones carried the ball 3 straight successful times to get the ball into Dallas territory before T.J. Duckett came in to finish the job.  Duckett got a handoff and rumbled down the field 32 yards and into the endzone to put the Lions on top 7-0.  I was truly sunned as the running game looked better on one drive alone then it did the rest of the entire season.  Plus, with an early 7-0 lead, momentum was in Detroit's favor.

After a quick three and out by Dallas, the Lions got the ball back and again moved the ball.  Eventually getting down to the 1-yard line after a couple of 3rd down conversions, Detroit had 1st and goal only a single yard away from making it a 2-touchdown game.  Looking back, this is really an opportunity that Detroit couldn't afford to miss.  Even though the Lions had 3 attempts at scoring a TD from only a yard away, they were shut down each time.  Having to settle for a field goal was just disappointing when it happened, but in hindsight, it really was one of the many things that cost them this game.

Following the touchdown, Dallas answered back with a big kick return.  It was almost broken for a touchdown, but Jason Hanson forced the returner out of bounds.  Hanson was only delaying the inevitable, though, as Dallas scored in only 5 plays.  Marion Barber put the ball into the endzone from 20 yards out on 3rd and short to score the TD, making it 10-7 in favor of the Lions.

Detroit added another field goal on the proceeding drive and then held Dallas to another three and out.  In position to really increase the lead, the Lions did just that after getting the ball back.  Using a perfect combination of runs and passes, the Lions advanced the ball down the field efficiently before Kevin Jones capped off the great drive.  Jones ran into the endzone for a 2-yard touchdown, putting the Lions on top 20-7.

Hoping to cut the deficit before the half, the Cowboys put together a scoring drive with only 1:41 to go on the clock.  In reality, Dallas played its best ball in its 2-minute drill offense as we would later see in the fourth quarter.  It was no different in the second quarter either as the Cowboys moved the ball quickly and eventually scored on an 8-yard pass from Tony Romo to Barber.  That TD was big as it cut the lead down to 20-14 going into the half.

The start to the second half was shaky as the Lions opened with a three and out, but their fortunes would change after a Detroit punt went out of bounds at the 3-yard line.  Dallas had trouble advancing the ball and was forced to punt as well, only difference was their punt was not good at all.  The Lions took over in Dallas territory and again moved the ball thanks to a balanced pass-run attack.  I know I've criticized Mike Mart a lot recently, but I'll give him props for this week's game plan.  It was perfect, and this drive just showed that off.  Jones eventually crossed the goal line from 3 yards out, making it Detroit 27, Dallas 14.

The Cowboys answered back as they had to get something going with time running out.  Tony Romo led his team down the field before Marion Barber punched the ball in from a yard out.  That cut the lead down to only 6 points with nearly an entire quarter left to go, putting the Cowboys in good shape.  

The next few drives really were a roller coaster ride.  Getting the ball back, Detroit again put together another great drive and got into field goal range before it stalled.  From only 35 yards out, one would usually be correct in saying that a kick like that was a gimme for someone like Jason Hanson, but this was a rare occasion where that statement was false.  Hanson just barely missed the attempt that he would usually make, and the Lions blew their chance at making the lead 2 possessions.  At the time it seemed like a crushing blow, and in the end that would prove to be true.

Getting the ball back with momentum, Tony Romo again was able to orchestrate a great drive.  He kept finding his receivers and got the ball down the field.  It appeared he would score with ease, but then the one-time play of the game for the Lions happened.  Romo hit tight end Jason Witten, who had a career day with 15 catches, inside the 2-yard line.  Witten tried to stretch the ball into the endzone but right before falling to the ground lost control of the ball.  Greg Blue, who was in the right place at the right time often for the Lions during this game, quickly grabbed the ball before Witten could recover.  At first glance it looked like Witten was down, but the referees correctly gave the ball to the Lions.

Finally Detroit caught a break they needed desperately.  After the Cowboys came up only inches short, the Lions got the ball out of their own endzone and started using the clock.  Following a couple first downs, the Lions were literally one more first down away from being able to take a knee as Dallas wasted two of their timeouts and used their final one on this drive.  It just wasn't meant to be as things began to unravel when Detroit had to punt the ball away.

Dallas got the ball back down by 6 with at their own 17 with only 2:15 to go.  Tony Romo was moving the ball again and had what appeared to be little trouble completing passes as their usually was a receiver open.  Even so, Romo made one mistake that nearly ended this game for good.  He was scrambling around and had the ball knocked out of his hand by Jared DeVries.  The ball fell forward and appeared to go right into the hands of Lions middle linebacker Paris Lenon.  All Lenon had to do was fall on the ball and the game was over.  Sounds simple, right?  Well, you would think so.  Instead of falling on the ball, Lenon tried to pick it up and ended up kicking it forward, right into the possession of a Cowboys lineman.  This play felt exactly like the missed field goal by Hanson as it was a chance to put Dallas away for good.  In this case, literally, Lenon recovering the fumble would have ended the game as Detroit would have just had to take a knee.

Following the missed opportunity to taste victory instead of just smelling it, Dallas took things up a notch.  Romo completed his next 5 passes (not counting a spike) with the last one going to Jason Witten for a 16-yard gain and a touchdown.  Witten redeemed himself after fumbling inches away from a touchdown and continued his domination on the day.  Why he was always so open I'll never understand, but he was all day long.  Nick Folk made the extra point and with only 18 seconds left, Dallas led 28-27.  The Lions made nothing of those final 18 seconds, so the Cowboys went on to win by that same score.

In the end, Detroit missed more than just opportunities in this game.  A win would have put them back into the playoffs as Arizona lost yesterday.  That knocked them out of the wild card and put the Lions into a tie with only the Vikings, who they miraculously hold the tie-breaker over according to FOX's Joe Buck.  Since this game resulted in a loss instead of the upset, Detroit now is tied with 2 other teams (3 if New Orleans wins tonight) a game back of the final wild card spot.  Normally that would still leave you with a chance, but the red hot Vikings control that final wild card spot and there is no sign of them slowing down any time soon.

On paper this season isn't over, but it would take a miracle for the Lions to make the playoffs now.  We will always go back to this loss and think what could have been in regards to this season in general as it really was that big of a deal.  Regardless, the Lions will have to hope to end this losing skid next week as they head to San Diego to face the Chargers.  Kickoff is 4:15 p.m. ET on FOX.

Needing a win to snap a three-game losing streak and to keep any hope of making the playoffs alive, Detroit laid an egg in Minnesota by losing to the Vikes by a score of 42-10.  They came out looking unprepared and came out looking like they were playing the Patriots instead of the Vikings.  That wasn't the case, though, as it was the Vikings that torched the Lions secondary and it was the Vikings that ran over the front 7 of the Lions defense.  On top of that, Detroit themselves had another unbalanced gameplan that went virtually nowhere, making this game ugly quickly.

To me, there's really nothing that needs to be said about this game.  Just look at the boxscore and it will tell you all you need to know.  I will say that this thing started to get out of hand early on thanks to one play.  Minnesota was faced with 3rd and 14 on its own 9-yard line and elected to play it safe with a draw play.  Somehow the Lions defense allowed the Vikings to pick up the first down, and from then on there was no looking back for Minnesota.  Sure, Detroit cut the lead down to 14-10 after a quick drive of only a few passing plays, but a kickoff return by the Vikings on the proceeding kickoff erased any thought of winning.

As I said, there's really nothing further that needs to be added after looking at the boxscore.  Here are the scoring plays in this game (Notice the four TDs by Minnesota in the second quarter?):

And here are the most telling stats of this game:

Detroit made another average quarterback look like a superstar and then for the running game I don't even know where to begin.  I understand if you get down early that you can't run the ball, but after the first two drives Detroit had only 1 rush, so that excuse is garbage in my opinion.  You know, everyone says that Mike Martz is this offensive genius, but after the last four games I'm really starting to have my doubts.

The Lions' schedule doesn't get any easier next week as the Cowboys come to town.  Tony Romo and company are the best team in the NFC, and although the Lions finished out 2006 with a win in Dallas, I'm not expecting the same in Detroit in 2007.  Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. ET on FOX.

Needing a win to finally get the second half of the season on the right track, the Lions were just over matched by the Brett Favre-led Packers on Thanksgiving 2007. A late comeback was attempted by the Lions, but in the end, it was Favre and the Packers that came out on top by a score of 37-26. The reason that Green Bay did win can be attributed to a number of things. First off, Favre shredded the Lions secondary. At one point in the game Favre had completed 20 straight passes, which alone is a very telling stat of how the day went. Second off, the Lions offense again took too long to get going. They managed to get into Green Bay territory on many drives during the game, but their efforts didn’t result in a touchdown until it was too late.

To start the game, Detroit again came out trying to establish the run. For a change it worked very well. The Lions moved the ball and actually almost had 1st and goal from the 1-yard line. I said almost because a 15-yard chop block penalty on Dominic Raiola negated the third down conversion that put the Lions into position to punch the ball into the endzone. Instead, Detroit was backed up and Jon Kitna was sacked, forcing Jason Hanson to kick a 47-yard field goal. It was nice to get the early lead, but a touchdown would’ve been much, much better.

When Green Bay got the ball on its first possession of the game following the Hanson field goal, Brett Favre made a mistake on the drive’s opening play that set Detroit up for more points. Trying to hand the ball off, Favre tripped and the ball came loose. Jared DeVries quickly fell on it, and just like that it was once again Lions ball deep in GB territory (at the 25 to be exact). Hoping again to get the ball into the endzone, the Lions ended up disappointed as only a field goal would come of the turnover. Was it nice to lead 6-0? Of course, but two touchdowns would’ve made the end result of this game be something completely different.

As the game head into the second quarter, it was all Lions statistically. After a three and out by the Packers, Detroit moved the ball again into GB territory before having to punt. The defense stood tough again once Favre got the ball back, forcing another three and out. Everything sounds great, but that changed instantly. On the Lions’ own 23-yard line, Jon Kitna threw a pass to Calvin Johnson and had it picked off. Green Bay returned it to the 11, giving the Packers a very short field. With that in mind, Favre wasted no time in getting a touchdown as he hit Greg Jennings for the score, making it 7-6 Packers.

Hoping to rebound from the interception, Kitna and the running game again moved the ball into GB territory. Just as we had seen before, though, all the work was really for nothing as the drive just ended in a punt. At this point in the game, Brett Favre just took over. He picked apart the Lions secondary, finding Donald Driver for a couple of big gains before handing the ball off to Ryan Grant for a 5-yard touchdown run. That made the score 14-6 Packers, and hope in general was starting to fade quickly.

The Lions did manage to get something out of its next trip into GB territory as Jason Hanson kicked a 45-yard field goal, but the Packers were able to answer back with a Mason Crosby field goal of its own after the two teams traded punts. The Crosby field goal was kicked as time expired, meaning it was the Packers leading at the half by a score of 17-9.

Opening up the second half right where he left off, Brett Favre continued to feast on the Lions secondary. On the opening drive of the half, Favre attempted and completed 7 passes, with the last going for 4 yards and a touchdown again to Greg Jennings. That put GB up 24-9, and for the Lions, something had to happen before things got too out of hand.

If this game was decided by kicking field goals, the Lions would have won. Unfortunately, it wasn’t, but Detroit did kick quite a few. That was the case again on the proceeding drive as Detroit drove into GB territory, and as usual stalled. Hanson connected from 52 yards out to cut the lead down to 24-12, but it didn’t do much in retrospect considering Favre came right back out to lead GB to another TD. This time it would be 6 plays and 4 passes that got the Packers down the field, with the touchdown being scored on a 3-yard pass to Ruvell Martin. Detroit went three and out after getting the ball back and the Packers got another field goal out of it to increase its lead.

Now trailing 34-12 with only 13:08 to play, the Lions offense finally decided to wake up. I don’t know why it always takes desperation to get the offense working, but that was the case for the third consecutive game. Kitna orchestrated a solid drive that was helped by a couple of Green Bay penalties. Eventually, Kitna found Calvin Johnson in the endzone from 6 yards out for the TD. With the lead now 34-19, the defense stepped it up and forced a three and out, giving the offense another shot to cut down the lead.

And cut down the lead is exactly what they did. After two straight passes to Calvin Johnson that went for 16 yards, Shaun McDonald drew a 29-yard pass interference penalty that put the Lions on the 1-yard line of GB. On the very next play, Kevin Jones ran to the outside and walked into the endzone, making it only an 8 point game.

Despite the poor play on both sides of the ball all game, the Lions actually were in a position to make a comeback. The lead was only at 8 points, meaning all it took was a touchdown and a 2-point conversion. That is easier said than done, though, as the defense had to come up with a stop. That would the part of the equation of the comeback that didn’t come through. Green Bay ran nearly 5 minutes off the clock before kicking a field goal to increase the lead to 11 points, meaning it became a 2-possession game. That was all the Packers needed to close things out as Detroit couldn’t do anything once they got the ball back. With that being said, GB went on to win 37-26 in a game that really was one of missed opportunities. At the same time, Brett Favre completely owned the Lions defense, giving GB enough of a lead to fight off the comeback attempt.

This is Detroit’s third straight loss, and now that their record has dropped to 6-5, playoff hopes quickly are becoming a forgotten hope. The Lions head to Minnesota next Sunday for a showdown with the Vikings in hopes of snapping the losing streak, but it won’t be easy on the road as Detroit barely escaped with a win against the Vikes at home. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. ET on FOX.

Photo Courtesy NFL.com

Needing a win to avenge last week's disappointing loss against Arizona, the Lions faced off yesterday against the Giants in a midseason battle for a spot in the wild card.  Sure, the season isn't really even close to ending so this game doesn't clinch a spot or anything remotely close to that, but getting an advantage in the wild card now is important.  In the long run, should both of these teams be contending for a playoff spot towards the end of this season, we probably will look back to yesterday and see that it did have a big impact.

Unfortunately for Detroit, that impact was a negative one.  The Lions couldn't get their offense going until late in the 4th quarter, and by that time it was too late to make up any ground as the mistakes just kept piling up.  In the end, Detroit had a shot at winning the game, but the Giants held on for a 16-10 victory.  The loss drops the Lions' record to 6-4, and with the Packers coming to the Motor City on Thanksgiving, just days from now, Detroit will have to quickly get things going in the right direction.

If you thought the offense was bad last week, then that wasn't really anything.  Yes, the running game wasn't in the negatives, but after a solid first drive, Detroit again seemed to abandon the run.  Although balance is important, as is establishing the run game, I really don't like the way Mike Martz has started off these last two games.  I know that against Arizona the Lions scored a touchdown in only a few plays, but they had a shortened field.  Against NY, it was all run on the first drive, then nearly all pass on the second.  There's got to be a balance where you don't just try one thing over and over, but instead you need to mix it up on every drive.

Anyways, the Giants offense started off slow as well, but on their second drive, they were able to drive down the field to eventually kick a 28-yard field goal.  Just as we have seen so many times before this season, it was a combination of various short passes that moved the Giants down the field.  Against the Cover 2 that usually will always work, so the Lions just needed to contain, which they did manage to do for most of the rest of the game.

Following a three and out by the Lions, New York again got the ball moving.  They wouldn't even have to go very far after a solid punt return, so a short field looked as though it meant for more troubles for the Lions.  That changed, though, after the defense that always is looking to create a turnover caught a break.  After completing a mass that would've moved the chains on 3rd down, the receiver lost the ball and the opportunistic Lions defense was there to fall on it.  Although nothing would come from the turnover offensively, at least the score was still only 3-0.

As things headed toward the half, the Lions were starting to move the ball.  On 3rd and 3, Jon Kitna completed a pass to Shaun McDonald, who appeared to be tackled a couple of yards short of the first down marker.  He was never ruled down initially, though, and because of that he was able to spin forward for the first down.  New York challenged the call and despite none of the replays showing clear evidence that his knee was down, the play was reversed and Detroit had to punt.  Taking the slight momentum Detroit had away, the Giants turned the defensive stop into a touchdown of its own right before the end of the half.  Eli Manning threw a pass to Brandon Jacobs for a gain of 10 yards and the score, making it a 10-0 Giants lead at the half.

Starting the second half down by 10, the Lions had to get something going if they wanted to avoid another game of catch up like they played in Arizona.  With that in mind, the defense came up with a big stop to force a three and out, and the offense did finally get going.  After a pair of catches by Roy Williams and a 20-yarder by Shaun McDonald, Detroit found itself in NY territory.  On 3rd and 7, the Lions would come up just a yard short of getting a first down even though Calvin Johnson tried to stretch out for the marker.  Rather than gamble, the Lions decided that getting points on the board was more important, so Jason Hanson came in and kicked a 42-yard field goal.

On the ensuing kickoff, Ahmad Bradshaw took the kick back 68 yards to the Detroit 34-yard line.  With great field position again, the defense would have to work with a short field.  Just as before, a turnover would solve that problem.  Brandon Jacobs had the ball knocked loose by Paris Lenon, and Jared DeVries fell on it to give Kitna and the offense a shot at tying the game.  Once again, just as before, that wouldn't happen, but this time the Lions actually did move the ball.  Jason Hanson was put in position to attempt a 52-yard field goal, but the kick was just barely tipped, making it come up short of the goalposts.  After getting the ball back and putting together a solid drive of their own, the Giants converted another field goal, putting the lead back to 10 points at 13-3.

Hoping to rebound after a disappointing series of events, things only got worse for the Lions.  Jon Kitna threw a pass into heavy coverage, and although Roy Williams got a hand on it, he only managed to tip it up into the air, allowing it to be intercepted.  Using the momentum of the interception, the Giants went down the field and kicked a 20-yard field goal after the Lions defense kept NY out of the endzone.  

After the two teams traded punts, there was 5:52 to go and Detroit trailed by 13.  It was make it or break it time, and the Lions delivered.  Needing only 4 plays, the Lions went down the field 73 yards to get within 6 of the Giants.  Each play was a pass, and on top of that, every pass was completed to a different receiver.  The sequence of plays went like this: Kitna to Furrey for 9 yards, Kitna to McDonald for 14 yards, and then Kitna to Walters for 19 yards.  To cap it all off, Calvin Johnson showed why he is already turning into a great receiver as he made a spectacular catch to score a touchdown from 35 yards out.  With two defenders on him, C.J. leaped into the air and took the ball away from the defender that had a shot to make a play.  As he made the catch, he fell backwards into the endzone and despite landing on his injured back, held on for the TD.

On the proceeding drive by New York, it would be three and out, meaning the Lions offense would get the ball back with 2:25 to go just needing a touchdown and an extra point to take the lead.  When Detroit did get the ball back, they moved it up to their own 49-yard line following a roughing the passer penalty.  With more than enough time to score the touchdown, Jon Kitna acted like this was 2006 and made an absolutely bonehead play.  Kitna was under pressure and rather than throw the ball away, he heaved it downfield.  That would've been a great play had the receiver been Roy Williams or Calvin Johnson as it was a jump ball situation, but since Shaun McDonald was the intended WR, the pass was picked off.  The interception took place right around the goal line and was ruled as a touchback, giving the Giants the ball at the 20-yard line.

Still with enough time to get a stop (1:54 to be exact), the Lions defense just needed to force one more three and out.  After the next three Giants plays, things were looking good as the defense accomplished its mission.  They held the Giants running-wise on the first two plays, and with two timeouts called not much time ran off the clock.  Then on third down, with a chance to force Detroit to use its final timeout, the Giants passed the ball and the throw to Amani Toomer was incomplete.  Following the punt, Detroit took over 68 yards away from possibly winning the game.  A false start would begin the drive, but that was quickly forgotten after a pass to Shaun McDonald was completed for a gain of 27.  Following a short 3-yard catch by Kevin Jones (got out of bounds to stop the clock), Detroit had only 57 yards to go and 56 seconds to get there.  With things actually looking good despite the pressure situation, all of that hope would quickly come crashing down.  Jon Kitna threw a pass in the direction of McDonald again, who was actually fairly open, but this time McDonald couldn't make the catch.  Instead, it deflected off his hands and into the air, giving the Giants an interception to end the game and give NY a 16-10 victory.

Before everyone proclaims that the end of the world is coming, although I would agree on some levels, let's not panic just yet.  I would say my finger is about to hit the panic button, but I'm going to give the Lions one more game before doing that.  The reason for that is because even though they took 3 and a half quarters off offensively, Detroit still could've won this game.  Had it not been for a few specific plays, especially with the way the offense was moving at the end of the game, we could be talking about a win right now.  Unfortunately, we're not, so it's time to move on.  Normally you like to think about the game from Sunday for a couple days before looking ahead to next week's opponent, but for Detroit, that isn't possible with Green Bay coming to Ford Field on Thursday.  The annual Thanksgiving Day game will start at 12:30 p.m. ET and is on FOX.  Although GB has looked amazing this season, let's not give up hope just yet as hopefully on Thanksgiving night, we all have something to be thankful for.

Photo Courtesy NFL.com

Starting off the first half of the season with a surprising 6-2 record, the Detroit Lions had hoped to begin the second half with a win yesterday in Arizona.  Only problem with that is the fact that Detroit laid an egg out in the desert and got beat 31-21 in an all-around ugly game.  Five turnovers by the Lions was the exact opposite of how they got to 6-2 in the first place, so that was one of the biggest reasons for this loss.  One of the other main reasons Detroit lost was because of this disturbing stat: 8 rushes, -18 yards.  That's no misprint.  Detroit actually rushed for -18 yards.  So much for that balanced offense thing that had been working so well.

I'll admit, I was sipping the Kool-Aid going into this game.  Detroit was off to a 6-2 start and things were going great.  I knew in the back of my head that this would be an important game, but I really didn't expect the Lions to lose.  Even when they trailed to Arizona in the second half, I still figured the Lions could make a comeback, especially with the high number of mistakes the Cardinals were making themselves.  All of that hope proved to be for nothing as the Kool-Aid I drank on Sunday turned out to be stale, and we all got a harsh reality check as the Lions dropped to 6-3.  Here's how it happened.

Believe it or not, Detroit was in full control of this game at the start.  After forcing a Kurt Warner interception of the game's first drive, the Lions had the ball on the Arizona 25 thanks to a great return on the pick by Kenoy Kennedy.  With the short field, the Lions took only 3 plays to get into the endzone, with the touchdown coming on a 4-yard run by Kevin Jones.  The quick score put the Lions on top 7-0, and another defensive stand by the defense gave Jon Kitna and company the ball back with a chance to start building up that lead.

It was at this point when things went downhill quickly.  Kitna was picked off on the first play of this drive, giving the Cards the ball on the Detroit 13.  Even so, the defense still managed to hold them even after they got inside the 5, so only a field goal was put on the board.  The mistake wasn't fully avenged, but the Lions did escape the worst of it by keeping Arizona out of the endzone.

Neither offense could do anything right after the field goal as the two teams would combine for 5 straight punts, with all but one coming from three and outs.  That changed, though, after a Steve Breaston punt return broke the game wide open.  Following a Lions three and out, on the 5th consecutive punt to end a drive, Breaston returned the ball 46 yards down to the Detroit 13-yard line.  Three plays later, Kurt Warner hit Larry Fitzgerald from 1 yard out to give Arizona a 10-7 lead.  The special teams play by the former Michigan returner proved to be huge as it gave the Arizona offense a boost.  From then on, the game was in their favor.

Following another three and out by the Lions, Arizona got the ball back with around five and a half minutes to go in the half and almost ran out the entire clock before getting into the endzone again.  This time it wasn't a punt return or anything of that sort that got the offense going as Arizona simply moved the ball down the field 90 yards thanks to the intermediate passing game.  All day Cardinals receivers were open on short to medium range out passes, and Kurt Warner just picked apart the defense with them.  That is the one problem with the Cover 2 defense.  It is designed to be a bend but don't break system, and just as we saw with Philadelphia and Washington, Arizona used short dump off passes and medium range passes in front of the secondary to move the ball.  It worked well, that's for sure, as Arizona eventually scored another touchdown, this time on a 2-yard pass from Tim Rattay to Leonard Pope, making it 17-7 Cardinals at the half.

Opening up the second half down by 10, I really felt that the first drive of the half for the Lions was the most important when it came to how the rest of the game would go.  If Detroit could score and cut down the lead, then it would mean that their offense finally broke out of its drought and the lead was cut down in a big way.  Knowing that the opening drive of the half was important, Jon Kitna came out firing.  He was finally able to start hitting his receivers again, and after converting a couple third downs, Detroit was into Arizona territory just like that.  With the offense clicking and a touchdown looking imminent, I figured this would be the start to the comeback.  Well, instead of a comeback, Detroit got the shaft.

Shaun McDonald got the ball on an end around type of play, and was tackled for a loss on the play.  As he was being brought down, the ball came loose for a fumble, but it was after his arm hit the ground, meaning he should've been down by contact.  Instead, the referees ruled that it was a fumble, and even after challenging the play was upheld.  I don't know how in the world that was possible when it was clear as day that McDonald was down, but that was the call nonetheless.  I feel like this was the true turning point in the game.  Despite their struggles in the first half, the Lions only trailed by 10 at this point in the game, and with the way the offense had been playing, they would've at least gotten a field goal out of the drive, which would've cut the lead down to a touchdown.  With the turnover, though, Arizona got the ball back with a chance to put the Lions in a big hole.

Putting the Lions away fully wouldn't be done on this drive since Detroit kept fighting back even as the clock ticked down, but Arizona sure made it a lot harder for a comeback when they scored a touchdown after only 5 plays.  The Cardinals moved the ball easily with the momentum from the fumble and Kurt Warner found Leonard Pope for a 16-yard touchdown to make it 24-17 Arizona.  There's no doubt that the fumble changed this game, and I still am angry about it.  I don't want to take anything away from Arizona as they played a much better game than Detroit, and the Lions had their chances to make a comeback, but I still keep going back to that fumble.

Knowing that a touchdown was necessary now that the lead was up to 17 points, Jon Kitna drove the Lions down the field on all passing plays.  Kitna found Roy Williams in the endzone for a 7-yard touchdown to cap off the drive, cutting the lead back down to 10 points as the end of the third quarter was nearing.

In typical Lions fashion, my hopes of a comeback were fully raised after Kurt Warner fumbled the ball away to Detroit on the next drive.  With a full quarter to go and only down by 10, I just assumed that the Lions would make a comeback to get the win.  Once again, I should never have assumed, especially with the Lions.  Two plays into the next drive Jon Kitna fumbled the snap and Arizona recovered, getting the ball back.  Three plays later, it was Warner to Fitzgerald again, this time from 20 yards out, to make the score 31-14 in favor of the Cards.

After the TD by Arizona, the game got beyond ugly.  The next four drives all ended in a turnover, really showing me that Arizona wanted to give the game away, but Detroit just didn't take advantage of the turnovers like they had done earlier in this season, and that is what was the difference in the game.  Here are the results of the four proceeding drives with how many plays long they lasted:

DETROIT - 3 plays: Jon Kitna throws an interception

ARIZONA - 2 plays: Kurt Warner fumbles; recovered by Detroit

DETROIT - 6 plays: Jon Kitna fumbles; recovered by Arizona

ARIZONA - 3 plays: Kurt Warner fumbles; recovered by Detroit

As you can see, Detroit clearly could have done something with these turnovers that would have allowed them to win, but that just wasn't what was going to happen.  This game was sloppy on both sides, but at the end of the day, the Lions were sloppier.  Even after that last turnover by Arizona, Detroit moved the ball all the way down to the Cardinals 14-yard line before being stopped on 4th and short.  Again, a touchdown or field goal there could have changed the outcome of this game.

Looking to come up with a miracle comeback with only a few minutes left, the Lions did score another touchdown when Kitna completed a pass to Roy Williams from 7 yards out, but still trailing by 10 points with only a minute or so left, Detroit really needed a lot of things to happen.  The first was to get the ball back, and Mike Furrey barely missed recovering an onside kick, so that right there ended the game.  The final score ended up being 31-21, and really when you look back on things, despite having -18 yards rushing, the Lions could've won this game had it not been for the turnovers.

Detroit will have to forget about this loss quickly as the next two games are going to define the season.  The New York Giants, a playoff contender, will come to Ford Field on Sunday for a game that will be very important when it comes to finishing this season in a positive way.  With a win, the Lions are right back in the thick of things in the NFC, but with a loss, we could be talking about another disappointing finish to the year.  Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. ET on FOX.  Make sure to stop by Pride of Detroit during the game to comment or get live updates of the game.  Until then, here's to hoping Detroit rebounds next Sunday and Go Lions.