On more than one occasion earlier this season, the Sprint Game Ball of the Week had to be handed out following a loss. When that happens, it's tough to put together a post considering there are oftentimes not many or any worthy candidates for the honor. This week, however, that is obviously not the case. After beating the Buccaneers on the road in overtime, many Lions players were considered for the Sprint Game Ball of the Week, as many are deserving of receiving the honor.

Here is a quick rundown of players considered for this week's Sprint Game Ball:

• QB Drew Stanton - 23/37, 252 yards, 1 TD
• RB Maurice Morris - 15 carries, 109 yards, 1 TD
• WR Calvin Johnson - 10 receptions, 152 yards
• WR Nate Burleson - 4 receptions, 28 yards, 1 TD
• The entire DL - 3 sacks
• LB DeAndre Levy - 11 tackles
• K Dave Rayner - 3/3 FG (including two in pressure-packed situations), 2/2 XP

Although there were many worthy candidates, to me it was an easy decision to give this week's Sprint Game Ball to Drew Stanton. Not only did he play well statistically, but he led the Lions down the field with no timeouts as the fourth quarter was coming to a close and put Dave Rayner in position to tie the game. Then, in overtime, he led the Lions down the field again, putting Rayner in position to not tie the game, but end it with a game-winning kick. For his performance and his second straight win, Stanton earns this week's Sprint Game Ball.

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Two weeks ago after the Lions lost to Dallas, there were so few worthy candidates for the Sprint Game Ball that I gave it to punter Nick Harris for pinning the Cowboys inside the five a few times. It was a strange pick to have to make for sure, but one of the side effects of losses, naturally, is not having many players perform all that well.

Although Detroit lost on Sunday to Chicago, I'm happy to say that a few guys were in the running for the Sprint Game Ball this week. Drew Stanton, making only his second career start, completed 16 of 24 passes for 178 yards and a touchdown, and he also ran for a touchdown. Calvin Johnson caught three passes for 66 yards and a touchdown. Stefan Logan took a kick back 60 yards and averaged 38.7 yards per return (he also had a punt return for 19 yards). Also, Dave Rayner made both of the two field goals he attempted, including one from 50 yards out.

All of the guys listed above could have easily been given the Sprint Game Ball this week, but the obvious winner is someone else: Cliff Avril. Avril had a monster day for the Lions, recording four solo tackles, three sacks and three tackles for loss. He also was involved on the play where Turk McBride got a sack and forced a fumble. All in all, it was quite the game for Avril, who is having quite the season.

In 2010, despite missing three games, Avril has a total of 25 tackles and seven sacks. He had 10.5 total sacks in 2008 and 2009 combined, so he is already getting close to matching that mark in this season alone. He has really progressed as a player and is someone who will definitely be part of the Lions' talented defensive line for years to come.

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I know what you're thinking. A punter? Really? How can a punter be deserving of a Sprint Game Ball?

Trust me, I realize it seems odd to give a punter a Sprint Game Ball, especially for a performance that included one of his punts being taken back for a touchdown, but allow me to explain.

After coming off of losses, especially ones that aren't close, it's often tough to single out one player for a good performance. Usually there aren't any that jump out at you after a double-digit loss, which was the case for the Cowboys game. Nobody's stats on offense or defense really jumped out at me, leaving me struggling to find a player to deserving of a Sprint Game Ball. So I moved on to special teams players and it hit me -- Nick Harris deserves recognition for his performance against Dallas. Why? Just take a look at his six punts from Sunday's game:

1. (From 50) 48 yards, downed at the DAL 2
2. (From DAL 47) 47 yards, touchback
3. (From DAL 41) 37 yards, downed at the DAL 4
4. (From DET 49) 47 yards, downed at the DAL 4 (The Lions got a safety on the very next play.)
5. (From DET 44) 53 yards, picked up and returned from the DAL 3 for a 97-yard touchdown
6. (From DAL 46) 46 yards, touchback

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In the first edition of this post for the Redskins game, I handed out a Sprint Game Ball to Calvin Johnson for not only his big game, but also for playing through a painful injury. The second edition of this post rewards the Detroit Lions defensive line for their stellar play against the Redskins. The entire D-line was a force to be reckoned with last Sunday, and they deserve the recognition for sure.

All you need to do is look at the stat sheet for why I gave the Lions D-line a Sprint Game Ball. Kyle Vanden Bosch had five tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble; Cliff Avril had four tackles and two sacks; and Ndamukong Suh had four tackles, two sacks and a fumble recovery for a touchdown. Corey Williams didn't have a sack against Washington, unlike the rest of his fellow starters on the D-line, but he was double-teamed all game long. Despite that, he played very well against the run and helped open things up for the rest of the D-line, which obviously happened based on looking at the stats.

Coming into the season, everybody thought the Lions defensive line had the potential to be great. Well, the season is only halfway through and I think it's safe to say it is one of the top units on the team. In the league in general, the Lions D-line has to be pretty high up there. You have a talented veteran in Vanden Bosch, a speedy rusher in Avril and two dominating forces in the middle in Suh and Williams. Not only that, but you also have guys like Turk McBride and Sammie Hill coming off the bench to provide solid depth. To say the least, this defensive line is extremely talented, and it shows on Sundays, especially last Sunday against Washington.

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Since the Lions were on a bye last week, I am going to do two posts where I hand out a Sprint Game Ball for Detroit's win over the Redskins. The first goes to Calvin Johnson, who was an obvious choice for the honor. Johnson had a great game, catching nine passes for 101 yards and a career-high three touchdowns.

Just based on his stats alone he would have likely received this award, but the reason Johnson was such an obvious choice is because he is still dealing with a shoulder injury. Jim Schwartz said on Monday that Johnson's injured shoulder is not doing all that well, and it showed last Sunday. Multiple times Johnson took a hard hit and had to take himself out of the game for a play, which was always concerning to see. Johnson fought through the pain and toughed it out, though, because he was right back on the field a play or two later. That toughness was big for the Lions, as it kept arguably their top offensive weapon on the field. For Johnson, that toughness allowed him to put up big numbers despite clearly being in some pain.

During his career, Johnson has received a lot of criticism for not being tough enough. He has been banged up a lot, which is why that criticism has been out there. Some people just didn't think he was tough enough to play through the pain of an injury and gut it out for his team, but it's clear that Johnson proved those people wrong last Sunday. He may have been hurt, but he stayed in the game and still put on a show, helping the Lions beat Washington, 37-25.

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This week's Sprint Game Ball could have gone to a number players, which is a very nice change from the first edition of this series. Two weeks ago, I opted for Ndamukong Suh partly because not a whole lot of players did anything worthwhile. I was almost grasping for straws by naming Suh, but this week he was just one of the many nominees for this award. His awesome interception put him in contention with the likes of Alphonso Smith, Calvin Johnson, Stefan Logan, Nate Burleson and Shaun Hill. All were deserving, but I ultimately decided on Hill for this week's recipient of the Spring Game Ball.

While Logan's kick return for a touchdown was the turning point in Sunday's game, Hill's consistently good play is what allowed the Lions to jump out to a big lead and put the game away relatively early on in the second half. He got off to a shaky start when he first replaced Matthew Stafford, but he has really settled in as the Lions' starting quarterback the last few weeks, performing at a very high level. Just look at his stats from Sunday: 21 of 32, 227 yards, 3 touchdowns, 0 interceptions.

The Lions have been a very pass-happy team this season, so it has been vital that Hill play well. While there have been some frustrating moments, Hill has made Stafford's absence much easier to swallow, and for that he is very deserving of this week's Sprint Game Ball. After all, remember how much of a mess the Lions' offense was last season when Stafford went down? Detroit wasn't even able to stay competitive, but with Hill they have been in every game and actually won without Stafford too. It's a very pleasant change, to say the least, which is why the Lions went out and got Hill in the offseason. A very good move for a very solid player.

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With the Lions starting 0-3 and playing quite poorly this past Sunday in Minnesota, it's tough to single out one player as deserving of a "Sprint Game Ball" for Week 3. In Week 2, this would have obviously gone to Jahvid Best, but there wasn't one single player that really stood out too much this past Sunday. Even so, I have decided to give the "Sprint Game Ball" to Ndamukong Suh.

While Suh only ended up with three tackles against the Vikings, he is deserving of this honor for the things he does that go unnoticed. Tony Siragusa, a former defensive tackle, noticed this (as one might expect) while serving as a color commentator from the field. He pointed out how well Suh did at breaking through the offensive line, as well as creating room for his teammates on the D-line by taking up multiple players at once.

Suh being double teamed is nothing new considering it has been happening since the beginning of the preseason, but it's always interesting to see how teams game plan against him for an actual game. This past Sunday against Minnesota, Suh was not allowed to do a whole lot statistically speaking, but the Lions did hit Brett Favre quite a bit. While they only had two total sacks for the day, the number of times Favre took a hit was much higher.

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