Coming into today, the last time the Lions won a game was on December 23, 2007, against the Chiefs. It had been 21 months, a winless season, one Matt Millen firing, and overall 19 losses since that last win. Honestly, I forgot what it felt like to celebrate a regular season Lions win because it had been so long. Notice, however, that I used the past tense. I did that because, for the first time in over 600 days, the Lions have won a game.
The Lions played one of their best games in, well, nearly 2 years, and defeated the Washington Redskins by a score of 19-14. Matthew Stafford showed how good he can be, and the defense, though it struggled at times, stepped up when it had to on the Redskins' final drive of the game. Washington got the ball back with 1:05 left and quickly moved down the field, but the Lions started making some plays and the clock ran out for the 'Skins well short of the end zone. Immediately the celebration began, complete with tears, excitement, and in general a sigh of relief from everyone involved with the Lions.
I can't tell you how good it feels for the Lions to finally win, not only because it has been so long, but now the losing streak can be put in the rear-view mirror. No matter what happens the rest of the season, there won't be a repeat of 0-16, the Lions will not break the record for the longest losing streak in NFL history anytime soon, and most importantly, Detroit has a chance to begin a winning streak next week against the Bears.
I will have a drive-by-drive breakdown of the game up later today, but in the meantime, let's enjoy this win and GO LIONS!