2013 POD Awards: Moment of the Year

First up in the 2013 POD Awards is the category for the Detroit Lions' Moment of the Year. Here are the nominees:

Reggie Bush electrifies Ford Field with 37-yard TD run (Week 4 vs. Bears)

The Lions turned a 10-6 deficit at home against the Bears into a 30-10 lead in a span of eight or so minutes. They got a field goal and a touchdown pass before Bush capped off the dominant stretch of play with an electric 37-yard touchdown run. The run included a hurdle and pretty much put this game away. (The Lions went on to win by a score of 40-32 after a couple late Bears touchdowns.)

Joseph Fauria finds the end zone three times in one game (Week 6 at Browns)

The Lions' 31-17 win in Cleveland was largely made possible by Fauria. He only had 3 catches for 34 yards, but all of his receptions were in the end zone. He finished with 3 touchdowns and a few different dances to celebrate his scores.

Matthew Stafford sneaks away with a win (Week 8 vs. Cowboys)

With the clock running out and the Lions at the 1-yard line, Stafford rushed everybody to get set in order to spike the ball (at least that was the original plan). The ball was not spiked to stop the clock, though. Instead, after seeing an opening to the end zone, Stafford decided to take the snap and leap for the goal line. He extended the ball to break the plane, giving the Lions a touchdown and capping off their miraculous comeback. The TD gave the Lions a 31-30 victory and a 5-3 record heading into their bye week.

Calvin Johnson destroys the Cowboys (Week 8 vs. Cowboys)

Before Stafford won the Cowboys game, Johnson absolutely lit up the Dallas defense. He caught 14 passes for 329 yards and a touchdown, and he came up just short of the NFL's single-game receiving record. Megatron once again taught the Cowboys (and Dez Bryant) that you shouldn't talk about him in the media before playing the Lions.

Nick Fairley stuffs Matt Forte on 2-point conversion (Week 10 at Bears)

After Josh McCown quickly led the Bears down the field for a late touchdown, it was up to the Lions defense to stop the ensuing 2-point conversion attempt in order to keep this game from going to overtime. They did, but a penalty gave the Bears another shot. On the second attempt, Fairley made the stop all by himself by bursting through the offensive line and dragging Forte down in the backfield. The stop helped the Lions win by a score of 21-19.

Ndamukong Suh sacks Matt Flynn for a safety (Week 13 vs. Packers)

The Lions ended their Thanksgiving losing streak in dominant fashion with a 40-10 victory over the Packers. The game really started to get out of hand toward the end of the third quarter when Suh brought down Flynn in the end zone for a safety. Suh split two linemen and immediately wrapped up Flynn. Suh then gently laid Flynn down on the turf as the Lions extended their lead and turned this game into a blowout.