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Detroit Lions fans were spoiled in 2016. Each of Detroit’s first 10 games came down to the very end of the game and the final score was determined by a single possession. Close games are fun. They provide drama from beginning to end, and the NFL is the king of unforgettable finishes. I don’t think I need to remind anyone of what happened in the Super Bowl just a few months back.
But sometimes the sporting gods aren’t so generous. Take, for example, Friday night’s slaughter of the Boston Celtics. The Cleveland Cavaliers jumped out to an astonishing 41-point halftime lead, an NBA playoff record. At one point, Cleveland’s lead jumped to 50, but they ended up winning by a mere 44.
However, blowouts can be fun, too, provided that you’re supporting the winning team. So today’s Question of the Day is:
What is your favorite memory of a Detroit Lions blowout?
My answer: Thanksgiving 2013: Lions 40, Packers 10.
The amazing thing about Detroit’s 40-10 wholloping of the Packers is that the game should have been even more lopsided. Had the Lions not committed a bunch of errors in the first quarter of that game, they would have hung well over 50 points on their division rivals.
Instead, the Lions won by just 30 points and outgained the Packers by a margin of 561-126 yards. But the pleasure of this game was about more than shoving the Packers’ faces in the dirt. This was also the Matt Flynn revenge game. After Flynn put up 480 passing yards and six touchdowns against the Lions during the 2011 regular season finale, his name carried with it a chill that ran down every Lions fan’s spine.
But Flynn can no longer intimidate Lions fans due to this game. Flynn threw for just 139 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception. He was sacked seven times on that Thanksgiving Day, including a safety at the hands of Ndamukong Suh, who threatened to slam him to the ground, only to think better of it and gently roll him oh his back as the whistle blew the play dead.
The Lions may not have taken down big, bad Aaron Rodgers on that day, but they proved that they could hang with—and embarrass—the Packers, if all things went right. This game set forth a rivalry between the two teams that has been fairly even since.
Your turn.