If anyone told you that the (1-8) Browns and Lions would hook up to compete in of the most exciting games of the week, you’d probably look at them like they were crazy and should never talk about football again. But on Sunday the Lions and Browns put on an offensive explosion combining for over 900 yards of total offense. The Lions pulled off one of the most entertaining last second wins that Detroit fans had ever seen.

With no timeouts and 1:46 seconds left in the game, the Lions were trailing the Browns 37-31 when Matt Stafford took the field to lead the Lions offense on a game winning drive after throwing a pick on his previous possession. Stafford started the final drive of the game on his own 12 yard line and had a long field to work with and very little time. Stafford was composed and did a good job of reading the defense while showing good mobility in the pocket as he marched the offense down the field. The Lions got down to the Browns 31 yard line with 8 seconds left in the game. Stafford then took the snap and scrambled around evading the browns rushers before throwing a hail marry pass up for grabs in the end zone that was picked off by Cleveland, but there was a flag thrown for pass interference. Defensive back Hank Poteat had pushed Calvin Johnson in the end zone, which meant that the Lions would get the ball at the 1 yard line with zero seconds left on the clock. Cleveland then took a time out as Stafford went to the sideline holding his shoulder with a look of excruciating pain through his facemask. Coaches and team doctors were holding Stafford back but the rookie stormed back on the field for the last play of the game. Stafford then took the snap and threw a tight ball to another rookie, tight end Brandon Pettigrew to tie the game at 36. Then Jason Hanson won the game on the extra point field goal.

Stafford not only showed incredible toughness on his game winning touchdown pass but he displayed lots of mental toughness to get his team out of a 24-3 deficit that the Lions faced after the first quarter. The Browns average less than ten points per game and is ranked last in the NFL in offense. In the first quarter Brady Quinn and the offense shocked the Lions by scoring three touchdowns though the air. The first touchdown was a 59 yard strike to Matt Stafford’s college teammate at Georgia and former #1 target Mohamed Massaquoi. Then a wide opened Chansi Stuckey scored on a 40 yard touchdown catch that gave Cleveland a 17-3 lead. Stafford then threw an interception that was almost returned for a touchdown which didn’t really matter anyways because Brady Quinn completed a 4 yard touchdown pass to the elusive Joshua Cribs. Lion’s fans were in complete disbelief at the defenses inability to keep up with the Browns receiver’s. It looked like it would be an ugly loss to a team people said the Lions would beat.

Suddenly the Lions offense turned it on; Aaron Brown caught a 26 yard touchdown pass before the end of the first quarter. Then running back Kevin Smith showed his versatility as he caught a 25 yard touchdown pass. Then Matt Stafford threw a 75 yard bomb down the field to wide receiver Calvin Johnson. In the second half Detroit’s defense stepped up and only allowed 1 touchdown. Stafford threw his fourth touchdown pass to tight end Will Heller to give the Lions their first lead of the game. Then the Lions gave up a score to former Lions tight end Micheal Gaines as the Browns regained the lead in the 4th quarter, before Stafford’s game winning drive.

Matt Stafford ended the game with 422 yards passing and 5 touchdowns.  Yes, we all understand he did it against the Cleveland Browns but the point is he did it. Since 1937 no rookie quarterback in the NFL has ever passed for five touchdowns in one game. That’s saying something because particularly in the past 2 or 3 years there have been some great rookie quarterbacks. Stafford is really starting to gain the respect of his teammates along with Lion’s fans. Last week Stafford was hit over 30 times against the Vikings but continued to get up and show some relentless effort in their loss. Today Stafford took a huge hit on the hail marry pass but still showed how tough he was and hungry he was for a win.

Although the Lions pulled out a win, I think the Defense struggled a lot more than they should have against a poor offensive team. A lot of the time the defensive backs for the Lions had a complete breakdown in the secondary. The communication and chemistry was off and the defense still needs to improve on tackling. This team needs to get more pressure on the oppositions quarterback. Every quarterback that has played against the Lions this year has had season highs through the air. Offensively the Lions need to have more balance between the run and pass. The Lions had just 57 yards rushing and Stafford had 43 passing attempts in today’s game. Reps are good for the development of Stafford but for the good of the offense there needs to be more balance.   

Since 1999 the Lions and Browns have lost more games than any other NFL team. Going into Sundays contest people where calling this a battle for the number 1 pick. Lots of football fans would look at this win and not be impressed. We all are aware that the Lions still need to improve on a number of things. What matters is that they are playing hard and finding key pieces to build on. Young players are playing big roles and putting this young Lions team in the position to win. In just this year’s draft Stafford, Pettigrew, and Delmus all have had a huge impact on this team and have showed that things are turning around.

The Lions have a short week before playing the Green Bay Packers on Thanksgiving. There is little time for celebration, the Lions have to get to work and prepare for the Packers who handed them a 26-0 loss back in week 6. Hopefully Stafford’s left shoulder injury isn’t too bad, X rays came back negative which gives us a glimmer of hope for a healthy Stafford come Thursday. Stafford is going to give it all that he has despite critics and injuries. As Lions fans we should recognize his efforts and support our young quarterback because he is the future of this team and the key to winning more football games.

The Detroit Lions blew a seventeen point lead in the first quarter which eventually led to a 32-20 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Sunday's loss was typical of how the Lions have fared in the past decade or so. After witnessing some of the most exciting and explosive football we’ve ever seen from the Lions during the first quarter, it made you question if this was the turning point of the season that fans have so patiently waited for. Could that loss to the Rams have sparked some fire in the Lions to take out their frustration on a Seattle team whose record was 2-5 heading into Sunday’s game? During the first quarter, Lions fans had to be conscious and worried that there were still three quarters of football left to be played during Sunday’s game, which made people nervous of what was to come.

During the first quarter it looked as if the Lions were going to dominate the game against the Seahawks instead of being dominated. Matt Hasselbeck came into the game with a banged up shoulder and broken ribs, but it did not show at all against the Lions D which, by the way, makes every quarterback look like a pro bowler with the exception of Redskin’s Jason Campbell. Hasselbeck completed a franchise record 39 completions along with 329 yards passing and one touchdown. He scorched the Lions defense in the final three quarters of the game after an extremely rough start. Hasselbeck’s first pass attempt was picked off by Delmas and eventually capped off with a seven yard touchdown pass to rookie tight end Brandon Pettigrew. Then Detroit capitalized on another turnover when Seahawks fullback Griffith fumbled after catching a ten yard pass. Linebacker Julian Peterson recovered the fumble which gave the Lions more great field position. During this possession Matt Stafford threw a 29 yard pass to the back of the end zone where wide out Bryant Johnson made an incredible one hand catch to put the Lions up 14-0. The Lions didn’t stop scoring there; they scored on a 41 yard Jason Hanson field goal before the end of the first quarter.

During the second quarter the Lions offense stalled and the defense started missing tackles and giving up chunks of yards to the Seattle offense. Stafford threw two interceptions in Seattle territory which helped allow the Seahawks to get back in the game. Hasselbeck began to complete pass after pass and pick apart the Detroit secondary. Seattle running back Julius Jones scored on a three yard touchdown run and Seahawks kicker Olindo Mare hit a field goal near the end of the first quarter. The Seahawks headed into halftime with some momentum and ten unanswered points in the second quarter.

In the second half Stafford and the young Lions offense continued to struggle, while Hasselbeck continued to show that he had the hot hand. Hesselback and TJ Houshmanzadeh hooked up on a two yard touchdown pass giving Seattle a twenty-three twenty lead in the third. Stafford threw his third interception to Linebacker David Hawthorne who had his second pick of the day. In the fourth quarter Seattle continued to score and pick off the Lion quarterback. With 2:03 seconds left in the game Stafford and the questionable Lions Offense had one more chance to put together a game winning drive. Stafford started the drive on his own 5 yard line and completed four passes to get his team down to the 47 yard line, before throwing his fifth interception to Josh Wilson who returned it for a 61 yard Touchdown.

Stafford ended the game with 5 interceptions on the day which made people wonder if Daunte Cullpeper should have seen some time at quarterback or even Drew Stanton. Stafford played horrible and did not look like the number one over all pick and the promising franchise quarterback of the Detroit Lions. It seemed as if three of the five interceptions Stafford threw were right to the defense. He did not look comfortable in the pocket and rushed a lot of his throws. Throughout the game Stafford constantly over or under threw passes to the Lions receivers. Calvin Johnson only had two receptions for twenty seven yards and seemed like a decoy for most of the day. But if Calvin was a decoy other receivers should have contributed to the passing game a lot more. During the second half Calvin Johnson was seen on the sideline frustrated at Stafford and turning his head as if he did not want to hear anything Stafford had to say. Kevin Smith had 67 rushing yards and a 30 yard run which was his longest of the season. Morris and Brown helped Detroit rush for over one hundred yards in the second consecutive game.

The Lions Defense did not help much as they continued to due a poor job of tackling and allowing the Seattle receivers to gain countless yards after the catch. Special teams for the Lions continued to struggle while giving up long runs in the oppositions return game. The bright spot of the game was Brandon Pettigrew’s contribution he made in the passing game. He had 7 receptions for 70 yards and a touchdown. The Lions are going to need him to step up and duplicate this type of performance. The Lions also committed 9 penalties for 77 yards which is hurting there offensive progression.

It is hard to come to Matt Stafford’s defense after how he took a step back instead of forward against Seattle.  Something us fans can’t forget though is that Stafford is just a 21 year old rookie that inherited the starting quarterback job on the worst team in NFL history. As long as he moves forward and continues to show maturity and leadership as the Lions quarterback, fans should respect his commitment to this team and be patient with his progression as an NFL quarterback.

The Lions have now lost 16 straight on the road. Not to mention them loosing 30 out of the last 32 games. At this point the most important thing this organization can do is show steady improvement and commitment to getting better. Fans need to see that this team is getting better and has a bright future. Progress is the key to success for this team. Everyone from the front office to the players themselves must show that they are committed to improving and giving the city of Detroit some hope that they will one day have a football team they can stand behind and be proud of.

The Detroit Lions blow a golden opportunity against the struggling St. Louis Rams, who had lost seventeen consecutive games. If you wondered who the worst team in the NFL is, the Lions were in contention for that title Sunday. After the Lions just came off a bye week with extra rest and preparation they put on an embarrassing display of football for an NFL team. Maybe the Lions being blacked out was the best thing for all of us. Penalties, special teams, mental errors, and an offense that didn’t show up were part of the ingredients to a 17-10 loss to the Rams.

After Rams running back Steven Jackson continuously abused the Lions Defense during the second half, with 1:44 left in the game Jackson ran for a 25 yard touchdown, which gave the Rams a seven point lead. Matt Stafford and the troubled Lions Offense attempted a game winning drive but ended up losing more yards than they gained. Jackson ended up running for 149 yards on 22 carries. The Rams other score came from a fake field goal during the end of the first half when Rams kicker Josh Brown threw a pass to a wide open Daniel Fells for a 36 yard touchdown that gave them the lead in the final minute of the first half. Detroit got their only score of the game when Matt Stafford scrambled for a 4 yard touchdown run.

The Lions offense looked dreadful due to there inability to put together productive drives and move the ball down the field. The Lions had four penalties in the first quarter and eight penalties for 67 yards during the game. Matt Stafford was 14 of 33 for 168 yards and an interception, which turned into a safety after the Rams defensive back ran backwards after picking off the pass. Stafford also had a rushing touchdown. Stafford did not have much help from his offense.  Receivers were dropping passes left and right that were being put right in their hands, and Wide Receiver Calvin Johnson still ended up watching from the sideline because his nagging knee injury. The running game seemed to be somewhat productive with Kevin Smith and Mourice Morris rushing for a combined total of 108 yards but, without an effective passing game it allowed the Rams to load up the box and play the run. Kevin Smith left the game with a shoulder injury in the second half. Another issue was the missed assignments on defense and the poor job of tackling Steven Jackson, when it was obvious they would try to ride him to a victory. Special Teams coordinator Stan Quan continues to struggle stopping the opposition from scoring and giving up good field position.

Without Calvin Johnson in the lineup the Lions passing game looks extremely limited which hurts the running game. There is no deep threat and when someone gets open downfield it ends up being a dropped pass and missed opportunity for this offense. Bryant Johnson, Dennis Northcut, and Rookie Brandon Pettigrew all need to step up and make some plays in the passing game. The poor offensive play can’t just be put on one person. This whole offense needs to get on the same page and play well as an offensive unit in order to start putting together drives and scoring touchdowns. The Lions have now lost 29 of their last 31 games and is in danger of once again having the number one pick in the draft. Yes the Lions have improved and even won a game but there is still a long way to go before this team can compete with the NFL’s most elite teams and contend for the playoffs.   

The Lions next two games are against Seattle and Minnesota then they may get a realistic shot at winning against the Browns. Lion’s fans are furious after breaking the Rams loosing streak. Center Dominic Raiola was seen yelling in the stands at Lions fans as a result of them taunting and booing Stafford after the loss. There were a lot of empty seats at Ford Field and until the Lions start winning games you can expect more half filled stadiums.