Does Miraculous Finish Mean the Lions Will Hang Around?
The Detroit Lions could be in store for a big season in 2013. If that happens, they will probably look back at the miracle finish last Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys as the moment that got them started towards a deep playoff run.
The Lions looked to be dead in the water at the 2:01 mark when they failed to convert on fourth down and turned the ball back over to Dallas on downs. They trailed 27-24 and the Cowboys were already set up in field goal range. The Lions defense did their job forcing three plays and a field goal to make it 30-24 but it gave the offense one last chance. Having to use their timeouts on defense, the Lions had to march the length of the field and work the sidelines.
A beautiful throw and catch on the left sideline from Matthew Stafford to his old Georgia Bulldogs teammate Kris Durham kept hope alive as they got into Cowboys territory. Then Stafford hit Calvin Johnson who was stopped short of the goal line. With the clock ticking down, Stafford motioned for his teammates to hurry up so he could spike the ball and stop the clock. What happened next will be talked about for a long time.
Doing his best impression of Dan Marino, Stafford had the Cowboys thinking he was going to spike the ball to stop the clock. But unlike Marino, who did a similar thing to the New York Jets by faking a spike and then throwing a game winning touchdown pass instead, Stafford instead ran a QB sneak for a touchdown to win the game.
The end of the game sent Lions fans into a frenzy and the Cowboys star wide receiver Dez Bryant into a meltdown. The game was one of the most exciting of the season and the matchup between Bryant and Johnson and Staffford and Tony Romo was fantastic.
It will be interesting to see which direction these teams go from here. The Lions are now 5-3 and in a dog fight with the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears in the NFC North division. The Cowboys fell to 4-4 but still have the lead in the NFC East. But the New York Giants are starting to find themselves again and the Washington Redskins are capable of getting hot and making a run.
Luckily for the Cowboys, they will host the lowly Minnesota Vikings this week. That should be a cure for getting over yet another disappointing loss.
The Lions will take on the Bears a week from Sunday, which is a good time to catch them. They will be coming off a game agaisnt the Packers this week while the Lions rest up. Detroit is a half game behind the Packers so they probably wouldn ‘t mind if the Bears won this week.
Detroit in the playoffs could be bvery exciting. Not many have a QB-RB-WR-TE combo better than Detroit. If they play some defense, they could make life miserable for the other teams in the NFC. With Stafford learning how to pull out a late win, that bodes well for thei future.
