TAMPA, Fla. -- Bob Quinn's gamble is paying off.

We're talking about Lions tight end Eric Ebron, whose first-half struggles need no introduction. He was bad. He was booed, louder and more often than ever before. And that's saying.

As the trade deadline approached, Quinn picked up the phone to talk with multiple teams about a possible trade. But in the end, he gambled he would be better off hanging onto Ebron. And he was right.

Ebron has been among Detroit's most consistent players the last six weeks, and with Detroit's playoff hopes hanging in the balance against Tampa, he was huge. Ebron overcame an early fumble and late drop to catch a career-high 10 passes for 94 yards in the 24-21 win on Sunday.

"All them boos turning into catches now," cornerback Darius Slay said. "Everyone wants to ride him. We as a team never lost faith in him, because we know what kind of player he is."

What kind of player he is is a damn good one lately.

Ebron has caught 18 of his 19 targets the last three games combined. In a stretch where Detroit lost two games and looked sloppy in the lone victory, he's been among the club's most consistent players.

In the six games since Detroit elected to keep him at the trade deadline, Ebron has 27 catches on 33 targets for 285 yards and one touchdown. In the seven games before the deadline, he had 15 catches on 32 targets for 160 yards.

"His confidence has obviously built up," receiver Marvin Jones said. "He's making some important catches, particularly on third downs. It's been great. I know he's confident, and I know he wants to make those big plays."

The fumble was no good, of course. He said it was a fluke play that happened as he was trying to transfer the ball away from the defender. And based on his track record, there's no reason to doubt him. He'd never fumbled before in his four pro seasons, nor did he lose one at North Carolina.

Teammates showered Ebron with praise in all corners of the locker room. One called him a "(bleeping) P-I-M-P." But Ebron was in no mood to celebrate. Asked if he gets satisfaction out of proving his critics wrong, he showed just how jaded he's become toward fans.

"No," he said, "because I bet they can't wait to talk about how I dropped a ball. I mean, I'll never make this fanbase happy. Which is cool with me. I'll just go out there and continue to do what I do, and go from there."

Is that hard on him, knowing even a career day after a great month isn't enough to win people over?

"No," he said. 'Why would it be hard on me? I'm just chillin'."

Ebron said he gets no validation out of proving people wrong.

"No," he said. "I know what I'm capable of. Everyone else is just outside noise. And that's just how it is. I'll just continue to play my game."

Lately, that game has been a very good thing for Detroit.