Lions Gold Tate and Chicago Bears' Harold Jones-Quartey (Detroit Lions photo)

Was it a work of art? No.

Was it a leave-no-doubt, statement-to-the-league, type game? Not in the slightest.

But do any of those things matter? Absolutely not.

The Detroit Lions are 9 and 4 after Sunday's 20-17 victory over the Bears at Ford Field.

They hold a commanding two game (at least) lead in the NFC North with just three weeks left on the NFL calendar. And when the playoff bracket is announced, with home games and byes awarded to the league’s best, nobody will be asking, “How’d you guys get here?”

It only matters that you are there. The details just get in the way.

Because if you do want to break this one down, analyze it from opening kick to final kneel down, the story might resemble more of a horror movie than an action-adventure.

For much of the afternoon, it was a battle between the Lions and Bears as to who could best get out of their own way. Both teams ripped off big plays on offense, only to have them repeatedly dragged back for holding and other violations. The two teams combined for nearly 200 yards (194) in pure yellow laundry.

The game’s most important moments were not necessarily defined by pristine execution.

For the Lions, their heroic game-winning drive in the final few minutes was aided by a critical interference call. Matthew Stafford threw well over the head of Andre Roberts, which would have brought up a daunting 3rd-and-9. Instead, out came the flag, the Bears sideline threw a fit, and the always-find-a-way Lions were in business inside the ten. Two plays later, Stafford channeled his inner-Mike McMahon and scrambled his way to the blue paint for the go-ahead touchdown.

As for the Bears, Matt Barkley tried to whip up his own blend of last-second magic, but the penalties simply would not relent. A 27-yard completion to the Lions 16-yard-line was negated by a hold. 23 yards on the next play was similarly wiped out. Jim Caldwell praised his defensive line after the game, not necessarily for getting to the quarterback, but putting on enough pressure to force these game-deciding infractions. John Fox decided against kicking a 61-yard field goal, tried to pick up 11 on fourth down, and when the pass went begging, the Lions had danced between the raindrops again.



Matt Stafford after the victory

Shining in the Spotlight

When the Lions went on the road last Sunday and pounded the New Orleans Saints into submission, there was some thought that Caldwell’s bunch had grown tired of their come-backing ways, that maybe they’d turned some corner and would now be winning the rest of their games in resounding fashion.

But these Lions seem to revel in the drama. Skeptics might label it playing down to their level of competition, but that criticism only really holds water if the end results aren’t there. In the case of the Lions, they’ve reeled off five victories in a row, including eight of their last nine. So while there has rarely been a laugher in the bunch, the Lions might be laughing their way all the way to a first-round bye.

Let that sink in for a moment. The Lions began last season 1-7. They’d go on to finish under .500 and out of the playoff picture. Then Calvin Johnson, the most productive wide receiver in franchise history and a likely future Hall of Famer, decided to hang up the cleats at age 30. So entering the 2016 campaign, there weren’t many NFL experts tabbing the Lions for big things in the year to come. This was the Packers’ division. Or maybe the Vikings with their wealth of talent and shiny new stadium.

But the Lions? Nah. The division crown was never meant for them. After all, the organization had not finished first place in 23 years: 1993, the year Sterling Sharpe broke free in the Silverdome and broke Lions’ fans hearts in the process.

Only now, the gang that couldn’t shoot straight is coming up aces in all of the biggest spots. They shook off a major Stafford gaffe today -- a pick-six to put Chicago ahead -- and stormed right back down the field to grab the lead for good. Then they withstood a surprisingly frisky Matt Barkley final drive and clamped down to secure a win they absolutely had to have.

Death to S.O.L. (Same Old Lions)

If this was the Lions of yesteryear, it would have played out differently. We’ve seen this exact game before, in fact. The year was 2000, at home against these same Bears; Lions needing a win to qualify for the playoffs. The visitors were trotting out the underwhelming Cade McNown at quarterback (see Barkley, Matt). They had nothing to play for. The Lions led in the final quarter until Stoney Case flipped one to R.W. McQuarters for 61 yards the other way and a go-ahead defensive touchdown. It was today’s game to a T.

The Lions would eventually tie it up, then lose in crushing fashion when Paul Edinger and that unorthodox approach walloped a buzzer-beating 54-yard field goal.



Coach Jim Caldwell fields questions after the game.

By contrast, this version of the Lions has grabbed that losing mentality and hoisted it into the Detroit River. They even attached some sandbags to the package for good measure.

This team is intent on creating a new normal that thrives in the most pressure-packed situations instead of cowering in fear.

There have been less-than-dominant teams in pro football that went on to accomplish major things in January and beyond. Eli Manning’s Giants were never world-beaters, and they captured a pair of Super Bowls. Joe Flacco and a gray-haired Ray Lewis wiggled out of danger multiple times to win the whole thing in 2012.

When those teams gather for ring ceremonies and championship reunions down the line, nobody will remember that the journey might not have been the most pretty; that there were other champs in other years that did things with greater ease.

That’s not how it works. We focus on details the day of the game, maybe in that immediate week to follow. But shortly thereafter, we only remember the result.

Did a team make the playoffs? Win a division? Get to a (gasp) Super Bowl?

The Lions have chosen to perform the high-wire act all season and have kept rock-steady. It took every trick in the book to defeat a last-place team playing a backup quarterback. At home.

But ultimately, they were able to ward off the final charge, and more importantly, fight off a nagging franchise history that so often seems to bleed right into the Ford Field turf.

If the 2016 season were a beauty contest, the Lions might not reach the bikini portion of the evening. There has been little in the way of glitz, and most of these slugfests are woefully short on glamour.

But NFL football is judged simply by victories and defeats.

For that fact, these Detroit Lions are eternally grateful.

