Nov 6, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) throws during the second quarter against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium. Photo Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
Things looked bleak for the Detroit Lions after another underachieving September, but four come-from-behind wins in the last five weeks have the team dreaming of hosting a playoff game for the first time since 1993.
The Lions enter this week in second place in the NFC North, a half-game behind the struggling Minnesota Vikings. They have the most favorable remaining schedule of their fellow division contenders.
After this week’s bye, Detroit plays two straight games at Ford Field, including a rematch with the Vikings on Thanksgiving Day. All three of the Lions’ remaining division games are at home, and given the shortcomings of the rest of the group, if Detroit wins out at Ford Field – it also hosts the Jacksonville Jaguars on Nov. 20 – it could win the division.
“We knew going into (Minnesota) game if we pull this one off, it was definitely going to be a huge win,” linebacker Tahir Whitehead said. “It puts us closer to the Vikings in that race, a step closer to achieving what we’re trying to achieve.”
If Minnesota can’t fix its floundering offense, there’s a good chance the NFC North will still be up for grabs when the Lions host the Green Bay Packers in their regular-season finale Jan. 1.
The Packers handed the Lions’ their worst loss of the season in late September, scoring 31 of the game’s first 34 points before holding on for a 34-27 victory. But Detroit has brewed up a seemingly endless batch of late-game magic in the two months since.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford has led five game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime for the Lions this year. And Detroit is the only team in the NFL, other than the winless Cleveland Browns, to trail in the fourth quarter of all nine games it has played.
Coach Jim Caldwell rightfully has given Stafford plenty of credit for his team’s whereabouts in the standings. Without their quarterback, a legitimate MVP candidate, the Lions are probably busy preparing for a top-10 draft pick.
“No. 1, he prepares extremely hard,” Caldwell said. “No. 2, he has great confidence that he doesn’t back down and doesn’t shrink away from those moments, and the guys that are around him can sense that and I think it gives them a little bit more confidence. They make plays along the way for him. They catch it for him. They block for him. I think they believe if they give him enough time that he can probably get us in positon to score.”
Despite the Lions’ favorable spot in the standings, Caldwell said he won’t talk to his team about what they need to do to reach the playoffs over the next several weeks. In true coach-speak, he said his only concern is the next game.
“I think that’s the quickest way you can get in trouble with your team is when you start to have your team try to look at the big picture,” Caldwell said. “Big picture softens you up and we try to keep our guys away from that. The narrow focus is one that I think is extremely important to us and that’s the way we try to keep it, week in and week out. So you ask me about goals and future and all that kind of stuff, we don’t even let that stuff even sink in to our mindset.”
