In a state known for its high unemployment and economic turmoil, the Detroit Lions have even made the most hardened Michiganders cringe over the years. The team had not won a game since Dec. 23, 2007, and had endured a depressing 0-16 season last year. Now, the city can rejoice – at least for now.
The Lions defeated the Washington Redskins Sunday, 19-14, to win their first game in 20 tries. Behind a stellar performance by No. 1 overall pick Matthew Stafford, running back Kevin Smith, and a hungry defense, the Lions held control throughout to finally get rid of infamy.
“We not only got the monkey off our back, we got King Kong off our back,” said Lions owner William Clay Ford about the win. “I’m hoping that this gets us over that hump and gives us a winning attitude.”
The Lions were up the whole game, but things got a little shaky down the stretch. Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell engineered a quick scoring drive to diminish the Lions’ lead. With no timeouts remaining and little time to work with, it was the Redskins’ game to win or lose. It was such a tense series of events that Stafford could not bare to look.
“I figured I’d just let the crowd noise tell me what happened,” Stafford said to the Associated Press. “When it got really quiet, I couldn’t take it, so I looked up, and saw them running, and then the tackle, and then I saw the clock was at zero.”
Lions center Dominic Raiola has been through 99 losses over his nine-year career with Detroit, but Sunday was a special feeling for the veteran.
Stafford was a key component in the victory. Showing a type of poise not seen in Detroit for a while, he had 21 completions for 241 yards and a touchdown – including engineering a 99-yard touchdown drive. More importantly, he threw no interceptions and gave his team a chance to win. “I’m having fun,” he said. “It’s a great game we get to play.”
But on the other side of the spectrum are the Redskins. Head coach Jim Zorn is only 9-10 since becoming the team’s coach in 2008, and fingers will surely be pointed in Washington D.C.
“You either want it or you don’t,” said Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall. “A lot of these guys don’t want it. They want the other stuff.”
Our Take
The city of Detroit will rejoice and take this victory in stride, but like the owner William Clay Ford said, a monkey has been taken off the team’s back. Instead of focusing on not losing and being historically inept, the team will now look at being highly competitive and winning every week. On the other side, the Redskins are trying to save their season and their coach’s job. Time will tell how each team’s season unwinds.
