Remember when Ted Nugent sang, “I got you in a stranglehold baby, you best get out of the way?” I truly believe he was talking about the Lions’ front four. In a game that needed to be taken over by any facet of the team, the Lions’ defensive line delivered a knockout punch, putting Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers on the sideline with a concussion, delivering four sacks and pressuring backup Matt Flynn for a solid two quarters.
If anyone would have told me the only score and winning touchdown against Green Bay would come courtesy of a Drew Stanton to Will Heller touchdown pass I would have asked if that was a cigarette they were smoking. Stanton played with heart and soul, making just enough plays to put the Lions in a position to win. Scott Linehan called a pretty good game, allowing his QB to use his legs, adding in misdirection, the option and even allowing Stefan Logan to fire out of the backfield on occasion.
With the Lions fielding second- and third-stringers all over the field, they came through in the trenches, punching the Packers in the mouth (and it wasn’t just Ndamukong Suh this time) and playing old time black-and-blue division football the way it was meant to be played.
While the pit in my stomach was still there as the Packers had the football with two minutes to play, it disappeared quickly with more great defense and Stanton floating the last three seconds from the clock with a long pass out of bounds. Here I was in an unfamiliar position, celebrating a Lions victory over a division opponent for the first time in 19 games and watching a futile 10-game losing streak against Green Bay fall away. Wango tango! This was a good day!
BY STEVEN DOUGLAS LOSEY,
http://www.freep.com
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