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Pettigrew’s solid stats blurred by untimely turnovers
Tim Twentyman – DetroitLions.com

Lions tight end Brandon Pettigrew is on pace for another 70-plus catch season with 700-plus yards. So why does it suddenly seem this season has been the roughest of his four-year career?

Pettigrew ranks in the top 10 in the league with six dropped passes, according to Stats LLC, and has also had two crucial turnovers late in losses to Tennessee and Houston.

2013 Detroit Lions NFL draft watch — Week 13
Justin Rogers – MLive.com

Zeke Motta, S, Notre Dame No. 17
Notre Dame at USC, 8 p.m., ABC

Motta has great size, standing 6-foot-2 and weighing 215 pounds. He’s likely to draw comparisons to Harrison Smith, but that’s a bit much. Motta isn’t nearly the playmaker Smith was at Notre Dame.

Motta has good speed and plays the run well, tallying 56 tackles this season. He’s currently projected as a third-day selection.

Controversial call hurt Lions more than fantasy owners
Ed Barkowitz – Philadelphia Daily News

Can you imagine if it were Arian Foster who scored that disputed touchdown on Thanksgiving?

Holy cow. Not only would Lions fans be all over the NFL, but perhaps thousands of irate fantasy owners who were playing against Foster would have marched to the league’s Park Avenue office in protest – just what Manhattan traffic cops would have needed on Black Friday.

The NFL trade that saved a life
CBS Sports

Giants owner wants challenge rule reviewed (and changed)
Mike Garafolo – USA TODAY

So a TD that wasn’t a TD stood.

And that’s just plain crazy to sensible people.

That group includes New York Giants president and CEO John Mara.

Mara, the chairman of the NFL’s management council executive committee/labor, told USA TODAY Sports via email Friday morning he will present the situation for discussion at this winter’s NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis,where all potential rules changes are discussed.

To ensure that everyone has a chance to vote, polls will remain open until midnight on the west coast. At that time, a winner will be declared and the tournament will continue with another matchup the following day.

Today is the last day featuring two matchups with tomorrow beginning singular matchups between more closely seeded players.

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It all led up to the Lions’ first Monday Night Football appearance in a decade and the team (and fans) did not disappoint. Ford Field was as loud as it has ever been and the Lions moved to 5-0 in front of a national audience.

No one expected the Lions to go undefeated but the Lions made it official in week six by falling to the San Francisco 49ers. The post game theater between Jim Schwartz and Jim Harbaugh overshadowed what was a good game between two good teams, however.

The Lions tried to make a move at running back at the trade deadline but it was negated when Philadelphia Eagles team physicians found a brain tumor when examining Jerome Harrison. The failed physical sent Ronnie Brown back to the Eagles and ended Harrison’s season. His surgery was reportedly successful and the condition is said to not be life threatening but could have become a serious issue if not for the trade attempt.

A second consecutive loss dropped the Lions to 5-2 overall. The Falcons made sure the Lions didn’t complete a comeback on them, however the win wasn’t enough for them. A number of Falcons players talked about things said and done by Lions players that would be un-befitting of a sportsman except that at least some of them could be proven false.

Needing a big-time performance to get on the right track, the Lions played one of their best games of the season against Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos. A 45-10 thrashing let the nation know it is the Lions, not Tebow, that they should be paying attention to and sent the Lions into their bye week with a feeling of positivity.

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