Previous Month: November
The Lions were 2-8 going into December. They were competitive in about all of their games; they lost 6 games by 8 points or less.
The Lions kicked off December against the Bears in Detroit. The Lions were looking for revenge (we all know what happened the first time these two teams met). Third string quarterback, Drew Stanton, got the start for the Lions. Stanton outplayed almost everyone’s expectations. Stanton was 16 for 24, threw for 178 yards, no turnovers, and a touchdown pass to Calvin Johnson at the end of the first half. The Lions were once again winning at halftime, 17-14. Dave Rayner added a field goal to make it a 6 point lead. In the second half, Robbie Gould made a 54 yard field goal and Cutler hit Brandon Manumaleuna for a touchdown for Chicago with 8 minutes left. That made the score 24-20 and that was enough for the Bears to escape Detroit with a close win. Cliff Avril played a great game for the Lions, he sacked Cutler 3 times.
Green Bay came to town looking to extend Detroit’s 19 game losing streak against NFC North opponents. That didn’t happen. The Lions shocked Green Bay, winning 7-3. The only score for the Lions was a touchdown pass from Drew Stanton to Will Heller in the fourth quarter. Detroit’s defense knocked Aaron Rodgers out of the game in the first half. Matt Flynn took over for the Packers. Flynn and the Packers were about to score but Flynn was picked off by DeAndre Levy. The Lions ran for 190 yards, Morris lead with 51 yards. The Lions snapped 5 game losing streak.
The Lions snapped another streak on the road against Tampa Bay. The Lions got their first win on the road in 27 games. The game went into overtime and Dave Rayner’s 34 yard field goal won the game for the Lions, 23-20. Drew Stanton won his second game in 2 games. Stanton was 23 for 37 for 252 yards and 1 touchdown. The story of the game for the Lions was Maurice Morris. Morris ran the ball 15 times for 152 yards and a touchdown. Also, Calvin Johnson caught 10 balls for 152 yards. The Lions put a huge dent in Tampa Bay’s playoff chances.
The Lions carried the momentum from the past two games and beat Miami the next week, 34-27. Shaun Hill was the QB against the ‘Phins. Hill had a 108.2 QB Rating and didn’t turn the ball over. The Dolphins were up 10 points in the 4th quarter but the Lions scored 17 unanswered points to win the game. DeAndre put the icing on the cake when he intercepted a Henne pass and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown. Miami had 150 more yards than the Lions but had 3 turnovers.
At the end of the month, Ndamukong Suh and Calvin Johnson were elected to to Pro Bowl. It has been the first time a Lion has made the Pro Bowl since Roy Williams did.
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