SLR Hot Routes: A Look Back at the Detroit Lions (VIDEO)
Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
3. There have been a lot of great ones, but which Lions game was your favorite one ever? And why?
Williams – While the Lions vs. Cowboys game of a few years ago was fantastic, my favorite game of all-time was when Barry Sanders broke the 2,000-yard mark in the final regular season game of the 1997 season. I remember being in front of the television and you could see the cameras shaking because it was so loud in the Pontiac Silverdome. Unfortunately it was also a somber day as Reggie Brown was also paralyzed in an on the field collision.
Payton – For me it’s easy. Lions vs Cowboys 2013. This game made fans feel every emotion possible, Capped off with elation. It was a fun day. We took a party bus to Detroit with 40 other people and saw Stafford sneak into the end zone. Just seeing the look on all the Cowboys fans faces is something that will be ingrained in my head forever. Of course my wife crying tears of joy was the cherry on top.
Fischer – The 1991 playoff game against the Dallas Cowboys at the Silverdome. The Lions dominated the Cowboys 38-6. I happened to be there and will always remember that game.
Platte – I have a short memory, so this one changes a lot. Many will point to the Lions only playoff win, but that wasn’t really a good game as far as games go, it was a blowout. For me, the best game as a Lions fan was watching Matthew Stafford come back against the Dallas Cowboys. Some ridiculous throws set up a final drive where Stafford used a fake spike to leap over the unsuspecting Cowboys defensive front and score the go ahead points to win the game. It’s a classic that I could watch a thousand times without it getting old.
DeMara – Thanksgiving Day 1998. The Lions had no business taking a very tough Pittsburgh Steelers team to overtime, but manage to thanks to Jason Hanson. Then, during the coin flip, referee Phil Luckett mistakenly calls heads instead of tails. Detroit wins off the leg of Hanson, and Jerome Bettis is done wrong in his hometown. It stunk for Bettis, but was no less exciting for Detroit to beat a team that had played in the Super Bowl just a few years earlier.
Shackelford – Easy, Detroit Lions, Dallas Cowboys 2011. I went to that game with my pregnant girlfriend who was days away from delivering. The first half was hard to watch. It was 27-3. Then, Stafford and Johnson turned it on, as they did often in 2011, and had one of the best games ever. (Oh, and Tony Romo had a typically second half where he threw back-to-back interceptions to get the Lions back in the game). I’ll never forget when Stafford threw it up to Johnson–who was covered by three defenders– and snatched it out of the air. The go ahead score with about 34 seconds left was a fade route to Johnson in the end zone. My runner-up is Stafford’s game winning drive against the Cowboys in 2013 where he QB sneaked when the entire team (and the Cowboys) thought he was going to spike the ball.
McCoy – My favorite is 2011 Lions/Chargers game because the Lions clinched the playoff berth in a blowout fashion. It’s a first time that I can truly had a great feeling of seeing the Lions making the playoff in a long time. I was too young to fully comprehend the playoff appearances in the early 90s.
Ackerman – 1995 Monday Night Football matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions. My dad and I went to that game. The Lions had started the season with three consecutive losses heading into the Monday Night showdown versus the Super Bowl champions. Jason Hanson kicked a field goal as time expired to secure the win and the place erupted.
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