Calming down after the Detroit Lions 27-27 Week One loss*

After squandering a 24-6 fourth quarter lead, the Detroit Lions technically didn’t lose on Sunday. Two days later, it sure still feels like they did.

I’m going to start this off by saying that strictly on principle, I love NFL games when they end in a tie. When the Cleveland Browns came one play away from having two of them last year (and actually came fairly close to having four), I was rooting hard for the statistical anomaly that would have the double benefit of throwing the division standings out of whack.

Strictly on principle, I don’t mind the idea of a Detroit Lions game being a draw either. But wow, for the first Lions tie of my lifetime, this sure isn’t how I wanted to get it.

I’d prefer to be talking about Stafford’s 385 yard, tjhree touchdown, zero interception start … or Tracy Walker leading the team in tackles and grabbing an interception… or Hockenson with a record-setting debut at tight end … or Danny Amendola of all people with 100+ yards and a long TD … or Devon Kennard wreaking havoc in the backfield and making the first 52 minutes of Kyler Murray‘s career an absolute nightmare.

And yet, even highlighting the standout performances from all of those guys brings with it a little sourness for me today. For all of them to be that good on Sunday, and we still  had to hang on by a single thread just to save a stalemate with the worst team on the schedule?

So rather than dwell on the majority of the game that was actually really good, I need to rant for a little bit, and then I promise to calm down.