Detroit Lions: The Anatomy of a Near-Perfect Victory

This past weekend the Detroit Lions, a playoff team (man that feels great!), posted a near-perfect victory against a red-hot San Diego Chargers team.

This was a game that most experts thought could go either way.  Hotter than a Death Valley nickel, San Diego's season was morphing from meltdown to mediocre.

All they knew was that a loss put them out of the playoff hunt.  Nothing less than their best effort was going to be acceptable.  Keeping their momentum rolling was the only option. 

So the stage was set.

Detroit was equally as hungry.  A victory would assure them of a playoff spot.

Detroit made sure the game wasn't even close! 

So what did the Lions do so well that they were able to blowout a streaking and desperate Chargers team?

5. Made a 50+ Yard Field Goal

Jason Hanson is the 5th most prolific scorer in the history of the NFL.

His 20-plus years with the Detroit Lions are a testament to longevity and patience. 

Hanson had struggled with short kickoffs for the last couple of years, but with the kickoff being moved up five yards, Hanson may have tacked another five years on to his outstanding career.

He holds the NFL mark for most field goals over 50 yards and his accuracy from that range is among the best as well. 

Hanson is not the best kicker in the NFL, nor does he have the strongest leg.  But going into the first meaningful Lions game in over a decade, it's nice to know that if they need it, Jason Hanson could still win the game at the end from more than 50 yards away. 

4. Goal Line Stand...Twice

Twice in the game the Chargers had 1st-and-goal inside the Detroit 3-yard line.  They came away with a total of three points.  The 1985 Chicago Bears defense would be proud of that amount of points surrendered.

In the third quarter after a San Diego score they went for an onside kick (which, shockingly Detroit was totally unprepared for).  After recovering the onside kick, the momentum, and possibly the outcome, of the game hung on the result of that ensuing drive. 

The Chargers moved the ball down the field and inside the 3-yard line of Detroit.  They ended up with just a field goal. 

Later in the fourth quarter, the Chargers ended up inside the Detroit 3-yard line again.  In four tries San Diego was unable to gain a single yard let alone score a touchdown.

Detroit has been superb this season against third down or 4th-and-short (1 yard or less).  Few things will give a team more momentum than a goal-line stand.

3. Held the Opponent Under 300 Yards Passing and Under 100 Yards Rushing

San Diego's offense had been striking hard and often over the previous three games to the tune of more than 36 points per game with a nearly 20-point margin of victory in those games. 

Philip Rivers had thrown six touchdowns with zero interceptions, and Ryan Mathews was averaging over 100 yards rushing per game over that stretch. 

San Diego was finally playing with all three (Vincent Jackson, Malcom Floyd and Antonio Gates) of their top-receiving weapons and was getting healthy.  The Lions came in with a banged up secondary and no Louis Delmas.

It was sure to be a shootout. 

But the Lions showed pride.   

Even when the game was out of hand and Detroit was playing a prevent defense, they were able to hold the Chargers under 300 yards passing and 100 yards rushing.

Though the Lions didn't record a sack, they got fairly consistent pressure on Rivers forcing him to throw several incompletions to avoid sacks.     

2. Big Plays—Long Bomb and Seven Plays of More Than 20 Yards

The Lions started the game with a bomb to Calvin Johnson into double coverage.  They didn't take their foot off the gas or the Chargers' necks for the remaining four quarters. 

The initial deep pass took the top off the defense and allowed for several passes into the middle of the field between 15-20 yards.  Just the threat of Calvin Johnson allowed the Lions to dictate coverages and have seven (an absurd amount) plays of over 20 yards.

The only dark cloud on this Honolulu Blue and Silver lining was the lack of a run over 20 yards and the offense's continuing inability to produce meaningful yardage in the running game.

1. A Defensive Score!

Anytime a team has a defensive score their win percentage goes up over 90 percent. 

Even though the outcome of the game had already been decided, it was great to see the defense not willing to give in.

The Lions have not achieved greatness, yet.  If they want to do so, dominating good teams once they get a lead on them is a crucial step.

In addition to this defensive score, the Lions didn't commit a single turnover and were plus two in the turnover margin.  These are both great signs for the Lions heading into the final game of the season and leading up to the playoffs.

I guess Cliff Avril's second touchdown of the season (to go with double-digit sacks and the league lead in forced fumbles) wasn't enough to even earn him Pro Bowl alternate status.