Lions Finally Discover All-Important Clutch Gene on Both Offense and Defense

The Detroit Lions are 5-2 in 2014 for many reasons, but one important factor is certainly based in the reality that this club is winning games last year's team almost certainly would have lost. 

Sunday included. 

The Lions forced a late turnover from quarterback Drew Brees, converted the takeaway into a lead and then held a high-powered offense scoreless on the final drive in a thrilling 24-23 win over the New Orleans Saints in Week 7. 

A loser of six games within one score a season ago, the Lions found clutch plays on offense and defense to beat an elite quarterback and 2013 playoff team by just a single point Sunday. Maybe, just maybe, this is a different Lions team than in years past.

"Things weren't going real well for us for a good chunk of the game," head coach Jim Caldwell said in his postgame press conference. "When we needed plays at the end of the game, we got them."

The biggest plays came late, and with the visiting Saints looking like eventual winners. 

Down 23-10 with under four minutes to go, the Lions received a 73-yard touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford to Golden Tate to jump-start the comeback. Safety Glover Quin then intercepted Brees on the ensuing drive, giving the Lions the football inside the Saints' 20-yard line.

Stafford put Detroit into the lead for the first time when he connected with receiver Corey Fuller for a five-yard score with one minute and 48 seconds left in the game. 

"(Coach) Caldwell always says 'Find a way to win,'" Stafford said following the victory.

These Lions continue to find ways to end up in the win column. 

Despite struggling for most of the game against Brees, the Lions defense stonewalled the Saints' own comeback attempt on the final series. Brees, who threw for 342 yards, led New Orleans to just one first down on the drive before his fourth-down attempt to receiver Robert Meachem fell incomplete with 28 seconds left. 

Pressure from Detroit's disruptive defensive line helped seal the win on the final drive. 

"We stepped up to the challenge," defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh said.  

Talented Lions teams of recent years mostly struggled to meet those challenges. 

	One-Score Games	W-L
2012	12	3-9
2013	10	4-6
2014	3	2-1*

Included in Detroit's nine losses in 2013 were:

• A four-point loss to the Arizona Cardinals, in which the Lions gave up the winning touchdown with 2:03 left
• A three-point loss to the Cincinnati Bengals that ended on Mike Nugent's 54-yard kick with no time remaining
• A 10-point loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers that saw Detroit give up the game's last 17 points
• A three-point loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after Stafford threw a late interception inside field-goal range
• A two-point loss to the Baltimore Ravens that ended on Justin Tucker's 61-yard field goal as time expired
• A three-point loss to the New York Giants after Stafford's pick-six sent the game into overtime
• A one-point loss to the Minnesota Vikings that saw the defense give up a fourth-quarter lead. 

Maybe luck has simply shifted its allegiances; or maybe the Lions are finally starting to develop their own clutch gene.  

Take away Detroit's early mess at kicker, and the Lions would almost certainly be 6-1 and all alone in first place in the NFC North. Among the five wins you can credit to Detroit are two defensive dismantlings (vs. Green Bay, at Minnesota), a comfortable three-touchdown win (vs. New York Giants) and an ugly road victory (vs. New York Jets), plus Sunday's galvanizing comeback.

Leon Halip/Getty Images

With a game in London against the 2-5 Atlanta Falcons up next, the Lions should feel like a 6-2 start is very attainable. 

Of course, Detroit started 6-3 in 2013 and missed the playoffs, losing six of its final seven games. While observers of this team have been duped before, the 2014 Lions have a much different feel. 

The defense came into Sunday ranking first in points, yards, first downs and passing touchdowns allowed, and in the top five or six of several other important defensive statistics. Brees had his way with the defense at times Sunday, but a late takeaway and stand helped reaffirm that this is one of the NFL's best units.

And while Stafford hasn't been terrific this season, he's also dealt with injuries to every major weapon at his disposal save for receiver Tate, who was once again a game-changer for the Lions Sunday. Despite the Calvin Johnson's absence, Tate still has three 100-yard receiving games in his last four.

	Rec	Yards	Avg	TD
vs. NYG	6	93	15.5	0
at CAR	8	57	11.4	0
vs. GB	5	51	10.2	0
at NYJ	8	116	14.5	0
vs. BUF	7	134	19.1	1
at MIN	7	44	6.3	0
vs. NO	10	154	15.4	1*
TOTALS	48	649	13.5	2

Stafford also responded in two big situations Sunday. He led the Lions 80 yards for a touchdown after falling behind 17-3 in the third quarter, and there's no comeback narrative unless he finds Tate for a catch-and-run score and Fuller in the back of the end zone on back-to-back series. 

The Detroit defense remains the glue holding the pieces the together. When the offense finally gets healthy, and things to start to click—the talent level is too high on that side of the ball for it not to eventually—the Lions will solidify their place among the NFC's best.    

"When we get all our guys out there, we're going to be tough to stop," Stafford said. "At the same time, our defense is playing unbelievable right now."

Both sides delivered when it mattered Sunday.

Clutch can be defined many ways, but making the winning plays when they are absolutely required—even after getting beat around for much of the game—certainly qualifies. 

The Lions are now 5-2, and if the season ended today, Detroit would be the NFC's No. 3 seed. Credit the discovery of the clutch gene—on both offense and defense—as one of the primary reasons why. 

Zach Kruse covers the NFC North for Bleacher Report. 

Follow @zachkruse2