Lions Make Power Move in NFC Playoff Race with Complete Team Win over Vikings

The bazillion-dollar, top-draft-pick laden, high-flying Detroit Lions offense failed to show up at Ford Field in Week 15. Instead, convincing impostors snuck onto the field to dink, dunk and ankle-bite their way to 16 measly points.

Cannon-armed No. 1 overall pick Matthew Stafford threw for a measly 158 yards; his pass attempts gained an average of just 5.45 yards each.

Superhuman All-Pro wide receiver Calvin Johnson caught just four balls; only two other Detroit Lions caught more than one.

The result? A crucial divisional win against a Minnesota Vikings team riding a streak of three strong performances. With the 16-14 home victory and the Green Bay Packers' surprising loss in Buffalo, the Lions' head-to-head win over the Packers puts them atop the NFC North with two weeks to play—and puts them in contention for not only the playoffs but also a first-round bye.

How did the Lions pull it off?

Another strong performance from the NFL's No. 1 scoring defense helped. So did an unusually perfect day from the kicking game. That Lions fans gave the fourth quarter a prime-time atmosphere didn't hurt, either, as Dan Leach of CBS Detroit pointed out:

With 10 wins to Detroit's credit and two weeks left to play, first-year Lions head coach Jim Caldwell has equaled his predecessor's most successful season.

Should the Lions take care of business against the flailing Chicago Bears, they will improve to 11 wins for the first time since 1991—which is also the last time the Lions earned a playoff bye or even won a playoff game. The 1991 NFC Championship Game is the closest the Lions have ever been to the Super Bowl.

"We can taste it," defensive end Jason Jones told reporters after the game, as broadcast on NBC's Football Night in America. Jones not only contributed a critical fourth-quarter sack, but he also blocked the Vikings' subsequent field-goal attempt. "It's right there in front of us. We feel like we've been in control, in the driver's seat all year; now we've just got to put the pedal to the metal."

For much of the game against the Vikings, though, the Lions were stuck in reverse.

Rick Osentoski/Associated Press

The Lions offense went three-and-out on its first three drives. A rare miss from Vikings kicker Blair Walsh on the opening drive kept the game scoreless, but it was not for long. Soon Vikings rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, who looks less like a rookie each week, hooked up with receiver Greg Jennings on an improbable 26-yard catch, setting up a two-yard Matt Asiata touchdown plunge.

Another misfire of a drive turned into another Lions punt. Bridgewater led the Vikings 75 yards in seven plays, capping it with a Jennings touchdown catch. Not long into the second quarter, the Lions were down by two touchdowns. The Lions got a first down on the ensuing drive but only one. They punted again. A golden opportunity to gain ground on the rest of the NFC seemed lost.

Unbeknownst to everyone in the stadium, though, the Vikings wouldn't score another point.

Lions safety Glover Quin flipped the field with a timely interception. It was his second pick of Bridgewater this season and sixth on the year. Two plays later, Stafford swung a pass out to Golden Tate for the Lions' only touchdown:

Tate's seven-catch, 38-yard day reflects how uselessly horizontal the Lions' passing game was. Still, those numbers upped Tate's season total to 91 receptions and 1,224 yards—team- and career-high marks in both categories.

Lions corner Darius Slay picked off Bridgewater two plays later, setting up the first of three straight Lions field-goal drives. In between, the Lions defense forced a Vikings punt, and Jones came up with his huge sack/field-goal block sequence, critically keeping the Vikings' lead to just one point.

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

It's no wonder the Lions tailbacks only got 19 carries on the day. Not only did the Lions offense spend most of the game playing catch-up and punting, but the tailbacks only averaged 3.84 yards per carry. Many of those yards came in the third and fourth quarter, though, as Joique Bell grinding out 103 physical all-purpose yards on 19 touches.

Caldwell's Lions have consistently done something Jim Schwartz's squad rarely did: find multiple ways to win. By not relying entirely on Johnson and Stafford, the Lions have been able to stay consistent down the stretch and avoid trap games.

With all the little things going the Lions' way, it's hard not to think this run has a little magic behind it.

Kicker Matt Prater—the Lions' third kicker on the year—was a perfect 3-of-3 on field goals; Walsh, a 2012 first-team All-Pro, was 0-of-3. Just before the Lions kicked off, Green Bay dropped a shocker to Buffalo, giving the Lions the edge in the NFC North. Should the Lions win their two remaining games, they'll finish at—wait for it—12-4, matching their 1991 record.

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To pull that feat off, the Lions will have to beat the Packers in Wisconsin. Just like winning at least 11 games, earning a first-round bye or winning a playoff game, though, the Lions haven't done that since 1991 either.

The Lions truly do have their goals in sight. To reach them, they'll need to slay that dragon—and they can't outduel Aaron Rodgers and the Packers with just 233 net offensive yards. In Week 17, the Lions will need Stafford and Johnson to make their mark.

In Week 15, though, Stafford and Johnson didn't need to get off the bus. That should make it clear to the rest of the NFC the Lions are for real.