Detroit Lions: What We Learned from Detroit's Escape in New Orleans

When Aaron Rodgers threw a 60-yard bomb to his non-related teammate Richard Rodgers against the Detroit Lions on Dec. 3, the game was out of Matthew Stafford's control.

On Monday night against the New Orleans Saints in Week 15, Stafford was in complete control.

Stafford completed 22 of his 25 pass attempts for 254 yards and three touchdowns in Detroit's 35-27 victory over the Saints.

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Have a day, Matt Stafford. pic.twitter.com/rsoixCsXHY

— ESPN Monday Night (@ESPNMondayNight) December 22, 2015"

“We knew we had to stay on the field, we had to score points,” Stafford said, per Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press.

“When you play Drew Brees in this place [Mercedes-Benz Superdome], you know it’s going to be like an NBA basketball game. You know they’re going to make a run. You may start hot or whatever happens, but you know they’re going to make a run and they did.”

The run came.

After Stafford and the Lions jumped out to a huge 28-3 lead, Brees and the Saints began the march back into the contest.

Brees found Brandin Cooks for a 27-yard touchdown with five minutes and three seconds left in the third quarter. The ensuing extra point cut Detroit's lead to 18 points, and the thought of Aaron Rodgers began to creep back into the minds of Lions fans everywhere.

“In our situation, things had been a little tough for us here the last couple weeks, but the guys bounced back and played tough, played well in a place that’s very, very difficult to win," Lions head coach Jim Caldwell said after the win, per Birkett.

After a Kai Forbath field goal for New Orleans, Ameer Abdullah fumbled—a common sight for Lions fans this season—and Brees would find wide receiver Marques Colston for an 11-yard touchdown. The extra point cut Detroit's lead to 28-20 with 10:06 left.

Despite this season being a lost one for Detroit after a 0-5 start, it was all on Stafford once again to make the big plays late to seal a game.

Monday Night Football's lights were as bright as they could be, and Stafford delivered in the clutch.

Stafford led a beautiful nine-play, 76-yard drive that ended with a one-yard touchdown run from running back Joique Bell. Matt Prater's extra point pushed the lead out to 35-20 with 5:24 left in the fourth quarter.

The most underrated play of the entire game was the throw from Stafford that led to the game-sealing touchdown from Bell.

On 2nd-and-5 from New Orleans' 19-yard-line, Stafford delivered his best throw of the game—an 18-yard strike to tight end Eric Ebron.

"The guy [Stafford] was phenomenal. He was chasing perfection," Lions receiver Golden Tate told reporters. "We rallied around that."

In the last five games, Stafford has completed 69.3 percent of his pass attempts for 1,338 yards, 12 touchdowns and just one interception.

Those numbers are worthy of a postgame dance.

A 7-9 season after a horrific start isn't out the question with how well Stafford and the Lions have played in the last six weeks.

Even with the debacle in the second half against the Green Bay Packers that proved to be costly for their slim playoff chances, the Lions are 4-2 in the last six weeks after Monday's win.

“I’m proud of our guys because we’re not giving up,” Lions linebacker Stephen Tulloch said, per Josh Katzenstein of the Detroit News.

“We have a lot to play for the rest of the season.”

At 5-9 on the season, the Lions are tied with the Chicago Bears in CBSSports.com's 2016 NFL draft order projections.

There's plenty on the table for the Lions in terms of bringing in talent on both sides of the ball to bounce back next season.

One focus, specifically on the defensive side of the ball, would be pairing Ezekiel Ansah—second in the NFL with 13.5 sacks this season—with another young pass-rusher. Oklahoma State defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah or Oregon's DeForest Buckner would be two premier ends who could help Ansah unleash havoc in the NFC North off the line.

A good place to build around for the offense would be where Detroit actually excelled on Monday night: running the football.

The Lions ran for 150 yards on the ground against New Orleans. In the first eight weeks of the season, the Lions ran for 100-plus yards as a team just one time (Week 6's overtime win against Chicago).

Since Jim Bob Cooter was promoted to offensive coordinator before Week 8, the Lions have run for 100-plus yards in five of the seven games with Cooter calling the plays.

The Lions have a trio of running backs that can get the job done. Abdullah, Bell and Theo Riddick offer a good blend of speed, power and quickness. The talent's there to bring balance into the offense with Stafford at the helm, but this offense will not explode until another option at wide receiver is found.

Golden Tate and Calvin Johnson are one of the NFC's best tandems at WR, but Johnson's not going to play forever.

Johnson had just one catch on Monday night and will turn 31 next season. Tate's in his prime at 27 years old, but Detroit's options are limited moving forward.

As versatile as Riddick is, a running back shouldn't be your third-leading receiver. Ebron has all the potential in the world to become the NFL's next great tight end, but that's simply what he is right now: potential.

Just like with their three-headed backfield, the Lions need that finishing touch to their wide receiving corps.

A name to keep in mind with the Lions in line for a decent pick in 2016? Ole Miss wideout Laquon Treadwell.

Treadwell could be the heir apparent to Johnson as the team's next big-play receiver, and picking him while moving Tate into a comfortable spot in the slot would allow Stafford to really excel next season.

For the Lions to be true contenders in 2016, the victory in New Orleans should be kept in the memory bank in terms of what Detroit can do.

Stats via Pro-Football-Reference.com.

Michael Whitlow is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. You can follow Michael on Twitter @MAWhitlow.