Detroit Lions Vs Washington Redskins: Matthew Stafford's Return By the Numbers

Somehow, this is more satisfying.

The St. Louis Rams game was fun, for sure. I couldn't even get up for a sandwich without the Lions scoring again.

But it was this week against the Washington Redskins that really felt like a turning point. It was the game they had every opportunity to let slip away, and they still pulled it out, laughing in the face of adversity.

And, like their last victory, they left behind some fun statistics. Big thanks to Ali Hammoud for both giving me the idea to do another of these articles, as well as for contributing about half of these stats.

6.5: Sacks for Ndamukong Suh through seven games.

8.5: Albert Haynesworth's career best for sacks in a single season.

0: Percent of people who will still trade Suh (or his pick) for Haynesworth straight-up, as some were foolishly suggesting around draft time.

7: Number of NFL players with more sacks than Suh.

0: Of those seven players, the number with both an interception and a fumble recovery (Suh has both).

0: Of those seven players, the number with a defensive touchdown (Suh now has one).

0: Of those seven players, the number who are either rookies or defensive tackles (Suh is both).

4.5: Number of sacks by next-best sacking defensive tackle in football, Richard Seymour (who also plays DE, but NFL.com has him listed as a DT).

3: Number of Detroit Lions tied for the most sacks earned in Week 8 (Suh, Cliff Avril and Kyle Vanden Bosch all notched two).

7th: The Lions' ranking in sacks allowed in 2010 with 12 through seven games.

0: Amount of credit Jeff Backus is likely to get for this.

7: Number of sacks allowed by league-leading Indianapolis Colts.

0: Number of teams with a better sacks-allowed ranking that have actually played the Lions this year.

4: Number of NFC teams with a better point differential than the Lions.

5: Number of victories each of these four teams has on the year

7: Number of NFC teams with a positive point differential.

4: Number of those teams the Lions have played: Packers, Giants, Eagles and Bears (the Rams are minus-one for the year).

116.3: Matthew Stafford's second-half rating against the Redskins, good for the highest-rated half of his career.

2: Career fourth quarter comebacks for Stafford.

3: Career victories for Stafford.

7: Touchdowns in October for Calvin Johnson, a Lions record for one month (previous was six by Herman Moore).

3: Touchdowns for Calvin Johnson on Sunday.

3: Number of those touchdowns that gave the Lions a lead.

35: Number of yards Johnson needs to break Lions record for most receiving yards in first four years (3,652 set by Roy Williams).

12: Number of touchdown catches by Johnson in 2008—when he was a Pro Bowl alternate.

105, 71: Stefan Logan's longest kick and punt return of 2010, respectively.

0: Players in Lions history to have a 100-plus kickoff return and 70-plus punt return in the same season.

1: Lions' NFC ranking in total points scored.

6: Lions' NFL ranking in total points scored.

3: Of the five teams ahead of the Lions in total points scored, the number that have not yet had a bye week (the other two? Indianapolis and New England).

2.5: Number of games back the Lions are in the NFC North (look, I'm not saying...I'm just saying, OK?).

3: Number of games remaining against NFC North opposition.

3: Number of those games played at home.

0: Number of games the Lions have lost at home after Suh said he didn't expect to lose any more games at home.

1 katrillion: My quantified disappointment at not seeing Alphonso Smith do another touchdown dance when he dropped a sure pick-six before halftime.