Lions vs. Cowboys: Why Detroit Is Far from the Joke It Used to Be

"We're talking a disaster of biblical proportions"

"Biblical?"

"Yes, Old Testament, real wrath-of-God type stuff. Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies; Rivers and seas boiling! Forty years of darkness. The dead rising from the grave. The Dallas Cowboys getting beat after leading by 24 in the third quarter. Mass hysteria!"

With due apologies to Ghostbusters, what transpired Sunday afternoon in Jerry's House, the billion-dollar arena rising out of the Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex, was a historical disaster in the annals of America's Team and the crowning jewel in the perfect 4-0 start to this 2011 NFL season by these unbelievable Detroit Lions.

There is no truth to the rumor that Texas Gov. Rick Perry has declared Dallas-Ft. Worth a disaster area.

He could. Something blew into town, and by the time the Lions ran roughshod through the final 15 minutes, by the time they rose from the ashes of a 30-17 deficit at the end of three periods, what happened surely left every Cowpoke fan speechless.

Somehow, some way, these upstart Lions found a way. Somehow they walked off the field with the spoils of a 34-30 win. Somewhere in that fourth quarter, Calvin Johnson etched his name in the record books with a pair of touchdown catches that gave him eight in four games.

With the elation of the Lions, the long-suffering in Detroit may briefly think back to the brutality of the 2008 season, the season that was the Lions disaster of biblical proportions, yes, that 0-16 disaster. Out of that horrible funk came the pick in 2009 that made Matthew Stafford a Lion.

Looking back at Stafford's first two uneventful, injury-plagued seasons, it had to be one of those "pinch me" moments for Lions followers when he returned home and led that improbable comeback.

Jerry Jones won't be able to say his quarterback, Tony Romo, played great in this game. After dominating the Lions defense most of the day, Romo threw two key picks in that final 11 minutes that Lions linebacker Bobby Carpenter and corner Chris Houston returned for touchdowns. Carpenter, the former Cowboy, went 34 yards, Houston (of all names) helped crumble Dallas with his 56-yarder for six.

These Lions sealed the deal with Megatron's game-winning catch, an incredible one, at 1:44.

The comeback was complete, Dallas had folded like it had never done in the history of the franchise.

No joke. No joking about these Lions.

Four wins, two amazing comebacks back-to-back.

The comeback on the Vikings proved a lot; this one proved way more.

Take these Lions seriously, very seriously.

That's no joke.