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Detroit Lions fans on Saturday night breathed a sigh of relief as the team came out of its sloppy funk and decisively beat down the Denver Broncos 42-17 at Ford Field. Yes, the playoffs seem real, particularly with the Minnesota Vikings losing Saturday to the Cincinnati Bengals 27-24.
Conversely, Detroit fans couldn't help but shake their heads as they saw the Detroit Pistons extend their losing streak to 23 games, falling to the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday 146-114. (Hey, how about a little defense)
The Tom Gores era has been a disaster. The team is 2-24. That's the worst record in the NBA.
Pistons fans haven't had much to cheer about in many years.
But enough about the Pistons.
Here's what the sports writers had to say about the 10-4 Lions.
There was plenty of fun to be had in this one, as Goff and the Lions shook off last week’s loss in Chicago — and some of those perennial suspicions it raised after a month of meandering play — by throttling a Denver team that rolled into town having won six of its last seven games.
Mitch Albom, Detroit Free Press
Weapons loaded. Weapons fired. If the Detroit Lions were trying to make Santa’s nice list Saturday night, they can prep the chimney this morning. Everything they needed to restore a sagging confidence after two losses in their last three games was on full display at Ford Field, before a sellout crowd that all night seemed to yell, “Try this! ... Great! Now, try that!”
Shawn Windsor, Detroit Free Press
Feel better now? Well, you should, these Lions can still get better.
It’s been a while since this team won this comfortably — they beat the Broncos, 42-17, at Ford Field. It's been a lot longer since the Lions have won the division. They can clinch next week in Minneapolis.
But Campbell and the Lions (10-4), as they so often do, navigated turbulence in a way few Lions teams of the past have. They were ready for what came their way on Saturday. They knew what had to be done. And now, they’re on the brink of something special.
