DETROIT – A few thoughts on the Detroit Lions’ 20-16 win over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday at Ford Field.
What it means: If it happens once, it might be luck. Twice? Curious. But three straight come-from-behind wins in the final two minutes for the Lions? Well, that happened Sunday against the Dolphins, pushing the Lions to 7-2 for the first time since 1993, during the revered Barry Sanders years.
This gives Detroit four straight wins and an immense amount of confidence heading into the toughest three-game stretch of the season for the Lions: games at Arizona and New England followed by a short week to prepare for one of their biggest rivals, the Chicago Bears.
This is a Lions team clearly playing with confidence and the belief that they can win any game in any situation right now after comeback wins over New Orleans, Atlanta and now Miami.
Stock watch: Rising: Calvin Johnson. Detroit’s top option looked much more like himself Sunday, burning Brent Grimes for a 49-yard touchdown and making seven catches for 113 yards overall.
Rising: Travis Swanson. Forced into action because of an injury to right guard Larry Warford, Swanson played fairly well at first glance, not making too many mistakes. Considering this was the rookie’s first extensive action, that’s a bonus.
Falling: Reggie Bush. He might have aggravated an injury, and he is clearly losing ground to Joique Bell as the Lions’ lead rusher. Bush will have a role in the Lions’ offense, but it seems to be becoming smaller by the week.
Bell the lead back: The Lions will never hand their running back workload over to one back as long as they have both Bush and Theo Riddick in the offense, but Bell looked the part of a No. 1 back in the offense Sunday. He made smart decisions, decisive cuts and hit the magical 4-yards-per-carry mark Jim Caldwell likes. He had 10 carries for 44 yards and also caught two passes for 37 yards for the Lions, some of his best work of the season. He was also the running back in for the entire last drive of the game.
Game ball: Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford. He received his primary weapon back in Johnson and again led a come-from-behind win in the final two minutes. His game-winning 11-yard touchdown pass to Riddick was all Stafford. He created time with his feet after being pressured, rolling to the left side of the field and threading a perfect throw to Riddick, hitting him in stride. Stafford completed 25 of 40 passes for 280 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. That's four straight wins for the quarterback.
What’s next: The Lions are on the road for two straight weeks, first at NFC West-leading Arizona and then at New England.
