It looked and sounded like a play-off game in Detroit on Sunday, as the Lions finally ended their 19-game losing streak.
Lions finally salvage some pride with first win in two years
It looked and sounded like a play-off game in Detroit on Sunday, as the Lions celebrated finally ended their 19-game losing streak.
Fans, players and officials alike all went crazy with delight as they battled out a 19-14 success in Motor City for a first NFL win since December 2007.
Rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford has definitely improved the team, as has new head coach Jim Schwartz and the host of personnel changes during the off-season.
Even the team's logo had been changed after last season's historic 0-16 season, and the relief was just as measurable as the delight after finally bringing their winless run to an end.
It was the second-longest losing streak in NFL history, and the Lions were thrilled to have not matched Tampa Bay's record of 26 defeats in 1976-77.
Monkey
"We not only got the monkey off our back, we got King Kong off our back," Lions owner William Clay Ford said. "I'm hoping that this gets us over that hump and gives us a winning attitude."
The smallest crowd ever for an NFL crowd at Ford Field of 40,896 witnessed the victory, and the players emerged back out onto the field to celebrate with their loyal followers.
"Just to show appreciation to the fans," said Lions linebacker Larry Foote. "It says a lot about our fans and the people of Detroit."
Coach Schwartz now hopes that the rebuilding can continue to the point were winning becomes much more of a routine.
Celebrate
"We'd like to get to a point where a regular season win isn't celebrated that much," said Schwartz. "It had the feel of a post-season win.
"The players went back out on the field and wanted to celebrate with the fans that stayed. I thought that sends a strong statement about the kinship we feel with this city."
Washington still had a chance to break Detroit hearts late on as they had the ball deep in Lions territory, but the defence stood firm. Many, including the quarterback, couldn't watch.
"I figured I'd just let the crowd noise tell me what happened," Stafford said. "When it got really quiet, I couldn't take it, so I looked up, and saw them running, and then the tackle, and then I saw the clock was at zero."
Detroit spent big on overall first round draft pick Stafford, but so far he looks the real deal.
"We've still got a long way to go, but we've got a quarterback, and that's a big piece of the puzzle," said Lions vice chairman Bill Ford.
