Author: Paula Pasche

The Lions kept their playoff dreams alive with a 24-21 win against the Buccaneers on Sunday in Tampa. They move to 7-6 for the season. They face the Chicago Bears (4-9) on Saturday at Ford Field.

It was not easy and, at times, it wasn’t pretty either.

Detroit held a 21-7 edge at the half, but the Bucs came back to tie it in the fourth quarter at 21-21. Matt Prater kicked a game-winning 46-yard field goal with just 20 seconds left.

“It’s always been kind of a hallmark of ours, we look to battle at the end, our guys show great resilience, they don’t get nervous in tough situations at the end of games, they find a way to win it,’’ Caldwell said. “It might not always be pretty. We’ve always been like that, but we lost quite a few this year just the opposite side of that — Atlanta and Carolina were close at the end and we weren’t able to finish them. We had been uncharacteristic for a portion of the season, we’re going to see if we can be a little bit better this week.’’

The Bucs turned the ball over five times (three lost fumbles, two Jameis Winston interceptions) while the Lions had three turnovers. The Bucs were the 12th NFL team to turn the ball over five times in a game this season and the 12th to lose the game.

(Photo courtesy of Detroit Lions)

Here’s a look at five reasons the Lions won:

1. Give plenty of credit to Matthew Stafford who was 36 of 44 for 381 yards. Yes, he threw two interceptions, but he was able to come up with big plays when needed. Stafford was officially questionable for the game with a bruised throwing hand but it didn’t seem to bother him. Afterward he took full blame for the two picks saying they were a result of bad decisions, impatience and also being too aggressive. His 36 completions were the most for any quarterback in the NFL this season.

2. Tight end Eric Ebron had a rough start to the season drawing plenty of boos at Ford Field. But since the bye week he’s played well. Ebron finished with 10 catches for 94 yards. Both of those numbers are career highs for Ebron. He wasn’t perfect he lost a fumble. But overall it was a solid game. “When we get production out of him like that it’s big for our offense,’’ Stafford said.

3. Cornerback Darius Slay made his case yet again to be sent to the Pro Bowl. He  intercepted Jameis Winston for his fifth interception this season. He recovered a fumble in a play that the officials could not get right until a challenge by Caldwell. They got it right in the end. Slay leads the Lions with five interceptions which is career high for a season. His top previously was two in a season three times.

4. Running back Theo Riddick finished with two rushing touchdowns and 93 total yards from scrimmage. The Lions run game was only good for 53 yards but those Riddick touchdown runs of 2 yards in first and 18 yards in third were obviously key. Offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter mixed it up more and ran it less with just 18 carries. In his second game, Tion Green had five carries for 15 yards. Ameer Abdullah and Dwayne Washington were inactive.

5. Detroit may have won, but it was so close at least in part due to eight penalties for 105 yards. If the Lions had lost this one, the spotlight would have been on these turnovers. Caldwell likes to say when you win you’re not as good as you think and when you lose you’re not as bad. Well these penalties could have been killers. And it wasn’t just the number of penalties it’s that they occurred in key situations. Five of the penalties were on the offensive line including two for T.J. Lang.

Matthew Stafford will start against the Buccaneers at Tampa Bay today, as expected. The Lions quarterback left last Sunday’s game in the fourth quarter with a “nasty bruise” on his right, throwing hand. He had limited practice all week and was listed as questionable on Friday’s injury report.

No doubt about it, Stafford is tough. It will be his 109th straight start which ranks third among active NFL quarterbacks. Matt Ryan is first with 128, followed by Philip Rivers with 118.

Dan Orlovsky, the Lions’ backup quarterback from 2014 to 2016, tweeted this morning: “QB’s get bruised hands often. For the Lions fans out there I know Stafford spends a lot of time throughout the year working on grip. Wrist and hand strength. Little thing that goes a long way, Especially in situations like this. I imagine he’ll be able to throw it fine.”

Running back Ameer Abdullah (neck) is inactive for the second straight week. He was limited in practice all week and also was declared questionable on Friday. Ian Rapoport from the NFL Network, reported this morning that Abdullah is healthy enough to play but it’s a coach’s decision to sit him.

Rookie Tion Green, who made an impressive debut last week, is active for the second straight week. Running back Dwayne Washington, who is not injured, will sit out again this week.

Defensive end Ziggy Ansah (ankle) is active after missing practice on Wednesday and Thursday and being limited on Friday.

Center Travis Swanson (knee) returns after missing last week’s game. Right guard T.J. Lang (foot) who only practiced Friday and on a limited basis is a go.

Right tackle Rick Wagner, who injured an ankle last Sunday, was declared out on Friday.

Returner/cornerback Jamal Agnew (knee) will miss his third straight game.

Other Lions’ inactives: WR Bradley Marquez, LB Nick Bellore and tackle Emmett Cleary.

Inactives for the Bucs: QB Ryan Griffin, S Josh Robinson, CB Vernon Hargreaves III, S T.J. Ward , OL Mike Liedtke, WR Bobo Wilson and DT Clinton McDonald.

ALLEN PARK — Matthew Stafford’s hand might not be 100 percent, but he is expected to start when the Lions (6-6) play at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-8) on Sunday. He’s officially listed as questionable.

The Lions still have a slim chance at a postseason wild-card berth so it’s a huge game for them. The Bucs are just looking to wrap up a disappointing season.

Coach Jim Caldwell maintains an even keel whether his team is coming off a win or a loss. That’s the message he gets to the team also.

“Even our first game there’s a sense of urgency, the first game of the season, second, to third. Every single game there’s a sense of urgency. Circumstances may change in that regard, but in how we approach it, those kinds of things, that does not change. And that’s the great thing about coaching really to be honest with you,’’ Caldwell said on Thursday. “This time of the year in certain situations you get a real sense of the essence of the human spirit within you guys, and staff, and those kinds of things. So, it’s a real good challenge and thankfully I got a healthy disregard for what other people might think is impossible, so that helps as well.”

(Photo courtesy of Detroit Lions)

Five things to watch:

1. Again, the Lions have to get off to a faster start. They’ve been outscored 36-3 in the first quarters of the past four games. They won the first two and lost the most recent two. They know they need to start fast, they focus on it and talk about it, but have not been able to make it happen.

“Every one is a different story. At the end of the day — Coach (Caldwell) has said it a hundred times, I mean, hey, you’d love to be up early. That makes the game a whole lot — you’re in more control of the game and you can go from there. At the same time, pretty much we play ball around here to win the game at the end of the game, so we’re trying to win that, trying to have more points than they do at the end,’’ Cooter said.

2. Again, the Lions need to run the ball better. Last Sunday, rookie Tion Green got his first NFL touches and performed decently. His first carry went for 33 yards, he also had a 6-yard touchdown run. That performance may have earned him an increased role this week.

“Tion had a couple nice runs, some of those were really well blocked which is encouraging to see from a blocking standpoint as well, but Tion I think made the most of those runs,’’ Cooter said. “Had a couple of, sort of, young player mistakes along the way as all the young players do and he’s working on fixing some of that stuff this week. But we’re encouraged by what we saw, I think he pretty much made the most of the carries that he got.’’

3. Jim Caldwell and defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said the defensive end Dwight Freeney played fine in his first game with the Lions last week. They also said the lack of quarterback pressure was not all on him, but it needs to improved. The Lions didn’t sack Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco even once. The Lions have just three sacks in the last three games.

“I think he did OK. But I think overall, I’m looking at more overall, we just didn’t get enough pressure. We didn’t get enough,’’ Austin said. “We did not harass the quarterback enough last week. That’s something we have to do better. So, I’m again, continuing to look at ways to try and improve our rush, to try to improve our ability to get pressure on the passer.”

4. The secondary needs to step up against quarterback Jameis Winston and the Bucs who have the NFL’s fifth-best passing offense averaging 261.6 yards per game. Mike Evans and DeSean Jackson are dangerous at wide receiver. Austin said that Quandre Diggs will start again at strong safety in place of Nevin Lawson. Diggs, typically the nickel back, is clearly a playmaker no matter the position.

“Sometimes when you play up, or you play out as a corner, and then you move back, sometimes things are a little different, but he can handle it,’’ Austin said. “I thought he did a good job last week in his first appearance playing full-time in that position. So, we’ll continue to move forward with it.”

5. Then there’s a laundry list: Hold onto the ball. The Lions have eight interceptions and nine lost fumbles. Giveaways in the first half are one reason they’ve had slow starts. … The Lions have not had an interception in the past three games. …  Wide receivers and tight ends must not drop the ball. … Matt Prater must bust his mini-slump after missing a field goal and extra point last Sunday.

Prediction: Lions 27, Bucs 13