NFL 2011 Week 15 - Stafford, Levy Come Through as Lions Pursue Playoff Spot

Stafford, Levy Come Through as Lions Pursue Playoff Spot
Chad Hutchinson

Detroit, MI

The Detroit Lions are still alive in the NFC Wild Card race, but these "cardiac cats" are doing anything but making things easy for themselves. Improved play from Detroit's star quarterback Matthew Stafford and a banged up Lions secondary was key to Sunday's victory over the visiting division rival Minnesota Vikings.

Detroit improved to 8-5 and kept its playoff hopes alive with Sunday's 34-28 win over the Vikings.

Detriot Lions star quarterback Matthew Stafford looked to be back at a 100 percent after suffering from a fractured finger on his throwing hand for the past several weeks.

Stafford put both his exceptional accuracy and arm strength on display, as well as seeming to operate with much more confidence in the pocket. Stafford finished 20 of 29 passing for 227 yards and a pair of touchdowns and no interceptions.

Stafford's favorite targets were speedy rookie wide receiver Titus Young and play making tight end Brandon Pettigrew. Young finished with four catches for 87 yards, including a 57 yard touchdown bomb from Stafford in the first quarter. Pettigrew contributed a solid performance with six catches for 57 yards and a solo touchdown catch in the first quarter.

Star wide receiver Calvin Johnson once again had a quiet day and seemed to be only a decoy once again for the defense. Johnson had an un-megatron like performance of three catches for 29 yards.

The Lions defense returned with a roar, coming through with six turnovers on the day, and two defensive touchdowns. Linebacker Stephen Tulloch recovered a Cliff Avril forced fumble in the endzone for the game's first points.

Cornerback Alphonso Smith followed up with a 30 yard interception return for a touchdown in the second quarter to solidify 14 of Detroit's 34 points coming from the defense. Smith collected two interceptions, while corner Eric Wright had a solo interception as well.

Defensive ends Cliff Avril and Kyle Vanden Bosch proved that the Lions defensive line is to be feared even without suspended star defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh.

Avril finished the game with two sacks, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. Vanden Bosch finished with one sack and a forced fumble. The biggest forced fumble of the game came on the final play to give the Lions the victory.

Minnesota had the ball on Detorit's two yard line with nine seconds remaining when linebacker DeAndre Levy make the game winning play. Levy forced the ball out of the hands of Minnesota backup quarterback Joe Webb and end Cliff Avril came up with the game ending recovery.

Levy likely got away with a questionable face masking penalty that may have given Minnesota one more chance at victory.

It seems that at this point of the season, all the teams on the playoff bubble need a little luck. Luck is something that the Detroit Lions have not seen for years, but seem to be finding at the right times now.

If the Lions hope to gain a playoff berth, they will need to cut down on penalties and continue their fortune as they face off against the Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers in the coming weeks.