If not for some unfortunate reffing, Detroit easily walks away the winner in a wild-card game they dominated.

Our defense held Dallas to three-and-out to begin the game. Matthew Stafford promptly hooked up with Golden Tate III for a 51-yard score. 7-0 Lions, just like that.

After the defense held again, the Cowboys punted to essentially the one foot line. We played it safe, then Dallas got greedy, roughing our punter while trying to block it – first down Detroit. Stafford and Co. moved the ball the entire length of the field. We worked the run with both Joique Bell and Reggie Bush, with each also catching a pass on the drive. Bush punched in the touchdown for a commanding 14-0 lead right before the quarter closed.

Our run game helped us move the ball enough to kill clock and keep momentum, while the defense kept Dallas in check. With the game under three minutes ’til halftime, they broke open a third and long for their first points.

The Lions still had time to score. Responding to their first gut check of the contest, Stafford brought us into field goal range. Matt Prater kept it just inside the left upright to take momentum back right before the half. 17-7, Lions.

The quickest intermission ever left oldschool and I scrambling to our seats. Detroit received the kickoff, and they decided to pass it on their first play. It was tipped and picked off – the last thing a team with a solid lead should be doing.

Luckily, out defense kept them out of the end zone, then sacked Romo on third down to move “the most accurate kicker in the history of the NFL” back a few feet. He couldn’t handle the 100,000+ at Cowboys Stadium, missing wide right!

The Lions capitalized on the mistake, moving the ball into field goal range themselves. Prater, undeterred, made his second of the game.

Despite continuing pressure on Romo, some big down third down plays kept a Dallas drive alive. Our defense held them to fourth and goal at the one, but they ran it in. To begin the fourth, they also tacked on a field goal for a 20-17 score.

The offense made it back into their territory midway through the quarter. On third and one, pass interference was ruled against the Cowboys – and it was confirmed by that obnoxious ex-official. Nonetheless, the flag was picked up, a move that rarely happens irregardless. The obscene call forced us to punt, and inopportunly, we shanked it.

Our defense continued to hold their offense, but two flags on third downs kept the drive alive for the home team. It was blatant discrimination against Detroit. After struggling to score all day, they took their first lead of the game up 24-20.

We still believed, and we had hope with over two minutes left and a pair of timeouts. A situation we’d been in and overcame all season.
Stafford moved the Lions to midfield with just over a minute to play. Some quick conversions set up a must make fourth and two. Stafford went down on a sack to end our hopes. It shouldn’t have came down to that – Jerry Jones must have bribed the officials well.

It was a strong season to be proud of Lions. We represented in the playoffs and left it all out on the field. We’ll be back next year.