AMERICAN FOOTBALL NFL:THE DETROIT Lions snapped a 19-game losing streak to beat the Washington Redskins 19-14 at the weekend and record their first victory in nearly two years.
Lions fans, who had staged protests and worn bags over their heads during the winless run, had not celebrated a victory since Detroit beat the Kansas City Chiefs on December 23rd, 2007.
“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 this gets up over the hump and gives us a winning attitude.”
Only 40,896, the smallest crowd for an NFL game at Ford Field, witnessed the victory with a league-mandated TV blackout in effect because the game wasn’t sold out.
After becoming the first NFL team to finish a regular season 0-16, the Lions underwent an off-season overhaul that included a new logo, a new head coach Jim Schwartz and a rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford.
Stafford, the number one draft pick in April, completed 21-of-36 passes for 241 yards, including a 21-yard first quarter touchdown strike to Bryant Johnson to give Detroit a lead they would never surrender.
Jason Hanson slotted two field goals in the second quarter to give Detroit a 13-0 lead at half-time before the Redskins answered with a 57-yard touchdown pass from Jason Campbell to Santana Moss in the third quarter.
Maurice Morris rumbled over from the two early in the fourth quarter to push the Lions to 19-7, though Washington answered with a four-yard touchdown pass from Campbell to Rock Cartwright shortly after. With just over a minute to play, Washington again had the ball, Campbell driving the Redskins inside the Lions 25 yard-line before the final seconds ticked down sparking the Detroit celebration.
“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.”
Meanwhile, Michael Vick played his first NFL regular-season game in more than two years on Sunday, helping the Philadelphia Eagles soar to a 34-14 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Vick, released from jail in May after being sentenced in 2007 to 23 months in prison for bankrolling a dog-fighting ring, had limited action as a quarterback and once went in as a wide receiver.
The former Atlanta Falcons quarterback was on the field for 11 plays, rushing once for seven yards and throwing incomplete on two pass attempts. He had not played in a regular-season game since December, 2006.
Quarterback Peyton Manning threw four touchdown passes to guide the unbeaten Indianapolis Colts to a 31-10 victory over the Arizona Cardinals yesterday morning.
Manning connected with four different receivers for touchdowns as he racked up 379 yards passing. His longest touchdown pass, to Pierre Garcon, covered 53 yards and gave the Colts (3-0) a 21-3 half-time lead.
And veteran quarterback Brett Favre completed 32-yard touchdown pass with two seconds remaining to help the Vikings a 27-24 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
