lordstanley

Since the stop was on 1st down they could even have afforded to spike it. The Lions were stopped by the Niners on 3rd down so couldn’t spike it and couldn’t hurry too hastily on 4th down.

The Bills have scored 30 or more points in 7 straight games. Last 3 have been: 30 vs Chiefs, 35 vs 49ers, 42 at Rams.

Same thing the Lions did in the NFC championship game. Going from 3 timeouts down to 2 timeouts with a minute or so to go has to be one of the most negatively impactful "plays" that can happen. It's the difference between the leading team that recovers an onside kick getting to kneel thrice for a victory, or run 3 plays and have to kick the ball back (albeit with maybe only 20-30 seconds to go) if you don't pick up a 1st down.

And while Barkley had another good day rushing, Hurts was 14/21 for 108 passing yards.

Eagles win but were a narrow incompletion away from most likely being down to 3-9 Carolina in the final minute.

Can Bryce Young lead a 3-minute, 98 yard TD game-winning drive overhead Eagles?

Bad news: Vikings are going to win today Good news: I think this could be the Vikings’ last win of the season. Could see them losing any or all against Bears, Seahawks, Vikings, Lions.

What a swing. Looks like Darnold is about to be sacked on 3rd down, instead he eludes and hits a wide open Jefferson for a 50+ yd TD.

Panthers lead. If nothing else, makes the Eagles seem a bit less scary. 16-14 after missed PAT. Falcons so spooked by Cousins’ near pick-six they waste 3rd down with a basic run up the middle

Right. 35 yards in 40 seconds. I heard some pundits say 50 yards in 30 seconds and that’s wrong and might have been enough to impact the decision if correct. It’s 40 seconds because a FG attempt with 43 seconds to go would take 3 seconds and a touchback would take 0. It’s 35 yards because a touchback places the ball at the 30 and 35 yards gained from there makes it a 53 yard attempt. So even 25-30 yards gained would have led to a FG being attempted in today’s NFL. 39 seconds before a FG attempt with 1 second to go, even without timeouts, is time for a good 4 plays (unless you’re the Bears), any one of which could be a spot call on Arnold. I wanted the Lions to go for it even before Campbell called it.

And the 2019-2022 drafts didn’t yield superstars at the top. The only person from near the top of those four drafts that could reach the level or Hedman or Stamkos is Jack Hughes picked #1 in 2019. #2 picks those 4 years were Kakko, Byfield, Beniers and Nemec. Seider-Raymond-Edvinsson-Kaspar is a better collection than that. Heck it might be better collection than #1 picks Jack Hughes-Lafreniere-Power-Slafkosky. So I can’t fault Yzerman for his 1st rounders, that’s one thing he seems to have gotten right.

Loss. 2-1 final.

Wings trailing Avs 1-0 after 2. I agree with Buddha that this season is a write-off. With Washington and New Jersey off to great starts, the Wings are already 9 points out of 6th place. 7th and 8th are not as close as it appears, since NYR and Tampa have games in hand and, more importantly, superior rosters. Maybe the Wings can get a surprise top 5 pick this season, and if they pick that high that player could be an NHLer by the 2026-2027 season.

And if that is teetering, what does that make the Vikings? Their past 8 games: - beat Jets at home by 6 - lost to Lions at home by 2 - lost to LA Rams on road by 10 - beat Indy at home by 8 - beat Jacksonville on road by 5 - beat Tennessee on road by 10 - beat Chicago on road by 3 - beat Arizona at home by 1 Is there one impressive win in there? Except for winning in Chicago, the Vikings’ other 5 wins in the past 8 games arguably would be poorer than the Lions’ worst win of the year. I’d say 11 of the 12 of Lions’ wins have been either by big margins of victory or against good opponents. Only beating 4-8 Chicago at home by 3 being the only outlier (maybe only beating the Rams at home in OT being another, if you have impossibly high standards)

Pack scares me more than the Vikings. I expect the Lions to thump the Vikings in the final game of the season if the Lions still need a result there. I'll be cheering for the NFC South and NFC West champs to knock out both the Vikings and Packers.

I suspect London is just about the outer limit of Lions territory. Still a good amount of Tigers fans in London, the Tigers had an A-ball affiliate there for a bit in the '90s, IIRC. London is heavily Leafs territory, the number of Wings fans dwindles beyond Windsor-Chatham-Sarnia/Lambton.

Albert's might persuade you otherwise. Tell them Lordstanley sent you. https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g2039337-d6726134-r499965601-Alberts_Fries-Point_Edward_Ontario.html

Saved By The Ducks.

You are correct. Hamilton-Niagara Falls is big Bills territory. Manitoba definitely the Vikings. It has been stated that at least 5% of Seahawks season ticket holders are from B.C.

My brother was visiting my mom in Sarnia and says Lions merch is all over town. On the shelves and on the backs of people wearing it. Lots of Bluewater Bridge traffic on gamedays from people heading over to Ford Field.

Ha, I'm an idiot. The game last night scrambled my brain.

I'm still not convinced the Lions didn't get the first down on the long pass play on 2nd down. Would at least like to have seen better replays, given how close it seemed and how huge were the ramifications. This isn't a straight-on angle and perhaps his right knee beat his left knee down. But couldn't the Lions have challenged the spot? They had timeouts to spare at that point.

You are right! 5-1 and 5-1. Why did I make that mistake? So still safe if the Lions’ only loss the rest of the way is to Buffalo, but if Lions finish 3-1 with a loss to either Chicago, SF or Minnesota and Philly wins out it would come down to Strength of Victory? I heard that favors the Lions too at this point but I’m not sure and also not sure that has been settled yet. This WDIV article, if you look at the section “4-1 with a loss to Chicago” suggests the Lions’ strength of victory lead over Philadelphia is almost insurmountable https://www.clickondetroit.com/sports/2024/12/04/what-playoff-seeds-detroit-lions-would-get-if-they-finish-any-possible-combination-of-4-1-or-3-2/ Thanks for spotting.

Looks like 15-2 by the Lions wins the #1 seed no matter what. - If lose to Buffalo, then beat SF Chi Minnesota, will win the division because the Vikings would top out at 14-3. Would finish ahead of Philly with a 11-1 conference record because Philly would top out at 15-2 with a 10-2 conference record. - If beat Buffalo, lose to Chicago, but beat SF and Minnesota, will win the division because the Vikings would top out at 14-3. Would finish ahead of Philly even if the Eagles win out because the conference record would be tied at 10-2 each but the Lions would win the common opponent record 5-1 to 4-2. - If beat Buffalo and Chicago, lose to SF, but beat Minnesota, will win the division because the Vikings would top out at 14-3. Would finish ahead of Philly even if the Eagles win out because because the conference record would be tied at 10-2 each but the Lions would win the common opponent record 5-1 to 4-2. - If beat Buffalo, Chicago and SF but lose to Minnesota, the Vikings could top out at 15-2 to match the Lions. Lions-Vikings head to head tied at 1-1. Division record tied at 5-1. Lions would win common opponents 12-0 to 11-1, since the Vikings lost to the Rams. So the Lions would win the division. Would finish ahead of Philly even if the Eagles win out because because the conference record would be tied at 10-2 each but the Lions would win the common opponent record 5-1 to 4-2. Correct me if I'm wrong! (but I don't think I am). FWIW, tiebreaker order is: https://www.nfl.com/standings/tie-breaking-procedures For Division 1. Head to head 2. Division record 3. vs Common opponents 4. Conference record 5. Strength of victory 6. Strength of schedule For Record 1. Head to head 2. Conference record 3. vs Common opponents 4. Strength of victory 5. Strength of schedule

We might not be done with the Packers. I can definitely see GB out of the #5 or #6 seed beating the NFC South or NFC West winner and playing the #1 seed Lions in the next round. Lions should be healthier then.