Lions win in Stafford's Return

I am ghoulishly giddy on this Halloween night thanks to my beloved Detroit Lions and their big win over the visiting Washington Redskins!

Lions QB Matthew Stafford
Photo Credit: NFL.com

Quarterback Matthew Stafford made is first start since Week 1 when he suffered a separated shoulder at the hands of Chicago Bears defensive end Julius Peppers.  Oh, what a return it was!  Stafford threw four touchdown passes-- three of them to Calvin Johnson-- and for the second straight season, handed the Redskins a nice big "L" to show for their visit to Ford Field.

While I am extremely happy to get the win, I can't-- for the life of me-- understand why Redskins coach Mike Shanahan, down by six points late in the fourth quarter, benched starting quarterback Donovan McNabb in favor of backup Rex Grossman claiming Grossman could best run the two-minute drill.  HUH?!?!  Shanahan really blew that one and Detroit's defense made him pay.  Grossman coughed up the ball after taking his first snap!  Ndamukong Suh scooped up the loose ball and danced into the endzone! Now, we're up 13.  Game over!

Lions DE Kyle Vanden Bosch sacks
Redskins QB Donovan McNabb
Photo Credit: DetroitLions.com

I'll take my wins any way that I can get them and I was fairly confident that the defense would do what it had done all game long-- give McNabb fits-- and protect the win.  But, Shanahan pretty much conceded defeat when he inserted a barely warmed up Grossman into the game at such a critical point.

Hmmm.  The Redskins are off next week giving Shanahan, McNabb and the media two weeks to let this thing simmer.  It will be interesting to see how things play out for the rest of the season.  More importantly, it will be interesting to see how things play out after the season.  My guess is that Donovan McNabb-- while standing on the sideline after being pulled from the game-- was thinking to himself, "I'm calling my agent as soon as we get back to DC and telling him to start quietly planning my departure from this comedy of errors."

Oh, Good Evening!