By Mark Wilson
December 28, 2014

24 and counting.

I am assuming that will be the lead in many columns/articles/blogs when the final words are written on the 30-20 Green Bay Packers division-clinching victory over the Lions on Sunday.

That’s if people can break away long enough from the Jim Harbaugh to Michigan love-fest.

In what seemed like a secondary football story in our state, the Lions chance to own the NFC North crown for the FIRST time since the division name was changed years ago, went out the wintry Wisconsin window.

Detroit’s football franchise had trekked to America’s Dairyland and cheese capital for 23 consecutive years and for 23 consecutive years, they have returned to Michigan as losers. Add a playoff loss at Lambeau Field to make it 24.

24 and counting.

Next year… will be number 25.

That’s if you’re still counting.

Yes, that even means YOU Jim Harbaugh.

Oh, he doesn’t care about that.

Lions’ fans should care however.

It is the last remaining regular season bugaboo and even a calf injury to quarterback Aaron Rodgers couldn’t hamper the Packers’ positive play party.

Mike McCarthy is bound and determined to NEVER lose to the Lions at Lambeau and is just about obsessed with beating Detroit each and every time the Lions make the migration 492 miles to the north and west.

The Packers’ coach got his wish yet again.

Micah Hyde used to bother college football faithful in Ann Arbor and East Lansing when he played at Iowa. Now, he’s bugging the hell out of pro football fans here in Motown.

Hyde’s 55 yard punt return got the Packers on the board in the first quarter.

Ole’ discount double check himself, Aaron Rodgers, tossed a four yard touchdown pass to Randall Cobb for a 14-0 Green Bay lead.

Joique Bell ran well but the Lions couldn’t finish off drives.

Finally, with just 24 ticks left in the second quarter, Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson hooked up for 20 yards cutting the lead to 14-7.

The duo triggered again in the third quarter.

Mega grabbed his eighth, and final, TD catch of 2014 on a shortie from Stafford.

Game tied at 14.

The Lions defense had already gotten to Rodgers by this time. They knocked him out at the end of the first half by re-aggravating his calf injury. Matt Flynn had to come in and finish the second quarter work.

Flynn is the guy who threw SIX touchdown strikes in 2011 when the Packers finished the season beating the Lions 45-41 in place of an injured Rodgers.

For that? Flynn got a HUGE contract with the Seattle Seahawks (Pre-Russell Wilson) in the off-season.

After failing in Seattle AND Oakland, Flynn returned to Green Bay last season.

So, naturally, when #10 replaced #12, there was a mild gasp around the Motor City.

Déjà vu all over again?

Nope, not this time.

Flynn completed the only pass he threw and Rodgers hobbled back in the game.

With 3:33 to play in the third, State Farm’s spokesman found Cobb once more to put the Packers up 21-14.

In the fourth quarter, Rodgers ran one in with his bad calf.

I like calling him a “professional faker.”

It’s kind of like the scene in the great movie, “Caddy Shack,” when Rodney Dangerfield pretends to injure his arm so he doesn’t have to continue playing.

Or, like when St. Louis Cardinals’ baseball Hall of Fame legend Lou Brock used to come up lame after a base hit so you’d think he was hurting. Two pitches later, Brock was off like a shot… stealing another of his 938 bases.

Pro faker.

Not that it’s a bad thing.

At 28-14 and with only two and a half minutes to play, Stafford made a boo-boo in the end zone resulting in a Green Bay safety. It’s the kind of play that was reminiscent of Mike McMahon or even current Lions’ backup QB Dan Orlovsky.

Come to think of it… IS Orlovsky STILL the Lions’ backup?

Durability has become Stafford’s middle name so they haven’t needed a backup all season. The only other player on the team to throw a pass other than Matthew is punter Sam Martin.

Martin went 2-of-2 for 27 yards.

Orlovsky might be jealous.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Lions went for the onsides and won the football back.

Just a few plays later, Stafford threw his final TD toss in 2014; a six-yarder to Theo Riddick. Bell was unsuccessful on the two point conversion and that… was that.

30-20 final.

McCarthy celebrated some on the sidelines. It was the fourth NFC North title in a row for Green Bay. Lambeau Field was pumped and the fans let Ndamukong Suh have it as he walked off the field.

Suh was caught on camera stepping on Rodgers lower left leg near the ankle. It looked intentional after a minor stumble.

In the same game as the one missed by suspended center Dominic Raiola for stepping on the foot of Chicago’s Ego Ferguson, Suh does pretty much the same thing.

What is with the Lions stepping on guys?

“There’s no place for that,” said McCarthy to the media afterwards.

We’ll now see if the NFL comes down on Suh just as the Lions are set to play in only their second post season game of the 21st Century.

Raiola will be back but will Suh be gone? Or, is only a fine going to be involved?

More stupid questions for Caldwell to worry about.

McCarthy was more interested in his all-World QB.

“It’s clearly another MVP performance.”

Rodgers finished 17 of 22 for 226 yards and those two touchdowns. Considering he did not complete a single pass in the first quarter, first time in his CAREER, it was a terrific way to finish the regular season.

His QB rating was a sparkling 139.6.

Stafford wasn’t awful; he had the three TD’s and NO picks.

But, it’s still another notch in his belt on the losing side away from Ford Field.

0-and-16.

No, it’s not a mockery of 2008, it just happens to be Stafford’s record now against winning squads on the road.

He has NEVER beaten one.

Never.

How horrible for a supposed “star” in the NFL already in his sixth rodeo.

Granted, Matt is only 26 and has a long way to go but eventually you have to PROVE you can beat a good team in unfriendly confines.

Stafford gets another chance this coming Sunday in Dallas.

Yep, Dallas.

Number 9 going back to Texas.

While the Packers enjoy a nice rest this weekend and get a bye right into the second round, something the Lions have not enjoyed in 23 years, the Lions have to fight for their life at the mega-complex that Jerry Jones built.

Matt grew up partly in Dallas and went to Highland Park High School; the same school that produced former Lions’ QB great Bobby Layne.

You probably already know that story.

Stafford has heard all the rumors of a possible “Layne Curse” that he levied on Detroit when the Lions dealt him to Pittsburgh.

It’s Stafford’s task to remove all that malarkey.

Nothing but poppycock falderal.

Yes! I got to use all THREE of those fun words describing foolishness.

78 games have been played by the Lions under Stafford’s watch and only ONCE has he returned to Texas.

He’s never faced the Houston Texans.

In 2011, he beat the Cowboys in Dallas 34-30.

That’s the game when the Lions were down 27-3 in the third quarter. Two interceptions returned for scores cut the lead to 27-17. A Dan Bailey field goal for Dallas made it 30-17.

Stafford did the rest in the fourth quarter.

He found Johnson twice for TD receptions and led a drive that culminated with a Jason Hanson 51-yard field goal.

The reason that victory doesn’t count against his 0-16 mark vs. “winning teams” is because the Cowboys… weren’t a winning team in 2011.

Dallas finished 8-and-8.

This CURRENT Cowboys club is much better than 2011.

They blew out Washington in D.C. to wrap up a perfect 8-and-0 road charge. It’s one of only SIX in NFL history.

Winning EVERY road game simply doesn’t happen.

Of course it also means they lost four home games.

San Francisco (there’s Harbaugh again!), Arizona, Philadelphia and the Redskins all found ways to beat Jason Garrett and his star studded group at A T & T Stadium.

Tony Romo had a bang up year.

Throwing for 32 touchdowns and only eight picks, he amassed more than 34-hundred yards with a completion percentage of 70.3; all that in 15 games… he missed one.

Romo had a SEASONAL quarterback rating of 114.4.

That was for the entire season.

Stafford hit that number in a GAME just four times in 2014.

Romo’s two big weapons, receiver Dez Bryant and running back DeMarco Murray, each set Cowboys’ single season records.

No Cowboy had ever rushed for more than 1,800 yards until Murray.

He broke the great Emmitt Smith’s mark of 1,773 set in 1995. D.M. signed off the reg. campaign with 1,845.

Bryant caught his 16th touchdown pass from Romo. It broke Terrell Owens record of 15 set in 2007.

They’ll be looking for more of the same against the Lions.

Playing the Cowboys also means seeing a couple of old coaching pals.

Scott Linehan is the gameday pass coordinator for Garrett and O.C. Bill Callahan. Seems funky to me, but nothing is funky when Jerry Jones is concerned. It seems to have worked just fine and Linehan avoids stepping on Callahan’s toes.

Rod Marinelli is….

Well, c’mon, we ALL remember Rod!

“Do you wish your daughter had married a better defensive coordinator?”

Lest we forget, that was the infamous question Rob Parker asked at the end of the fateful 0-and-16 season of 2008.

Marinelli was at the podium and didn’t exactly bust a gut when Rob asked it.

But, it was SO funny and SO true.

Rod had hired his son-in-law Joe Barry to be the D.C.

Barry was terrible.

The Lions were terrible.

Marinelli was OUT a week after the question.

Barry left with him.

Rod is the Cowboys defensive coordinator and has been since last season. He worked for the Bears immediately after his firing in ’08.

Garrett seems to enjoy Marinelli’s work and for good reason. Rod has changed it all in Dallas. The Cowboys are better for what Marinelli has done to the schematics on the front line.

They are ninth in the NFL at stopping the run but still have some work to do against the pass.

Barry Church and Rolando McClain have become fan favorites. Former Lions’ linebacker Justin Durant made a difference in the Big D.

JJ Wilcox and Bruce Carter each had three picks in 2014.

Marinelli will be waiting for his former team.

Ditto Linehan.

Those two don’t need any added incentive but they have it anyway. I don’t believe they feel they were treated well upon departure.

Yeah, Detroit can mess with ya.

2011 is the last time Detroit got into playoff mode.

Jim Schwartz had led the Lions to a 10-and-6 mark but it was clouded by that last game loss at Green Bay.

More déjà vu.

After allowing those 45 points to Matt Flynn, they got rattled for another 45 down in New Orleans against Drew Brees and company.

Caldwell is NOT Schwartz and his two coordinators, Teryl Austin and Joe Lombardi are better at their craft than Gunther Cunningham and Linehan were in ’11.

The Lions have a legitimate shot at winning a playoff game for the first time since Wayne Fontes led the 38-6 rout of those Cowboys in January of 1992.

Just for historic purposes, it is THE ONLY PLAYOFF WIN SINCE 1957.

Stop shouting, Wilson!

How tiresome.

I wasn’t alive in 1957 when Detroit won the NFL Championship. The Super Bowl was still nine years away and the league wasn’t the money making monolith that we all enjoy today.

Yep, I just rolled my eyes over the prospect of rekindling the years since 1957 so… I ain’t gonna do it.

No way. No how.

11-and-5 earned Caldwell the right to not drudge up the “Same Old Lions.”

Although… losing in Green Bay doesn’t help that cause.

Of the 11 victories, most ever by a first-year Lions’ coach, only ONE was against a team that finished over .500.

It was against the Packers at Ford Field back on September 21st.

Of the five losses, ALL five came against teams that either finished over .500 or are playoff bound as well.

16 teams ended 2014 with nine wins or more but the Lions only played FOUR of them.

So, in actuality, the Lions missed out on 12 of the 16 BEST the NFL had to offer this season.

Kind of tarnishes the 11 wins just a little bit.

Don’t get me wrong, 11-and-5 first time out of the box for Caldwell is a hell of an accomplishment. Only Fontes’ 1991 unit did better in Lions lore.

The good news is that Detroit didn’t lose to a piece of garbage this year.

The bad news? The combined record of the teams they beat; not including the one over the Packers?

45-and-83.

Caldwell beat the teams he had to beat. He just didn’t have any signature wins other than the “W” over the Packers at home early on.

And the skid mark in Wisconsin carries over to 2015.

This is the PLAYOFFS now.

The Lions have another streak they need to break. They have lost SEVEN post-season tilts in a row.

10 of 11 on the loss side going back to the 1957 championship game.

When Fontes blew out Jimmy Johnson’s Cowboys in January of 1992, it was the first and lone time in the Super Bowl era that the Lions had gone to a second round.

ANY second round.

In ’92 it meant the NFC Championship Game in Washington.

The Lions promptly got smoked at old RFK Stadium 41-10 which basically discounted that entire schedule which included a total of 13 victories and ALL nine at home.

Caldwell would do well… to avoid a blowout.

Look, they have Stafford and another 4,000 yard season.

They have Johnson and Golden Tate. Each had over 1,000 yards to join Herman Moore and Brett Perriman as Lions with dual thousand yard receiving seasons in the same season.

They have Bell and Reggie Bush. When both are healthy, it’s a decent tandem.

They have all those damn tight ends.

Raiola will be back at center even if rookie Travis Jackson did a credible job on Sunday.

They have Austin’s solid defensive unit.

Even kicker is less of a concern with Matt Prater.

Sure, they CAN beat the Cowboys this weekend.

Dallas hasn’t won a thing since Johnson and Barry Switzer combined for those three Super Bowls in the 90’s. Jones is dying for a champion or at least a team that can roll deep into the playoffs.

In Jones’ mind, it means… don’t lose to Detroit!

Lions peeps would have loved a home game.

Many can remember how awesome the Pontiac Silverdome was that day in January of ’92 when 80,000 strong rocked out the old girl.

Now, the Silverdome sits there off Opdyke Road without a top on her.

She’s topless.

Please, don’t look. She’s embarrassed enough.

Ford Field has been open since 2002 and they are itching to host a home NFL playoff game.

Right now, they have to forget about that and concentrate on Romo, Murray, Bryant and the rest of those Cowboys.

A loss to Dallas will leave the same empty feeling that has been around here for more than half a century.

Sure, there seems to be light at the end of the Matt Millen tunnel, but it’s just as easy to take steps backwards in the NFL. No one is immune to that.

Well, except New England it seems.

The Lions aren’t the Patriots but neither are the Cowboys. Dallas can be beat. It has to be a stellar day all around for the Honolulu Blue and Silver. No fooling around this time; serious playoff business.

A win over Dallas is the best New Year’s gift anyone can get around here. Unless you’re a REALLY BIG Michigan Wolverine fan, of course. Hello, Jim Harbaugh.