The Lions Are Going To Win The Super Bowl...
By: Dan Leach
Twitter @dtmleach
The Lions Are Going To Win The Super Bowl........
Well of course they're not, but we all can dream!
With the NFL Playoffs starting this weekend I know many of you out there wished, hoped, prayed that there was some alternate universe in which the Lions not only didn't have an abominable season , but actually made the playoffs. Well I found a way for all to be happy if even just in a dream.
I have a good friend at EA sports, the creators of the popular "Madden NFL" video game series, and had him run a simulation for me. Obviously I had him change the rules for who qualifies for the playoffs, cause otherwise this would make no sense. So he based the NFC six-seed on the NFL team that was the biggest disappointment in 2012, so the Lions raced into the postseason with lighting speed and cat-like reflexes.
They had the exact roster and updated stats they ended the season with, sorry Titus Young Sr fans, he was on the sidelines in street cloths eating ice cream.
He ran the playoff tournament 10,000 times, so you figure the Lions in a one-and-done type scenario could find a way to win it at least a tiny percentage of the time. Well that wasn't the case , but the Earth shattering news is the Lions did actually win the Super bowl....... One time! Not one percent of the time, but one time in 10,000 tries. There are better odds of getting two hole in one's in one round of golf or living on the moon in the near future, but hey at least "you're saying there's a chance":)
Let's see how it all played out.
Wildcard Round At Green Bay
The Lions snuck by the Pack in snowy conditions, 40 mph winds, and way too many camo jackets at Lambeau 21-20 ,courtesy of a huge game by Megatron. He had 184 total yards and a 74-yard touchdown late, beating future Hall of Famer Chucky Woodson, who in replays appeared to be pushed off on. Two TD's by Joique Bell were the key in the early stages and gave the Lions a lead they would never give up.
Divisional Round at Atlanta
The Lions upset the NFC's top-seed at the Georgia Dome behind five Jason Hanson Field goals and a late Stafford to Kris Durham TD pass to ice it, 22- 17. All of this aided by Falcons QB Matt Ryan getting injured on the first play from scrimmage by an Ndamukong Suh sack which broke his leg and left him still winless in the postseason.
NFC Title Game at San Francisco
The Honolulu Blue and Silver magic continued into San Fran where the Lions were 14-point underdogs and won one of the most scintillating NFC title games ever, 10-7 in a driving rain storm and dense fog. Jason Hanson bolstered his playoff MVP status and HOF case with a game winning 56-yard field goal as time expired. Nick Fairley and Suh combined for 6.5 sacks and were in Colin Kaepernick's face all day. There were rumors after the victory that RB Jahvid Best could be activated for the Super Bowl if the Lions requested an IR waiver , but were shot down immediately by Dr James Andrews.
Super Bowl XLVII Vs Indy
Then it was on to Super bowl in the Big Easy for the "Miracle Cats." In what has to go down as one of the greatest Super Bowl's ever, the Lions finally got their elusive title. Matt Stafford quieted all of his doubters with a Super Bowl record 510 passing yards and five TD's, three to Calvin Johnson. Megatron, who won the SB MVP, set a Super bowl record with 240 yards receiving and caught the go-ahead TD pass with 14 seconds to go to give the Lions the 35-34 historic victory!
The screen shot of the Lions carrying Jim Schwartz off the Mercedes Benz Super Dome field was priceless.
I know this won't make many of you feel any better, but that is what we get when we have to live our dreams through a video game simulation:)
