The Detroit Lions finally decided to show up for a football game. Not only did they show up, they showed out for the hometown crowd. They blew out the Denver Broncos 42-17 and restored the faith of the Motown faithful when it looked like a train wreck was going to happen in these last few weeks of the season.

Now, it’s still not totally smooth sailing for the next three weeks but Saturday’s win put some wind in our sails for the voyage to Minnesota next week. Keep in mind a win against the Vikings on Sunday means we win the division for the first time ever, so it’s kind of a big deal.

Alright, enough waffling around. Let me tell you my thoughts from the game. We had another slow start, which makes me feel a little bit uneasy when thinking about playoffs where a complete game is needed. Luckily, Denver also had a slow start, and we turned it on in the second quarter and kept the foot on the gas to win very comfortably.

I think we can all agree that Sam LaPorta is one of our greatest draft pick in probably the last 15 years. Am I getting ahead of myself since he is only a rookie? Maybe, but you can’t argue with 3rd most receptions in a season by a rookie tight end, well you could, but you’d be wrong.

LaPorta had three touchdowns on five receptions for 56 yards; in which efficiency is through the roof with this guy. LaPorta was joined in the endzone by Jahmyr Gibbs, who had a rushing and receiving touchdown, and Amon-Ra St. Brown, who flipped his way into a receiving score to keep the fireworks going. That total meant Jared Goff threw for a casual five touchdowns to tie his career record, completed 24 of 34 passes and finished the day with 278 yards. Something simple and something slight for the boys in Honolulu blue.

Lions’ offensive coordinator Ben Johnson finally spread out the targets when it came to the passing game and it paid off heavily. Of course there was the usual suspects of St. Brown and LaPorta getting a lot of looks, but seeing Goff target Josh Reynolds, Kalif Raymond, and Jameson Williams more makes the defense get spread out that much more. I really don’t know why it took till week 15 to finally figure this out, but hey, better late than never!

The Lions’ offense was on fire, but you have to attribute the defense in this win as well. Almost every other snap, there was pressure from the trenches which forced Russell Wilson to get out of the pocket and throw into coverage that ended in incompletions. He finished the day at 18 for 32 with 223 yards, a passing touchdown to Lil’Jordan Humphrey, and a scamper into the endzone for an additional score. He was sacked twice, once by Ifeatu Melifonwu and another by Josh Paschal. We were able to celebrate victory Sunday as a fanbase and the party will go well into this week, but it’s time to talk about the next three games.

I’m afraid that it’s not going to be easy, but I’d rather be tested before the playoffs than have a cakewalk before the postseason. We’re scheduled to play Minnesota twice with a trip to Dallas in between. Prediction from me? We split with Minnesota, win the division, win against the Cowboys in the trip to Texas and finish the season with 12 wins for the first time since 1991.

Minnesota has been in shambles ever since Kirk Cousins’ injury in week. Everyone thought that Josh Dobbs was going to have a career resurrection after his comeback win in his first start, but he’s expectedly fallen off the wagon and Nick Mullens chucked two interceptions in their loss to the Bengals. The Lions defense will get a few takeaways and will force some turnovers, the offense just needs to capitalize on it and they will be just fine.

I’ll talk more about the upcoming game against the Cowboys in next week's installment, but that game is going to be a shootout. Other than their previous game against the Buffalo Bills where they lost 33-10, “America’s Team” has scored more than 30 points for five weeks in a row. Can’t argue with that, but the Lions can put points on the board just the same.

Folks, I am beyond excited for these next few games. There’s a chance that history will be made in this week’s upcoming game, and to be honest, I am scared for the well being of Detroit. Will there be riots fueled by pure joy, or will it be just one giant party to celebrate a division title? I don’t want to get too ahead of myself, but you can’t blame me. I’ve waited 22 long years of my life for this moment and I know a lot of people who have waited a lot longer than I have.

Fire up the crock pot with the chili, make some buffalo chicken dip, grab a few cold ones, hop on the recliner, and firmly plant yourself to watch four quarters of hard-nosed football. It’s not everyday you get to see the culmination of 30 some odd years of pain, heartbreak, sadness, and hopefulness come down to one Sunday, but here we are. 1992 was the last time we finished first in the division, and that was when we were in the NFC Central. Lions by a million everybody!