It may be time to rename the Detroit Lions to the Cardiac Cats. For the second week in a row, the Lions overcame a deficit of 20 or more points, and for the second straight week they won on the road in a hostile environment.
This week, the comeback came against the Dallas Cowboys, and the margin before the rally was a whopping 24 points. The Lions were down 20-3 at the half, and an early Cowboys touchdown in the third quarter made it 27-3. The Lions responded with a pair of pick-sixes, a field goal and a pair of touchdown passes to Calvin Johnson. All Dallas could manage was a field goal the rest of the game. Johnson's second TD put the Lions on top, 34-30, and that ended up being the final score after the Cowboys turned the ball over on downs.
It was very fitting that the Lions' rally started with a 35-yard interception return by Bobby Carpenter, who used to play for the Cowboys. He was booed all game, and he stuck it to the Cowboys with the rally-starter. Chris Houston also stuck it to the Cowboys after struggling early on. He picked off Tony Romo on the next drive and took the ball 56 yards for a touchdown. Suddenly it was a 10-point game in Dallas.
The Lions gave up a field goal on the next drive, but they came back strong with a great drive that ended with a 23-yard touchdown to Johnson in triple coverage. Somehow he hauled the pass in, and after Jason Hanson nailed a 51-yard field goal on the next drive, the deficit was only three points.
After making a stop, the Lions got the ball back and quickly moved their way down the field. They got inside the five, and after a holding penalty gave them a first down, Matthew Stafford hit Johnson on a fade for the go-ahead score and what ended up being the game-winning touchdown.
The 4-0 Lions will return home to play the Chicago Bears a week from Monday night. I don't think anybody imagined they would be 4-0 going into this game, but Jim Schwartz has led the Lions to a perfect first quarter of the season.