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Lions Put Together Another Complete Game; Fauria Says This Team Not 'S.O.L.'

By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak

FORD FIELD (CBS DETROIT) - The Detroit Lions have endured their share of dramatic endings this season, so Sunday's game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers served as a welcome change of pace.

The Lions defeated the Buccaneers, 34-17, and ended the game in victory formation.

"It's nice to have one of those games where it's stress-free in the fourth," Lions center Dominic Raiola said. "That's how games like that are supposed to go. We're not supposed to be stressing out. It's supposed to be like that, finishing the game early, putting teams like that away early.

"That's nothing against them," Raiola added. "Gerald McCoy and [Ndamukong] Suh are top two d-tackles in the league, so we had a big job today."

By taking care of the Buccaneers, who have won just two games this season, the Lions improved their record to 9-4 and continued their march toward the playoffs. Raiola said, however, that the team has not been thinking of the season in terms of its end.

"It doesn't feel like that," Raiola said. "It feels like we're just handling what's next week. There's no feeling like, 'Oh, shoot, we need Green Bay to lose.' I didn't even know who was playing today. I knew we played Tampa, and that was it, and that's a good feeling. That's how it should be."

Since suffering back-to-back road losses against the Arizona Cardinals and the New England Patriots, the Lions have rebounded by winning two straight at home. In both games, quarterback Matthew Stafford has completed more than 75 percent of his passes.

"We live and die by him," Lions guard Rob Sims said. "He is our leader, he is our superstar, and he gets it done."

The Lions finished with 294 passing yards and 113 rushing yards while the Buccaneers managed 207 yards through the air and only 26 yards on the ground. Sims said he and his fellow linemen talk to each other about how they would hate to face Detroit's defensive line, which sacked Tampa Bay quarterback Josh McCown six times.

"It would be terrible," Sims said.

When most people think of the Detroit defense, they think of All-Pro defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, but Sims noted others on the line pose threats as well.

"You've got to pick one of them," Sims said. "I think at the end of the day the big story on our defensive line is going to be Jason Jones. I think he's the guy that just is like the x-factor in there. He was the guy - I remember we were getting ready for him two years ago when he was in Seattle, and he didn't play because he was hurt. We were jumping for joy a little bit because he's a heck of a player.

"Everybody knows what Ndamukong can do, when Nick [Fairley]'s healthy, and C.J. [Mosley], they can do, and we all know Ziggy [Ansah]'s that freak out there, and then [defensive line coach] Jim Washburn just dialing it up," Sims said. "We were sitting on the sidelines and being like, 'Man, I would hate that. I would hate to play those guys.' Hope they all stay here."

The Lions conclude a three-game home stretch Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings before they finish off the regular season on the road against the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers.

Detroit has a reputation for fading down the stretch, but tight end Joe Fauria said that will not happen this season.

"We're not the same team as last year," Fauria said. "We're not S.O.L. [same old Lions]. We're a new Lions team, and we're going to keep on rolling. Our fate's in our hands."

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