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Jason Jones On Possibility Of Winning NFC North: 'We Can Taste It'

By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak

FORD FIELD (CBS DETROIT) - By winning Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings, the Detroit Lions put themselves in an enviable position, tied for first place in the NFC North. If the Lions win their next two games - on the road against the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers - they win the division.

Lions head coach Jim Caldwell has shut down all playoff talk, but the team knows what is at stake.

"We can taste it, man," defensive end Jason Jones said. "It's right there in front of us. We've been in control, in the driver's seat the whole year, and right now we've just got to put the pedal to the floor and keep moving."

Told of that remark, Caldwell smiled and jokingly modified it to his liking.

"I hope he's talking about tasting practice next week, getting ready for the Bears," Caldwell said. "That's what I think he was probably ... he was probably just talking about that. Did you ask him particularly about what he meant? That's probably what it was. I'll clarify it for him."

If both the Lions and the Packers win the next game on their respective schedules, their meeting in Week 17 will determine which team wins the division. Detroit defeated Green Bay early in the season, but the Packers responded to that loss by winning nine of their next 10 games. Sunday the Packers lost to the Buffalo Bills, however. The result was displayed on the video boards at Ford Field, but players said they are not thinking about what Green Bay does.

"Our next game is the Bears, and that's what we're focusing on," Ihedigbo said. "We were focused on the Vikings, we're focusing on the Bears. It doesn't matter about what the Packers do. That's not our concern. We're concerned, really, with what we do, and that's winning football games. We have our goals in front of us, like I said, and that's what we're happy about.

"Chicago is a huge game, so we truly have to sit there and just take it one game at a time, and it's tough because you can taste it," Ihedigbo continued. "You can say, 'Hey, we haven't been here in a while, this is something special for this city, for this team, we're on the verge of doing something amazing,' but that's just part of our goal. So you've got to take it bit by bit, and we'll get there when we get there."

Caldwell spoke at length about how much he appreciated the fans Sunday, saying they made it hard for the Vikings to execute and praising them for the difference they made in the game. The coach declined to talk, however, about what a playoff game in Detroit would mean to those fans.

"I'm not into hypothesis and maybes and all that kind of stuff," Caldwell said. "I'm into what we've got to do, and we've got to keep winning.  That's what we have to do. You get your focus deterred a little bit and, believe me, it comes back to haunt you. And I'm trying to tell our guys not to talk about it, worry about it, and really, you better get worried about resting, taking care of your body and getting ready to attack those Bears because it's going to be tough."

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