Lions on winning track

It’s morning again in Michigan!

Finally, after 21 long months, the Detroit Lions are winners again — at least for a week.

The men in Honolulu Blue and Silver, led by future star quarterback Matthew Stafford, defeated Washington 19-14 at Ford Field on Sunday, their first win in 19 tries.

This was an unbelievable effort. The defense was strong, holding the Redskins to zero rushing yards in the first half and stopping Clinton Portis on a fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line. The offense made plays. Stafford scrambled and picked up yards with his feet, Kevin Smith slashed through the defensive line and Bryant — not Calvin — Johnson caught a huge touchdown pass to set the tone for the Lions late in the first quarter.

More importantly, the Lions converted 10-of-18 third downs and took the game to the Redskins.

But the sad part: Only 40,896 fans took in the game at Ford Field, a far cry from the 65,000-plus that inhabited Ford Field for every game prior to last season.

When the clock struck 0:00 on Sunday, I jumped out of my seat in excitement, tears of joy nearly running down my face. I went to find the nearest person to hug, high-five, something, anything, and there was no one. No Lions fans left in the newsroom. So sad.

But this is just the first of many wins under Jim Schwartz, who will lead the Lions to the playoffs soon.