It was an Old Lions performance at times but with a New Lions result.
The Detroit Lions didn't look like a playoff team for much of the day until the end when they once again did just enough to win.
With Sunday's 20-14 victory over the Bears at Soldier Field in Chicago, the Lions remain in contention for one of the top two seeds in the NFC playoffs.
They're assured of at least a wildcard bid, but they can win the NFC North title outright with another victory next Sunday in the regular-season finale at Green Bay, where Detroit hasn't won since 1991.
It will be a winner-take-all game for the division. Both teams are 11-4.
The North champ will be guaranteed a home playoff game and possibly an opening-round bye. The consolation prize for the loser will be the wildcard bid and then a road trip the following weekend to play in the first round.
The question right now for the Lions is whether they will have their starting center, 14-year veteran Dominic Raiola, available against Green Bay. Raiola was caught on camera stomping on the back of the leg of Chicago defensive tackle Ego Ferguson.
Raiola apparently told coach Jim Caldwell that the incident was unintentional, but it certainly didn't look that way. In fact, it was a similar act that led to teammate Ndamukong Suh's two-game suspension three years ago for stomping on a Green Bay player.
Raiola was not penalized on the play, which occurred early in the third quarter, but the league undoubtedly will take a close look at the replays.
"This is on purpose," FOX rules analyst Mike Pereira said while showing the incident on video. "This is a non-football act. You're looking at a realistic possibility of a suspension here."
If necessary, Raiola's replacement likely would be rookie Travis Swanson, a third-round draft pick. Swanson did a decent job while starting four games in place of right guard Larry Warford.
Raiola certainly is not a first-time offender when it comes to these types of things. He was fined $10,000 just a few weeks ago for another cheap shot late in a game against New England.
Raiola has suffered through so many losing seasons throughout his time in Detroit. It would be disappointing for he and his teammates, if he ends up sitting out next week when the Lions have a chance to win their first division title of his career.
In fact, it would be their first in 21 years.
Before Green Bay, though, the Lions had to get out of Chicago. They were 10-point favorites but it looked for a while as if they might get upset. Jimmy Clausen, starting his first game in four years, played much better than expected in place of Jay Cutler at quarterback for the Bears. It would have been an even better day for Clausen if his receivers, particularly normally reliable Alshon Jeffery, hadn't dropped so many passes.
Meanwhile Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford threw two interceptions in the red zone in the first half to keep the score close.
The Lions then basically gave the Bears a touchdown in the final minute of the first half after Jeremy Ross turned it over when he mishandled a punt deep in Detroit territory.
Chicago took advantage of another special-teams gaffe in the third quarter when the Lions' Julian Stanford was called for roughing-the-punter. That kept alive an 80-yard, 14-play touchdown drive that gave the Bears a 14-10 lead.
It looked even worse for the Lions when Matt Prater's 37-yard field-goal attempt got blocked a few minutes later, but they responded yet again to adversity. After a defensive stop, Detroit turned a pass-interference penalty on a third-and-10 play into Joique Bell's 17-yard run for the go-ahead touchdown with 7:15 remaining.
"We didn't play real well," Caldwell said during his post-game radio show. "The thing I can say is our guys are resilient. They're just tough and gritty. They're going to fight you down to the end and find a way to win."
The Lions, who are 6-1 in games decided by seven points or fewer, sealed the victory on an interception by safety Glover Quin, his seventh of the season, with 1:56 to play.
Until the late game-defining moments, the highlight of the day for the Lions had been the return to form by running back Reggie Bush, who was playing his third game since returning from an ankle injury. Bush turned an apparent botched play on fourth-and-5 into a 21-yard gain when he made a juggling catch of a low throw and then ran for the first down.
On the next play, Bush scored on a 13-yard run, just his second touchdown of the season and first since the third game.
"He's feeling a lot better and I think you can see it," Caldwell said.
The Lions entered the day averaging only 83.8 yards rushing per game, which ranked 30th in the NFL. But they had their best production of the season on the ground, finishing with 138 yards while averaging 5.3 per carry. Bell ran for 74 yards on 13 carries while Bush had 54 yards on seven carries.
"We ran the ball better than we've run it all year," Caldwell said. "That's coming at the right time."
They'll need more of it next Sunday against quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. The Lions won the first meeting between the teams, 19-7, in Detroit in the third week of the season, but doing it at Lambeau Field will be the ultimate test for them.
They've lost 23 straight to the Packers on the road. The Packers are 7-0 at home this year.
Another of those Old Lions performances won't get the job done anymore. They're going to have to clean it up, with no more reverting back to their old too-familiar ways, to win in Green Bay or in the playoffs.
