After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 1

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Yep, Graybar does that. I don't want to overstate what happened in the Motor City a few hours ago. It's not like pigs are flying. It's not like hell froze over except for in Kansas City. Oh, and Montana and Iowa.

Oh, there's lots of places in the United States actually where hell froze over. Not inside Ford Field in Detroit, but pretty damn close to a miracle. Here we go, Goff works out of the gun, second down and nine. Two minutes to go. There's Goff, back, looking, looking, throws, it is caught.

I'm in Ross St. Brown, first down, that's going to do it, that's going to do it, that's going to do it. Jared Goff delivers against his former team. Now all they have to do is take a knee three times and this game will be over. For the second time since 1957, for the first time since January 5th, 1992, these Detroit Lions are going to win a playoff game. Detroit, stand up, you've waited for this. One proud nation, stand up, you've waited for this. That is the voice of Dan Miller and company on Lions Radio. We will talk to Dan in the next 10 minutes before we even take our first break.

Wait until you hear his final call. And so we're starting from the end and working our way backwards. This was a dynamic game between the Lions and the Packers and it was tense through the end. But yes, the Lions prevail, their first playoff win since January 5th, 1992. I'm sure you don't remember where you were then and I'm sure most of Lions nation, most of that one pride never had any clue it would take this long for the next one. But a lot of us have only ever seen one before now.

Or maybe not, depending upon your age. A nine game skid in the postseason ended on this Sunday, January 14th, 2024. I feel wind underneath my freaking wings, man. Oh, so much Dan Campbell to come. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio.

What a moment, what an atmosphere. And yes, Dan Miller will join us here in moments so we can get his perspective because he has called a lot of Lions games on the radio network. And I want to hear what it was like to be inside Ford Field. In fact, Lions fans, if you're listening and you were there, we have a great affiliate in Detroit. We'd love to hear from you if you're listening to the ticket or our app or the website. The phone number 855-212-4227.

That's 855-212-4CBS. The Lions started out aggressively from the very beginning. Three straight touchdown drives to launch the attack. And what stood out to me is that Jared Goff, Ben Johnson, the OC, the guys on the field, they were all hands on deck. Jared was spreading the ball around. They were mixing run and pass. They were using the pass actually to set up the run.

Montgomery, the single back behind Goff again. Jared up under center, takes the snap, turns, gives to Montgomery again, steps to his right, into the end zone, touchdown Detroit Lions. That's the way you open a playoff game. 75 yards straight down the field to the end zone. First and goal, they mark it at the 10 on the right hash as Goff and company look to build on a 7-3 lead.

Shotgun snap fakes the pass and hands off. Gibbs breaks a tackle over center and he bangs it in for the Detroit touchdown. Two drives, two touchdowns and the Detroit Lions have thrown down the gauntlet here in Detroit. 13-3 with 131 left in this opening quarter. On Lions radio and then on Westwood One with Spiro Didas and what I love is that you can hear the raucous crowd behind Spiro's call. So the first two scores are capped by rushing touchdowns and to me this is significant.

Why? For years, going back to when Barry Sanders retired, the Lions have not had a consistent run game. And there's one reason why they haven't consistently made the playoffs and haven't won a postseason game in 32 years. David Montgomery and the rookie Jameer Gibbs. Remember when the Lions drafted him?

And that was considered a huge question mark and a face palm. Why? Why are you drafting a running back? Well he has been worth it. So those two guys go 1-2 on the opening drives and then the third drive, 6 plus minutes and it's Sam Laporta. Thankfully he was out there on the field and he was able to do some major damage as Jared Goff's top target all season long. Now Matthew Stafford was game for the challenge and if my ears served me correctly and I believe they did, he got booed. Now he led the Rams out of the tunnel in Detroit so maybe the fans were booing all of the Rams. But the Rams allowed him to get a few steps on the rest of the team. So it was he and Aaron Donald standing in the front and they allowed Stafford to go out by himself for a couple of steps before they followed him. He was fired up but I'm pretty sure they were booing him as he led the Rams out of the tunnel. But you know what kept this game close? A pair of long touchdowns in the first half. He's ready. He has it. Against a four man rush. Well protected.

Deep down the left side. Pukka behind the defense. Caught to 20. Pukka inside to 10. Slips into the end zone. Touchdown LA. 50 on the number for prime time Pukka. Motioning from left to right.

Pukka Nakua. 4-10 to go. Matthew Stafford has it. Back to the logo. Stands in.

Hitches. Fires right side. Is caught. 2-2 Atwell. Too fast.

Too furious. 2-2 Atwell with a flip and a touchdown. The calls with JB Long on Rams radio. So yeah Matthew Stafford up to his old tricks and boy does he have some great arm angles still.

The flat iron pass. He goes around defenders and Pukka Nakua. 2-2 Atwell who's their number 3-4 receiver depending upon the set. Cooper Cup getting a first down here and there.

It's a lot of fun to see these younger guys. Not Cooper but some of the younger guys. Kyron Williams in there as well working with Stafford. And so he has a 50 yard touchdown with Pukka and then 38 to Atwell.

Otherwise this game is not close. But it was the ability of Stafford in that offense. Now the Rams defense scuffling along there in the first half. Missing a bunch of tackles.

And so you have the offense kind of back and forth between the Rams and the Lions. So it's 21-17 at the half. Weirdly enough it was the complete opposite in the second half. Only 3 field goals.

Twice though LA had drives that went over 6 minutes and they were stopped each time. Despite 3 snaps inside the 13 they had to settle for field goals. And that was a big deal in the second half.

It wasn't just about this big crowd or Jared Goff. It was about the defense able to limit the Rams. Lions show 4 across that defensive front. Stafford a couple of steps towards the line.

5 on the play clock. Matthew leans in. There's the snap. Stafford back and looking. Pressure comes. Stafford steps up. Delivers downfield. It is knocked away. Incomplete. Dan Miller with one of those big defensive stops on Lions radio. And again we'll connect with him momentarily. That was just inside of 5 minutes to go from the 44 yard line.

Able to come up with a stop. But the big number that jumps out at you. And if you go and you look at the numbers from this football game.

On both sides. They're almost identical. I know that sounds crazy but the team stats are nearly identical in every respect. They actually both went 4 for 10 on 3rd and 4th down. They each had 55 plays.

They each had 8 total drives. The Lions had one more first down than did the Rams. The major difference. Penalties were about the same. Neither team had a turnover.

The major difference. The Rams were held to 0 for 3 in the red zone. While the Lions capitalized on each of their red zone opportunities. Final call from Detroit just a few hours ago. Jared will wait to move in behind center until that clock goes all the way down. Play clock at 1. Takes the snap. Takes the knee. One more time.

One more time Jared. Oh, Ford Field you are beautiful. 65,000 strong standing. Best fans in the world. They have waited for this. They have endured so many gut punches.

And here they are tonight. One final time Jared. One final time.

Moves in behind center. Takes the snap. Takes the knee. This game is over.

Oh, the Detroit Lions have won it. Celebrate boys. Celebrate.

You are coming right back here next week to take on the winner of the Philadelphia Tampa Bay game. What a night. What a night. To be able to do something that's greater than yourself. It takes everybody around you doing their job. Doing it on a high level.

And you got to be able to trust them. It's special. It's different than anything, man. And it's why you do what we do. It's not the money. It's about the competition. It's about the camaraderie.

And to be the best of the best collectively. The voice of Dan Campbell. And we will hear more from Dan and from Jared and of course from Matthew Stafford. But right now and after hours here on CBS Sports Radio, we're thrilled to welcome Dan Miller who is finally done with his post-game duties after calling this playoff win on Lions Radio. Dan, how did that feel?

Amy, amazing. Long time coming. And just to see these fans be able to enjoy this night and finally have the payback that they've waited so long for and invested so much in. It was just a magical night in the city of Detroit.

It was amazing. And it's one playoff win. And there's a lot more left out there. But when you have done it once since 1957 and you haven't done it since January 5, 1992, it's a big deal. Just for perspective, how many years have you been calling Lions Radio?

This is my 19th. This is my fourth playoff game. We've been to the playoffs three times before this and obviously not come up with a victory. This just felt different. I mean, those times it kind of felt like, yeah, you got in. Maybe you snuck your way in or just felt like this just feels like with this group, this regime in place, that they're building something that has staying power.

They're building something the right way. And, you know, last year finishing 8-2, winning that game against Green Bay on the final game of the season, winning the division this year, you check a box, getting a home playoff game. Then, then 30 years, you check another box and then to win this game tonight, check another box. Now you're in it.

Now you go to next week and let's see what happens. But it's just all these things, Amy, were just such important steps for them to take to just say to people, yeah, this is real and these guys have to be taken seriously because so many times people just didn't take the Lions seriously. We are big Dan Campbell fans around here.

In fact, he's one of our favorite quotes, favorite audio soundbites to use. But why? The question is why? Why is it working for him? Why is his system and culture getting the Lions where they have not been in decades?

Well, I would take you, I'll come back to Dan, but let me take you to our owner Sheila Ham. Because when she fired the previous regime, she could have just hired a general manager and a head coach and said, okay, we got two good ones here. But she did more than that. She took a deep dive into the organization and found out that it was fractured, that there were a lot of people that didn't feel valued, a lot of people that had been left behind and it just wasn't a healthy organization. And she knew she needed a culture change and she brought in Chris Spielman, she had Rod Wood in place, she had Mike Disner in place, and those four decided what they wanted to be.

And whoever they hired had to fit into that. And Brad Holmes fit into that, and Dan Campbell fit into that, and they've lived that culture, that vision every day. And look, Dan Campbell is exactly what you hear and what you see. It starts with the fact that he's a good person, and it moves to the fact that he is incredibly consistent, he doesn't change, he doesn't waver, he doesn't have ups and downs, he tells you what he thinks, and you know exactly where you stand. And that's been so important for this organization and these players that, to use a cliche, would literally run through a brick wall for him because they believe in him and he knows they believe in him. And it's just, he's the perfect guy from the day he walked in the door till tonight to lead this organization as the head coach. I gotta say he's got a great sense of humor too, not only the way that he addresses people with the mic, but even the game after the Dallas loss where he's having an O-lineman report in for almost every single snap. He's funny.

Yeah, I mean, that's who he is, and that personality has been an important part of the whole mix. And it's funny because there was a 90-minute press conference the day he got hired and everybody picked out 20 seconds of him talking about writing kneecaps. But if anybody took the time to listen to that entire press conference, it was amazing. And it was exactly what people in Detroit needed to hear, and exactly what the members of this organization needed to hear. And it's unfortunate that all that kind of got lost in one line that became the headline from it, but, man, his vision matched the organization's vision, and it's part of what has driven this team, this organization, this group of players, to this moment tonight. Dan Miller is fresh off this call of Alliance playoff win over Matthew Stafford and the Rams from the category of You Can't Make This Stuff Up.

It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. You called a lot of games with Stafford, and we've talked about him in the past, even before he was traded. What was it like to see him back on the field in a Rams uniform? It was different.

I mean, there's no doubt. Look, I kind of dreaded that storyline when we found out as things unfolded last week which team we were going to play, because I knew what it would turn into, and it's just unfortunate. Look, there's nobody in that stadium tonight, and I'm going to speak for people and feel comfortable doing it, that dislikes Matthew Stafford. People appreciate everything he did here, and even when he asked out, people understood that it had run its course and it was time for him to move on. But tonight, he was playing for the other team, and that's why you saw the reaction that you saw. You had fans with 30 years of pent-up emotions that let us out tonight. And yeah, he got booed, but it's not personal. It's business, and that's what tonight was all about. And I'm sure when Matthew comes back next year in the regular season, he'll probably get cheered. But this wasn't the night for that. This wasn't the night to feel good about memories.

People have already done that. People did that when Matthew walked out the door and they thanked him for what he did here and wished him well. And people did that when they celebrated here when he won a Super Bowl because they were so happy for him. But tonight wasn't the night for that, and I knew the perception by a lot of people would be that this was some sort of rabid fan base that disliked him.

It's just not the case. It's just that tonight he was wearing a Rams uniform. I couldn't get over the fact, though, Dan, that Matthew was part of that playoff futility and the tough years for the Lions for over a decade, and yet he was going to be there in another uniform trying to extend that futility. Man, even though he does play for another team, he's a Super Bowl champion, still, though, I can imagine he would like Detroit to succeed as well. Yeah, and I'm not going to lie, that would have been doubly painful to see him come back here and do that. It's just, look, that's just human nature. I mean, that was our guy. But let me say this. There's another storyline tonight that was really important, and that's our guy that wore number 16, who was ushered out of town by Los Angeles because he wasn't the guy.

Oh, yes. And came here and took a lot of lumps when this team had nothing his first year, and he did everything he could to try to find a way to win a game, just a game, and then comes back the next year and gets better and comes back this year and wins the division. Jared Goff is a story. It seemed like so many people went straight to Matthew Stafford, and Jared Goff, this was a massive night for him. Just think about what he was feeling. When he looked at that other sideline and saw the head coach and said, you're not my guy.

And you know what? Credit to the Rams and their decisions, they won a Super Bowl. But tonight wasn't a Super Bowl, but believe me, this was a big night. This is me talking, not Jared Goff. This was a big night for Jared Goff. In my mind, this is some closure for Jared Goff. Yeah, they won the Super Bowl, but tonight I think he can walk out of there feeling real good that he sent them out of the playoffs packing.

And that doesn't mean that this is equal to a Super Bowl or anything like that. This is what was in front of him, and he delivered tonight. And to see him deliver on that second and nine to ice this game was a beautiful moment. 22 of 27, 277 yards, the touchdown.

Obviously, they came out firing, really aggressive, able to spread the ball around, work the ball to multiple different people, including Sam LaPorta, who was out there, which was great. But yeah, as Dan points out, this was some vindication for Jared as well. Why does it work so well with him and Ben Johnson? Man, they just get each other. I mean, look, when Jared came in, Ben wasn't the offensive coordinator.

He was in year two. They worked together in between when Ben was working with the passing game. There's just something that clicks between these guys. And look, they're both really talented. Jared's a heck of a quarterback. Ben's a hell of an offensive coordinator who's going to be a heck of a head coach here real soon. So, I mean, they just get each other. They both kind of needed something at the same time.

Ben was a first-year coordinator. Jared was looking to get this thing moving in the right direction, and they just really found kindred spirits in one another that were able to move this thing forward. And it was the perfect match for Detroit, and it still is going into next week.

So it was, I think, the perfect time in both their careers for them to come together, and it's a really cool thing to see. And look, I'm not messing around. This has been one of the highest-scoring offenses in the league for the last two years.

I heard you talking about it a moment ago. We haven't had a running attack. Matthew Stafford, it is defense, never had a running attack in Detroit. I think the best they ever were were 13th. We're top five, maybe second, whatever it was, top ten or whatever in the league in rushing this year, and we were second in rush defense.

But, I mean, look, it's a different game now. It's a balanced offense. It was never balanced under Matthew. That wasn't his fault. Much of what happened to Matthew here was the failure of people around him. Does he deserve some of the blame? Sure, he had the ball in his hands.

But you know what? Matthew Stafford never had the type of team around him that Jared does tonight. But credit to Jared, he did what you said. He's patient. He moves the ball around.

Whatever's available, he takes it. And he's been the perfect guy for this offense and leading this team to a division that they hadn't won in 30 years. He just looks more mature, too. Just calmer, more poised, not as prone to the big mistakes.

In fact, very few real mistakes from Jared. Before I let you go, love Aiden Hutchinson. He brings energy and spirit and obviously incredible talent, a motor that never stops. So he's kind of the piece of that defense that a lot of people focus on. But the defense itself has been so good, especially in the second half of this game.

Why? What's the hallmark of that defense? You know, they needed some stops tonight and they found a way to get them. Look, it's a defense that's kind of held it together. It's a defense that's struggled at times. And we knew going into this game that the strength of L.A., Stafford throwing the ball to Nakua and Cooper was the weakness of Detroit.

Because we've been lit up two of the last three weeks and three weeks in total. Two of them by Justin Jefferson, one of them by C.D. Lamb.

But these guys in the second half found a way to make some stops. And what is it? I would say it's everybody.

I would say it's Aiden. It's the other guys on the defensive line to pitch in. It's a run defense like we haven't seen here in a long time.

And they just figure out a way. They're struggling against the pass, but they just seem to find enough to get it done. And credit Aaron Glenn, because he doesn't have the pieces on the defensive side that they have on the offensive side. But he's found a way to lead this team now to 13 victories in the division title. So everybody deserves a piece of that on the defense. And you're right.

Look, Aiden is the guy that gets the headlines and he's an incredible player and just getting better. But there's a lot of guys that just find a way here and there to make a play. You stitch it together and you get a victory and that's what they did tonight. It's kind of fun to see the star power too on the sidelines and some of the different former Lions who wanted to be part of this occasion. Yeah, I mean, look, Barry was there tonight. Oliver Quinn was there tonight. We had a ton of guys were there tonight. We had Eric Kramer on the morning show this morning. It was great to sit and talk with him.

As a matter of fact, he came out and I asked him what was going to happen in the game. He said, I think Jared Goff will come out and complete his first 10 passes and they'll get some momentum. Jared Goff completed his first 10 passes and they got some momentum. So, yeah, man, look, these Lions, in particular, the guys that were here for the last playoff win.

I worked with one in Lomas Brown. They want to see this team succeed. They don't want to be the last Lions team to win a playoff game.

And as of tonight, they're not anymore. So it's very cool. And you know what?

Credit, ownership and this coaching staff and Brad Holmes for bringing all those veterans back and make them feel like they're a part of it because they do that. What time do you have to work on Monday? Man, I don't even know. I got to get in there. We'll figure it out.

I got to meet Jared in the morning to sit down with him. We'll sleep when it's over. I'm not worried about it.

All right. Well, Dan, it is awesome to have a couple of minutes with you. The joy is so palpable always when you call games. But this was special for Detroit.

I know the fans were thrilled. Thank you for a few minutes. It's good to have you on the show. Appreciate you, Amy.

Thank you very much. You can find him on Twitter at Dan Miller Fox 2. And the reason I ask him about being on the air is because he's also the sports director for Channel 2, the Fox affiliate in Detroit.

But we know him as the radio play-by-play voice of the Lions for nearly 20 years. A lot of futility. A lot of Matthew Stafford. But now a playoff win. It took nine in a row, which was the longest losing skid in the postseason in the NFL, active.

But that has all been erased. You'll hear from Jared Goff. You'll hear from Matthew Stafford. Of course, the two quarterbacks who were swapped for each other. Yeah, it worked out great for Matthew. Jared felt like he got dumped.

But oh, what a difference a couple years can make. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence. You can find me on Twitter, ALawRadio, also on our Facebook page. Love to hear from you Lions fans, Cowboys fans, Packers fans, Chiefs fans, Dolphins fans.

Oh, Texans fans, Browns fans. It's After Hours on CBS Sports Radio. You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. It says here that Graybar is a distributor? Yeah, we support electrical and datacom projects all over the country. So you can get me the products I need, where and when I need them? Yeah, thanks to our national logistics network. Any industry? Yeah, construction, industrial plants, schools, hospitals. So you could say Graybar is much more than a distributor. Yeah, you could say that. When you need a hand powering, connecting, or maintaining your operations, join the thousands of professionals who rely on Graybar to help keep them up and running.

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That's BetterHelp H-E-L-P dot com slash grow. It's time to talk football with Amy Lawrence. The voice of Dan Campbell.

That's outstanding work. Playing to the crowd there in the locker room, of course, reminding them they're back at Ford Field, which is amazing. Not only are they NFC North champions for the first time in 30 years, they earned the right to host another playoff game and a victory over the visiting Rams. And yes, Matthew Stafford, part of that. But first, Jared Goff, because I'm with Jared Goff in this one. I do love Stafford. And you cannot fault the Rams for making the trade because it resulted in a Super Bowl victory.

How do you quibble with it? Now, Sean McVay has apologized in the past for the way the trade went down. I was telling the hubs earlier on Sunday why Jared Goff has such a chip on his shoulder. It's not just because he got traded straight up for Matthew Stafford.

Again, how do you argue with that? They won a Super Bowl. But it's that Sean McVay never reached out to him, never let him know, never told him beforehand the trade was happening. Nah, he just got dumped. Dumped to Detroit in exchange for Stafford. And even though he says there's no hard feelings, Sean and I are cool, he also admits there will forever be a chip on his shoulder for the way this trade went down.

It's after hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio, 3 for 3 in the red zone. Really the big difference in this game, this victory for the Lions. And we mentioned the numbers for Jared when we were talking to Dan Miller. 277 yards, a touchdown, but really it was the efficiency, it was the boldness, it was the poise. It was a guy who looked mature and much more grown up even than the Jared Goff who played in a Super Bowl with the Rams. Thought he played top notch football, you know. He probably had two errors and everything else was, I thought he was on point. He looked loose, he looked relaxed, I thought he threw the ball with conviction. Was strong in the pocket, got us in the right play and he felt that way all week.

He just was locked in all week. It was surreal, you know, it was something that you kind of imagine for so long. From the moment I got here, you imagine getting that playoff win and having this type of atmosphere in front of our home crowd. Being able to sit on the ball like that and finish it out, yeah it kind of all hit me there. Don't for a second think the rest of the Lions didn't understand the vindication here. The validation for Jared Goff and what this meant.

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Visit Tacovus.com, that's T-E-C-O-V-A-S, dot com, and point your toes west. If you haven't seen the video, it's online, it's Twitter, Jay, if you want to retweet it, that's great. From our show account, After Hours, CBS, and speaking of that, you all chose, by a relatively slim margin, to make this game the After Hours Game of the Week for Wild Card Weekend. Oh, and we're still not done.

Because why not spread them out? The governor of New York says there will be no more postponement to Steelers and Bills, so it will kick off 16 hours from now. It'll be underway. And I do know, just because I was listening to the news on the way in, that it's still really tough sledding, no pun intended, in western New York. That lake affects snow.

I'm jealous, I gotta be honest, but I know it can also be dangerous, so please be safe. They're asking people to stay off the roads. I don't know if the travel ban is still in place, but they are asking people to remain off the roads. I know there's bitter cold, brutal cold, across most of the United States. Believe it or not, even places in the south, I know that my mom is dealing with temperatures that are down below freezing tonight in the Houston area. And so a lot of the United States is sub-freezing temps with wind chills that are making it even bitter, brutal cold. I've got friends in Oklahoma, as well as my family in Wisconsin who are getting all kinds of snow. Yeah, there are places in Montana and Idaho, the Dakotas, that are getting buried.

So please be safe, and if you have to go outside, my goodness, make sure you're bundled up and you're wearing the proper clothing. Don't go out there in shirt sleeves like Tyreek Hill in Kansas City, and we'll get to that coming up. So yes, 34.8% of you chose Rams and Lions for all of these reasons as the game of the week. And it was the closest. Browns, Texans, Packers, Cowboys, oh we'll get to you. Dolphins, Chiefs, not all that close.

Now, were they interesting because of the storylines? Absolutely. Is it crazy to watch Dallas give up the most points ever in a playoff game in its franchise history? Uh-huh. But this was the one. You all nailed it. Not only for the atmosphere and the storylines, but also because it was a one-point game. And it was hanging in the balance until the bitter end.

Loved it. Alright, so we'll hear more from the Lions locker room, like Aiden Hutchinson, new to the NFL, but already making an impact as we've seen with the Lions. And then Matthew Stafford. Sean McVay, eh, I mean he is what he is. But Matthew Stafford, big deal to hear from him.

Though he's probably not going to give us much being back in Detroit. Hope you had a great weekend. I'm still unpacking boxes. We're still trying to make headway in a house that looks like a bomb went off. But at least a bomb did not go off. There's that. It only looks like it.

But I hope your weekend was exactly what you needed. On Twitter, After Hours, CBS, on our Facebook page too. Glad to have you with us.

You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. Jared Guff takes the final knee and the final seconds are going to come off the clock here at Fort Field in Detroit. Postseason win in 32 years.

January 5, 1992. They outlast the Los Angeles Rams. They win it 24-23. And the Lions are moving on to the divisional round of the NFL playoffs.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. The perspective of one Spiro Didas on West 111. We spoke with Dan Miller earlier in the show because as the voice of the Lions for nearly 20 years, he's got a more connected perspective, shall we say. He's understandably more emotional about this Lions win. And as someone who did play-by-play for eight years for one particular team in women's college basketball, I understand you get to know the athletes. You get to know the coaches. And if you love your job, you understand your audience and who you're speaking to. In his case, it's primarily Lions fans.

You develop an affinity. Plus he lives in the area. He works in Detroit as a sports director for a local TV station. So I enjoyed listening to Dan's call for Spiro Didas. It's a job, but the magnitude of the moment not lost on him. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio.

On Twitter, ALawRadio, actually going back to Friday, had a fun first. I'm not kidding. Something I've never done before, so you have to check it out. I actually may put it up on Facebook. It's only on Twitter right now. But we'll see if I can throw it up on our other site as well.

But I'm not going to give you any hints. For Matthew Stafford, this weekend was something he'd never experienced before. Playing in Detroit for the Rams in a playoff game. Running out of the tunnel in a Rams uniform, which he will actually do next year, but this was a playoff game, trying to extend the futility of the team he played for more than a decade. 25 of 36, he finished up with a couple of those long touchdowns that we played for you earlier this hour.

367 yards and one hand that was bloody at the knuckles and swollen and misshapen and he was out there slinging it anyway. The crowd, this crowd that used to cheer for him. It was a good playoff atmosphere. Obviously it was a loud crowd.

I thought we did a great job communicating the whole day. It was a good playoff atmosphere. We would have never been in this situation without Matthew Stafford's leadership, his guidance, his resilience. He was one of the main catalysts for what was right about this football team and I know he'll be excited about coming back next year as well. Yeah, how about that? Within a few months, Matthew Stafford will be back, but it won't be the same supercharged atmosphere.

That's not possible. Not with everything the Lions had on the line. Told you the major difference in the way these two teams performed. The Rams were 0 for 3 in the red zone while the Lions were 3 for 3. A game like this against an offense like that that's playing at that clip, you're going to need to score touchdowns when you get down there. I thought our defense did a great job in the second half holding them down.

But we just didn't make enough plays in the red zone. But proud of the effort. They came in here with the expectation to advance and play the winner of the game tomorrow night. And so that's, you know, I think that's a tough pill to swallow. But I think the further that you get away from the raw emotions of it, the more appreciation they'll have for what they did.

And I think there's a lot of things that we can build on, but you got to do it. Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford, I would say an impressive achievement along with Aaron Donald just to get this team into the playoffs. And the way they won 7 of their last 8. You may have heard on the broadcast on Sunday evening, there's only 5 guys left from that Super Bowl team. This team is a lot of young players. First and second year guys who are playing critical roles. And look at, they made the playoffs maybe a year ahead of time, but ran into a buzzsaw that is the Detroit Lions.

Well that sounds fun. I did not do the math, but I saw this on Twitter from Dave Hogg. Before the Lions tonight, Detroit had gone 2,821 days without a playoff win. Meaning all of their teams.

Tigers, Pistons, Lions. And then he tags this tweet with, how long ago was that? The Red Wings beat the Lightning 2-0. Are you ready for the context?

Here's the mic drop. 4 days before Prince died. That's how long it's been since Detroit has experienced playoff success. And it's the Lions that end that drought.

How cool. Jared Goff knew what was at stake. Facing his former team, but also wanting to end this playoff utility for the Lions. It was kind of tracking for this matchup for a while, so I kind of had some time to get ready for the fanfare that would be. I just kept going back to what this game was about. It was about us. It was not about them. It was not about me. It was not about my history there. It wasn't about anyone on their team or any coaches. It was about us.

It's really weird. A lot of these big moments come and you kind of go through them. You don't really look back right now, but it's one of these moments that I'll look back after the season.

You let it simmer. Aiden Hutchinson spearheads a defense that locked down when it had to. And he comes away with two sacks, five extra quarterback hits. We talked about the success of the offense using the pass to set up the run.

Being aggressive and attacking from the start. Going perfect inside the red zone. Not sure you could ask for a more complete win. If not for those two long touchdowns they gave up.

If not for Puka Nakua really. How about him? He deserves to get a little bit of extra attention simply because of the way he caps his first season in the NFL. Nine catches, 181 yards and a score. Wowsers. Amenrasi Brown, seven catches, 110 yards.

But there were a lot of different guys who were involved. So congratulations to Detroit and the Lions pride. I swear to God, I'm not a lunatic. CBS Sports Radio. Nobody wants a surprise in their jelly donut.

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