Eric Thomas: In The End, The Biggest Win In Raiola's Career Only Lasted 6 Days

This was unbelievable. I use that word because it was on Facebook and Twitter about 1,000 times on Sunday around 4:30 p.m. I think that we are all trying to get our sea legs back after an excruciating win for the Lions in Texas stadium. The Lions were awful in the first half. Matt Stafford looked confused at times, only a shadow of the elite ability that he has shown in the past month. When the Lions played poorly, they were dominated. The Cowboys scored so much in the first half the Lions offense and defense had to team up to recoup the deficit.

The Lions are for real, and we can say this without question now. There is also a hunger in them. They seem to be a team that has endured losing and ridicule just as much as their fan base. Starving and desperate for respectability, they fight and claw to get back into games. Not all the players on the roster experienced the 0-16 season, but it's not like they were having a ball when the team was 2-14 either.

No one exemplifies this more than Calvin Johnson. He is simply unbelievable (there's that word again). Calvin was here for that 0-16 season, and there are times where he plays with those scars. 81 is obviously gifted physically, a freak of nature. But in the last two years, he has added a mental game.

He plays with fire and intensity. He attacks the ball at its highest point. Willing his sizable frame high in the air, he rips touchdowns without any regard for his personal safety. CJ was vocal about how much the losing hurt him, telling the media that he could not endure staying with the Lions if they could not start winning. He plays with that in him now, and it's that drive that makes him the best receiver in football, not his frame or his hands.

Oh, and you can finally stop whining, Lions fans. 81 is better than Barry. Yeah, I typed it. Oh sure, Barry was exciting. He could create a highlight reel any time he touched the ball, sure. But Barry couldn't affect the score like Calvin does. Barry's points came at random, almost like punt returns. If the Lions were on the goal line, Barry was not a factor. Megatron in the end zone is almost a guaranteed 6. He skied for the first touchdown on Sunday when he … was …. TRIPLE … covered. Barry drove defensive coordinators crazy, but he could be contained. CJ is always a factor.

Let's review: The Lions won today. They won even though Stafford was putrid, Suh got called on a penalty that extended the final Cowboys scoring drive (THAT CALL WAS GARBAGE) and the defense gave up 30. They are 4-0 and they played 3 of those games on the road, and two of those wins came down to the final play.

It's getting really hard to temper our enthusiasm. This is unbelievable.