ALLEN PARK, Mich. Authentic Greg Senat Jersey . - This is exactly the type of stretch that might have derailed Detroits playoff hopes in recent years.Three straight home games. All against teams with losing records. With the pressure of the post-season race hanging over every play.We dont take any game lightly, running back Joique Bell said. Its hard to win games here in the NFL. Its the best players in the world.The Lions have won two in a row, beating Chicago and Tampa Bay by identical 34-17 scores. The victories helped Detroit keep pace in a tight NFC playoff chase, and whats even more encouraging for this franchise and its long-frustrated fans is the way the Lions won. Gone were the fourth-quarter deficits Detroit faced so often earlier in the season. Instead, the Lions controlled both games down the stretch, doing exactly what was expected of a team with so much on the line.There wasnt much drama. And so far, theres been no hint of a collapse like the one that cost Detroit a playoff spot last season. The Lions take on Minnesota next weekend in their last home game of the regular season.I think were a better team than we were last year. Guys went through that experience last year, safety Glover Quin said. If you cant lock in and buckle down for three weeks to make the playoffs, try to win the division, get a shot at a Super Bowl, then youre probably playing the game for the wrong reasons.The Lions (9-4) trail first-place Green Bay by one game in the NFC North. If they beat Minnesota and Chicago in their next two games, they will almost certainly make the playoffs in some fashion.Detroit put itself in solid shape for a playoff spot with close wins over New Orleans, Atlanta and Miami around midseason, but the Lions then lost at Arizona and New England to fall into a more tenuous position. This stretch of home games against Chicago, Tampa Bay and Minnesota loomed. All three opponents looked beatable, but Detroit had trouble taking care of games like these last year, when the Lions dropped six of their last seven to finish 7-9.Included in that slide were home losses against Tampa Bay and the New York Giants, both of whom finished below .500.We looked ahead, Bell said.The Lions were hoping for a better stretch run this year, and theyre on the right track. The victories over the Bears and Buccaneers werent total blowouts, but they were comfortable wins.Calvin Johnson, who missed a month this season with an ankle injury, is now back and contributing at his usual high level. Reggie Bush has also returned from his injury issues, although the Lions did say tight end Joseph Fauria will miss the rest of the season on injured reserve. He hurt his ankle against Tampa Bay.We kind of battled through some of those tough times in the middle of the season where we didnt have a whole lot of guys available to play, and now we are pretty close to a full stable, quarterback Matthew Stafford said. Its nice going into a game knowing you have options and knowing you have guys with experience and depth.The Lions finish the regular season with a tough matchup at Green Bay, so the pressure is still on for them to win these next two games against the bottom two teams in their division. They are favoured by about a touchdown against Minnesota, and although the matchup with the Bears is on the road, Detroit did win at Chicago last year.This week in particular, a loss would be a surprise — the type of result that would get a lot of attention around the league. The Lions wouldnt mind staying under the radar with another calm, quiet victory.To me, the month of December is why you put all the work in in the off-season, go through all the things that you go through early in the season, training camp, Quin said. You do all that stuff to be in a position to make a run in the month of December.NOTES: The Lions signed TE Kellen Davis. They also signed LB Jerrell Harris and WR Skye Dawson to the practice squad. Detroit announced that S Jerome Couplin was signed from its practice squad by the Philadelphia Eagles. Authentic Tyus Bowser Jersey . Dalton completed his only pass and led the Bengals to a touchdown in his only drive -- one that took four minutes to finish -- and the Cincinnati Bengals ended the preseason with a 27-10 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Thursday night. Authentic Zach Sieler Jersey . Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Tuukka Rask, Boston Bruins (5) – He had a brilliant game; it was a huge response for his average games before. http://www.cheapravensjerseysauthentic.com/?tag=authentic-chris-moore-jersey .Murray has played 20 matches in five weeks, winning three titles to climb to fifth in the ATP Race.The two-time Grand Slam champion also seeks to qualify for next months ATP World Tour Finals.Murray said: I always wanted to qualify for it, but also I want to get back into the top 8 players in the world and it makes a huge difference for seedings in the major events.ENGLEWOOD, Colo. - If Peyton Mannings injury was worse than he let on, his teammates sure didnt see it.In the aftermath of his poor playoff performance in the Broncos 24-13 loss to Indianapolis, Manning said the right thigh bruise he suffered Dec. 14 at San Diego lingered but wasnt bad enough to sideline him.On Monday, ESPN, citing two people it didnt name, reported that Manning played with a torn quad muscle, the severity of which he had tried to conceal.However, two people with knowledge of Mannings health told The Associated Press it was a strain, as the team had characterized it all along. They both spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the subject.They also said the tear-strain debate could be a matter of semantics because a strain occurs when a muscle is stretched too much and tears. Its also called a pulled muscle.After the game, John Fox — who parted ways with the Broncos on Monday — was asked if Manning was healthy and he said everybodys banged up at this time of year, but hes definitely healthy enough to play in the game.Manning was ambivalent about his future after the game but didnt say his health was at issue. He said he just needed time to process Denvers disappointing loss to his former team before deciding whether hell be back for an 18th season in the NFL.He did, however, dispute a report that he had injuries to both thighs, saying that would be news to me. He said he felt he could manage his right quadriceps injury, adding it felt good heading into the playoff game.Manning blamed the injury on dehydration from a stomach bug the night before the Chargers game. He missed the teams next practice, on Dec. 18, although he partticipated in the walkthrough that day. Authentic Justin Tucker Jersey. And he skipped the two days of practices during the teams bye week after Denver earned the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs. He practiced all of last week.Receiver Wes Welker said he couldnt tell if Manning was hiding the extent of his injury over the last month, and cornerback Chris Harris Jr. said he got no such indications at practice — although he acknowledged practices werent the best barometer.Practice is easy for a quarterback: you dont have to move, you dont have to run, Harris said. You probably couldnt tell that Aaron Rodgers was hurt until the game and then you could see him running with a limp. But in practice, he probably looked like it was nothing.Manning overthrew his receivers eight times Sunday and came up empty on 11 drives after leading Denver to a touchdown on its first possession. Hes never been a good scrambler — hes had minus-49 yards rushing in his three seasons in Denver — and he threw an incompletion on third-and-5 instead of taking off despite a 20-yard gap between him and any defender.Linebacker Brandon Marshall said Manning looked stronger, if anything, Sunday, perhaps due to the rest, but you knew he wasnt all the way 100 per cent. Nobody was.Backup QB Brock Osweiler told the AP that Mannings playing through the pain was a great testament to his character, his toughness, how much he loves the game, his passion for this game. He did everything he possibly could for this football team and thats what makes him a special football player.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL___Follow AP Pro Football Writer Arnie Melendrez Stapleton on Twitter: http://twitter.com/arniestapleton Cheap Steelers Jerseys Cheap Patriots Jerseys Cheap Bills Jerseys Cheap Jets Jerseys Cheap Giants Jerseys Cheap Redskins Jerseys Cheap Bears Jerseys Cheap Eagles Jerseys Cheap Cardinals Jerseys Cheap Jaguars Jerseys Cheap Raiders Jerseys Cheap Dolphins Jerseys Cheap Panthers Jerseys Cheap Lions Jerseys Cheap Browns Jerseys ' ' '