It was a good news/bad news situation for the Detroit Lions on New Year's Day. The good news was before their regular season finale at Ford Field against the Packers, the New York Giants did Detroit a favor by beating the Washington Redskins. With the Giants win, that clinched a playoff spot for the Lions.
The bad news is that the Lions let a halftime lead slip away and they lost to the Packers, 31-24. That defeat cost Detroit their first division title (and first home playoff game) since 1993. Their consolation prize? The No. 6 seed in the NFC playoffs and a Saturday night matchup in Seattle against the Seahawks, who haven't lost a home playoff game since 2004.
John U. Bacon joined Stateside for his first sports roundup of 2017 and he gives a lot of credit to the season quarterback Matthew Stafford has had this year. Bacon expects him to get a contract extension. However, despite finishing 9-7 and making the playoffs, Bacon thinks the team's three-game losing streak and a likely early exit from the playoffs could lead Lions' head coach Jim Caldwell to get fired.
Listen to the full interview above to hear more about the Lions' loss to the Packers, what went wrong in Michigan's Orange Bowl loss to Florida State, and whether Wolverine fans should consider Jim Harbaugh's second season a success.
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