The rebuilding Detroit Lions no longer need to answer questions about the possibility of a history-making winless season. They miraculously outlasted and upset the rival Minnesota Vikings at home last week, when Jared Goff found rookie receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown on a walk-off touchdown pass.
Although the Lions have yet to develop the requisite talent to contend for a title, the team has played tough under first-year head coach Dan Campbell. And former franchise wide receiver Herman Moore believes that the effort signals the fostering of a long-desired winning culture.
"They have a staff that has a team committed and believing, so they don't give up. If anything, you're going to get strong, hard, committed play," Moore told the Tiki and Tierney show on Thursday. "You may not get the discipline, you may not have the talent. You may not have those who, no matter how well they want to do, just can't compete with some of the others teams... With the Lions, that's something that gives them a foundational block to build off of.
"But now, it's, how do you attract and retain, and how do you develop some of the players that you have. Because you're not going to be able to continue spending money. At some point, that's going to run out, and you've got to be able to develop from within. Campbell and his team will be stressed to see if they can make that happen. And I think this upcoming draft and offseason will be key to whether or not they have longevity in Detroit."
If the Lions want to make further progress this December, last week's version of Goff must keep showing up. The former first-overall pick completed 25 of 41 passes for 296 yards with three touchdowns against the Vikings, and in 11 games this season, he's racked up 2,576 yards, 13 scores, and seven picks. Uninspiring numbers, but Goff is a hero for now, as he helped the franchise snap a 15-game losing streak that lasted 364 days.
Detroit (1-10-1) will visit the Denver Broncos (6-6) in a Week 14 matchup on Sunday afternoon. According to FiveThirtyEight's projections, the Lions still have less than a 1-percent chance to reach the NFC playoffs. In other words, they've yet to be mathematically eliminated from contention... somehow.
The entire Lions conversation between Moore and Tiki and Tierney can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow the Tiki and Tierney Show on Twitter @TikiAndTierney and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.