Pirate Galaxy » up against Genesis, the longtime b

DETROIT -- Matthew Stafford ran for the winning touchdown in another close victory.The big concern now is whether hell be able to throw effectively as the Detroit Lions chase a division title.Staffords 7-yard scoring run with 3:17 remaining lifted the Lions to a 20-17 win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday, but the Detroit quarterback was bothered by a finger issue on his throwing hand. The middle finger on his right hand was taped up and covered by a white glove, and Stafford passed for only 223 yards with two interceptions.I just tried to play through it, play as good as I could, he said. I let those guys know that it may not be pretty coming in there, but those guys made some great plays for me.Detroit (9-4) leads the NFC North by two games, but the Lions havent won a division title since 1993. They play their next two games on the road against the New York Giants and Dallas.They barely held on in this one. Chicago (3-10) made it across midfield in the final minute before two consecutive holding penalties negated completions that would have put the Bears in field goal range.I think our margin for error right now is very minimal, Chicago coach John Fox said. Efforts not an area were deficient in.The Bears host Green Bay next weekend.Detroit trailed 17-13 before Stafford led the Lions on a seven-play, 76-yard drive for the winning touchdown, which came on a second-down scramble up the middle. He completed 21 of 35 passes on the day, including a 16-yard touchdown strike to Anquan Boldin with 19 seconds left in the first half.The Lions came away with the win, but their quarterbacks health is in question.Any time youre doing something thats out of the norm like that, its going to affect you, to be honest, Detroit coach Jim Caldwell said. The great thing about it is hes mentally tough and was able to battle through it.Here are a few things we learned from Detroits eighth victory in nine games:RECORDDetroits season hasnt just been exciting -- its been historic. The Lions are the first team in NFL history with eight comeback wins from fourth-quarter deficits in a season, according to information provided by the team from the Elias Sports Bureau.Only one of Detroits games this season has been decided by more than seven points.PERSEVERINGAlthough the Lions held on for another close victory, they arent getting every break in these games. Staffords pass into the end zone early in the fourth quarter was tipped by a defender, then bounced off receiver Golden Tate and caromed over to defensive back Demontre Hurst, who intercepted the ball.Stafford later had an interception returned for a touchdown, but he rebounded to lead the Lions on the winning drive.RETURNDeAndre Levy is finally back. The Detroit linebacker was active for the first time since Week 1, returning from a knee injury. He had three tackles and an assist.Levy had an amusing take on Detroits penchant for playing close games.Early on in the year, watching it was giving me a heart attack every week, but now its kind of like you settle into it, he said. You kind of know its going to happen and you kind of expect to win.POTENTIALChicago quarterback Matt Barkley did some good things in his third career start. With the Bears down 13-3, he found Cameron Meredith for a 31-yard touchdown late in the third quarter, and he had his team driving at the end until the two holding calls.STILL BATTLINGAlthough Chicagos record is ugly, the Bears are still playing hard. Before playing the Lions tough Sunday, they beat San Francisco and had close losses to the Titans and Giants.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL .---Follow Noah Trister at www.Twitter.com/noahtristerT. J. Watt Steelers Jersey . Third-seeded Murray had the easiest path to victory on New Years Eve, barely breaking a sweat during his 6-0, 6-0 win over 2,129th-ranked Qatari wildcard recipient Mousa Shanan Zayed. John Stallworth Youth Jersey . -- Charline Labonte couldnt have asked for a better homecoming. http://www.steelerspronfl.com/Youth-Kevin-Greene-Elite-Jersey/ . Oaklands loss to Seattle clinched the ALs best record for the Red Sox with one day to spare in the regular season. "I think everybody was kind of watching," catcher David Ross said. "Demp (Ryan Dempster) came out before he went to the bullpen and was just yelling that they lost. Mike Wagner Jersey .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. JuJu Smith-Schuster Steelers Jersey . -- When the Florida Panthers fell behind by two goals in the first period to the top team in the NHL, it appeared they were on their way to yet another loss.With the four teams from North America going to the Rocket League Championship Series Live Finals LAN decided, its time to have the ultimate playoff to decide the seeding for the main event. Both North America and Europe will each have a single-elimination Regional Championship tournament among the top four teams of each region for a purse of $25,000. When the dust settles, these could be the matches that decides who gets closest to the $125,000 prize pool in Amsterdam.Heres how North Americas best stacks up on Nov. 12.Match 1: Orbit vs. Take 3While these are two very good teams, this matchup could be extremely one-sided. Orbit has looked very good recently and come in as the regular season number-one seed from North America. Take 3, on the other hand, qualified through the Regional Playoffs coming in as the bottom seed, beating a surging Vendetta 3-2 in the final qualification match.If Take 3 is to have a real chance of taking down Orbit it will need to come out swinging early, banking on the fact that Orbit hasnt played in RLCS in two weeks. The biggest issue for Take 3 will be the lack of offensive pressure leading to goals over the last three weeks. Take 3 seems to be missing that last bit of scoring lethality it needs to really become a world top contender.Overall these two teams should be separated by a fair margin, Orbit should win comfortabbly but as its the first match of the day and both teams come in fresh anything could happen.dddddddddddd Take 3 will have a slim chance if it takes game one and can control the series; if not, this could be a very quick show.Prediction: Orbit 3-1 Take 3Match 2: NRG vs. GenesisThis should be a very close set. NRG, the number two team from regular season and one of the stalwart top teams of North American Rocket League, is coming up against Genesis, the longtime bronze medalists of North America. Expect a back and forth with two of the most consistent teams in the world. NRG should have a small edge here, as it has forever been one better than Genesis, yet if ever there were a time for an upset it would be now. Genesis qualified over Vendetta -- who came so close twice to qualifying -- and looked to be really coming together with its passing plays and team coordination.This match will probably go to five games and every single one of them should be close. If NRG can keep the form that had them finish second best in the regular season, expect it to walk out as the winners and at least a top two seed at the grand finals. This match could go either way but NRG will have the edge to see it through.Prediction: NRG 3-2 Genesis ' ' '