Packers win 34-13 over Lions

The Packers tied a franchise record with 13 victories in a season thanks to their convincing 34-13 win over the lowly Lions today. A couple other records also came about during this game: Brett Favre won his 23rd game against the Lions, setting an NFL record for most wins by a QB against one team; rookie kicker Mason Crosby set the record for most points scored this season with 141, thanks to 2 field goals and 4 PATs today (this is the first time a rookie got the scoring title since...oh, look it up); punter Jon Ryan tied a team record going back to 1965 with a 72-yard punt.

We could analyze this game, but it's not really worth doing at this point. After all, Brett and many of the starters were out before the first half was over. The coaches were able to get a look at a lot of other players over the course of the game, which bodes well going into the playoffs. Nice also to see Brandon Jackson rush for more than 100 yards after taking over for Ryan Grant early in the first half.

Speaking of playoffs, here's what things look like: if Seattle wins its game (against either Washington or Minnesota, yet to be determined today), the Seahawks and Mike Holmgren return to Green Bay; if Seattle loses, the winner of the Buccaneers-Giants game comes to Lambeau. It would be nice to see Tampa come to Lambeau in January, wouldn't it? But really, the Pack matches up well against any of these teams, particularly at home. Then...well, we'll talk about that later.

In the meantime, let's just savor a 13-3 season. Totally unexpected. And totally fun to watch. The Packers have to feel very good about today's game and the way they executed. That's a great way to go into the bye. And it will be equally good if they can take this momentum into the divisional round in 2 weeks. It's one game at a time. But for the first time in a long time, the Packers are only 2 games away from a return to the Super Bowl. Oh baby!!!