ade it 3-1 for the Islanders 57 seconds later. "It ca

(SportsNetwork.com) - The Detroit Lions are still in the mix to be the No. 1 seed in the NFC heading into the postseason. They have already clinched a playoff spot. Detroit takes another step toward its first-ever NFC North crown, as it goes after a fourth straight win in a road test against the hapless Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. The Lions secured their second playoff spot in four years when Philadelphia lost to Washington on Saturday. The Lions could also clinch their first division crown in 21 years with a win coupled with a Green Bay loss to Tampa Bay. Its right there in front of us, defensive end Jason Jones said. Everything broke right for the Lions in Week 15. First, the Buffalo Bills pulled off an upset of the Packers, then Matt Praters late field goal helped the Lions pull out a 16-14 victory over the Minnesota Vikings to move them into a tie atop the division with the Packers. Detroit actually holds the tiebreaker over Green Bay at the moment given its win over the Packers earlier in the year. The Lions will visit Lambeau Field in Week 17, likely with a chance at securing their first division title since winning the NFC Central in 1993. Were not taking any game for granted, any play for granted, said Matt Stafford, who threw for a season-low 153 yards in the win over the Vikings. Its not going to be pristine every time, but were going to fight tooth and nail for wins and that showed up again today. Its the first time the Lions reached 10 wins in the first 14 games of the season since the Lions started 10-4 in 1991. Chicago, meanwhile, is no such playoff position after a lifeless, 31-15, shellacking at the hands of the New Orleans Saints on Monday. And now the team is in complete disarray. Shortly after the loss reports started to circulate that head coach Marc Trestman may be out of a job at the end of the season. Then, on Wednesday it leaked that the Bears would bench starting quarterback Jay Cutler in favor of Jimmy Clausen, who hasnt started a game since 2010. The bottom line is that this is a business based on winning and losing, Trestman said. We cant sugarcoat it. We are disappointed that were not playing well enough to win. Cutler turned in another subpar performance against the Saints as he threw for just 194 yards on 17-of-31 passing with two touchdown passes and three interceptions for the Bears, who have dropped their last three games. Overall, I just feel that we need passion to come from certain places and I dont think the passion is always there all the time, Bears tight end Martellus Bennett said. The Lions have won three straight over the Bears including a Thanksgiving Day triumph when Stafford threw for 390 yards and two scores. They havent won consecutive contests in Chicago since a six-game run from 1968-73 WHAT TO WATCH FOR Detroit only managed 233 total yards versus the Vikings, but could be in store for a big bounce back this week considering the Bears have given up 35.3 points and 438.0 yards over their three-game slide. Chicagos defense has given up a league-high 409 points, 19 more than the Tennessee Titans, who have allowed 390. In fact, theyve given up 251 points in the first half alone. To put that into perspective, three teams havent surrendered that many in 14 full games, led by the Lions with 238 and followed by the Seahawks (242) and Cardinals (244). Speaking of the Lions second-ranked defense, they havent allowed more than 17 points in three straight games and five of the last six. That doesnt figure to change against a Bears team that will go with Clausen, who has completed three of his nine pass attempts this season. Before this season, the former Notre Dame star hadnt appeared in an NFL game since playing 13 for the Carolina Panthers as a rookie after he was taken in the second round of the 2010 draft. Cutler, meanwhile, has started all 14 games in his sixth season for the Bears, completing 66.1 percent of his passes for 3,640 yards, 28 touchdowns and an NFL-high 18 interceptions. He has fumbled 12 times, losing six to lead the league in overall turnovers. Our whole football team isnt where it needs to be, Trestman said. Nobodys happy about it. Jays not happy about it. We all can do better. Even without Cutler the Bears still have some offensive firepower with wide receiver Alshon Jeffery, Bennett and running back Matt Forte. You look at a guy like Alshon Jeffery, safety Glover Quin said. He can make tough catches. He can go deep on you. You look at Bennett. He can move the chains. You look at Forte. Hes a Pro Bowl player. Hes a big-time running back. You look at all those things. They can throw it. They can catch it. They can run it. OVERALL ANALYSIS Its all there for the Lions taking, as they can finished anywhere between the No. 1 seed in the NFC to No. 6 in the conference. As for the Bears, well, what can you say. They looked like a team that had packed it in last week. Now, theyll have a quarterback who hasnt started a game in four years. Its getting ugly in Chicago and it figures to be worse after Sunday. Sports Network predicted outcome: Lions 35, Bears 6 Jamal Murray Jersey .com) - The top spot in the AFC South will be on the line when Houston native Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts shoot for their fourth straight win when they take on the Texans at NRG Stadium. Denver Nuggets Jerseys . One out away from finishing off an impressive shutout, they let a must-win game slip away. http://www.nuggetsproshop.com/Carmelo-Anthony-Nuggets-Jersey/ . Not Peyton Manning. Hes holding on to the heartache to stoke his competitive fire. Paul Millsap Jersey . The shortstop still grieves, but it will be nights like the one Segura had in a 5-2 victory Monday over the Cincinnati Reds that will provide some distraction. Michael Porter Jersey . He was 26. Edwards, the Supercup Championship leader, was in the passenger seat as an instructor for a private training session at Queensland Raceway at Willowbank, outside Brisbane, Porsche Motorsport said. UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- Riding a long winning streak, the powerful Anaheim Ducks had no fear trailing by two goals heading into the third period against the fragile New York Islanders. Ryan Getzlaf scored three goals and the Ducks rallied for their team-record eighth straight victory, beating the Islanders 5-3 Saturday night. "We talked after the second of just continuing to play our game," Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said. "We were very calm about it and knew if we got one quickly, wed have a great chance." Down 3-1, the Ducks scored four times in the third period. The Islanders played a spirited first two periods, taking their lead on two goals by Thomas Vanek and another by Frans Nielsen. But Getzlaf scored his second of the game at 1:10 of the final period and Mathieu Perreault tied it at 10:32. Kyle Palmieri, a native of Montvale, N.J., who scored the overtime winner Friday night against the New Jersey Devils, found himself in front of Evengi Nabokov with a clear shot at 13:44. The 22-year-old forward, who also scored the winning goal when the Ducks beat the Rangers 2-1 at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 4, knocked in his sixth goal of the season. "Those goals feel really, really good," Palmieri said. "We find ways to win and tonight was another example of our patience and skill." Getzlaf completed his hat trick with an empty-net goal. The Ducks won in their first visit to Long Island since a 3-2 loss on Dec. 16, 2010. "We didnt move the puck the way we should have in the third period," Islanders coach Jack Capuano said. "You cant play the way we played in the third period against a big Stanley Cup-caliber team like this..ddddddddddddIt wont work." Vanek finally had the type of game the Islanders envisioned when they acquired him from Buffalo for popular left wing Matt Moulson on Oct. 27. The Austrian right wing opened the scoring at 11:27 of the first, putting a rebound past backup goaltender Frederik Andersen, who made 18 saves to improve to 9-1. After Getzlaf tied the game at 15:10 of the second, Vanek gave the Islanders again with a perfectly placed shot as he sped down the right side, beating Andersen to his stick side at 17:55. The goal was Vaneks ninth since joining the Islanders and his third in two nights. Nielsen made it 3-1 for the Islanders 57 seconds later. "It came down to execution," Capuano said. "We were icing the puck too much and not making plays when we had to in the third period." Anaheim forward Teemu Selanne was a healthy scratch. The 43-year-old Selanne usually doesnt play the second half of back-to-back games. Selanne played Friday night as the Ducks upended the Devils 3-2 in overtime. NOTES: This was the 10th time in 36 games this season the Islanders have lost a third-period lead. ... The Ducks will complete their final Eastern trip of the season at Washington on Monday. ... Forward Dustin Penner and defenceman Hampus Lindholm were healthy scratches for the Ducks, as were Islanders forwards Colin McDonald and Peter Regin, plus defenceman Aaron Ness. ... Anaheim also continued to be without goaltender Viktor Fasth (lower body) and defencemen Luca Sbisa (hand) and Sheldon Souray (wrist). ... The Islanders have been without defenceman Lubomir Visnovsky (concussion) since has injured Oct. 19. ' ' '