ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) - The Detroit Lions go into Sunday’s game at Houston on a three-game winning streak, all of them at home.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford says the team has the same focus it had when it started the season 1-3.
“We’re a pretty business-like team, whether we win or lose,” Stafford said. “We come in the next week ready to work, no matter what happened the week before or who we’re playing.”
That approach will be put to a test when the Lions meet a Texans team that is undefeated at home and coming off a poor performance in a 27-9 loss at Denver on Monday night.
Lions coach Jim Caldwell said his team’s winning streak is less important than Sunday’s game.
“We have a new challenge,” he said. “That’s what we’ve got to get focused on. What helps us is what we do this week, and we have to master the moment we have coming up. It’s a big game in a tough place to play against a team that has not lost at home. That’s where our focus is.”
Both teams are 4-3, but more was expected from the Texans, who managed only three field goals against the Broncos.
Lions safety Glover Quin has a healthy respect for the Houston offense led by 6-foot-8 quarterback Brock Osweiler and wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.
“When you’re that big and have that much arm talent, you can make some throws with the playmakers he has,” Quin said. “Sometimes you get off to a slow start with new teams and new guys, (but) on any given Sunday, they can click, because they definitely have one of the top playmakers in the league.”
The Lions, meanwhile, have been getting stellar play from Stafford in a season where all seven games so far have been decided by seven points or less. In all four wins, Stafford has led his team to come-from-behind victories.
Quin said there is confidence in the Lions locker room.
“We’ve had to make plays in critical situations to get wins,” he said. “Once you start to do that, the trust and chemistry builds, because you see everything working, and players believe in it more.”
The Lions are on the road the next two weeks before their bye week. Caldwell says avoiding mistakes is crucial.
“Turnovers, penalties, mistakes, those kinds of things are accentuated on the road,” he said. “(Houston) has not lost a game in their stadium. It will take a heck of an effort.”
NOTES: Caldwell declined to go into specifics as to why the team traded Kyle Van Noy earlier in the week. “It’s the best decision for us at this time. (Van Noy) works hard, does what he’s asked to do, and sometimes a change of scenery can help.” . Stafford, on talk of his being a possible MVP: “It’s not on my mind. I don’t pay attention to it. I just go play for the guys in that locker room.”
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