Detroit, MI
Detroit Lions predictions vs. Rams: Will Stafford spoil Ford Field’s first playoff game?
Free Press sports writers share their predictions for the Detroit Lions’ first-round playoff game Sunday night against the Los Angeles Rams (8 p.m., NBC):
Dave Birkett
I don’t love this matchup for the Lions. In fact, of all the NFC wild-card contenders, I thought the Rams were the trickiest draw. They played some of the best football in the NFL late in the season, have one of the most dominant defensive players the game has ever seen and have a passing game with the talent at quarterback and receiver to give the Lions’ underwhelming secondary fits. But I think the Lions have a more complete roster overall, and homefield advantage has to count for something. The atmosphere Sunday will be unmatched for the Lions’ first home playoff game in 30 years, and in a game where one or two mistakes can make all the difference, that could be enough to put the Lions over the top. The Lions need to get their running game going again so not everything is on Goff’s shoulders against his old team. If that happens, and if Goff plays mistake-free football, I see the Lions advancing to a divisional round rematch with the Cowboys next week. The pick: Lions 28, Rams 27.
LIONS VS. RAMS: Dave Birkett scouting report
Carlos Monarrez
Other than the 49ers and Ravens, the Rams present the least-favorable matchup the Lions could have in the entire playoffs because they boast two elite receivers, an elite running back, a Hall of Fame defensive tackle and a savvy quarterback who is one Super Bowl ring away from being a Hall of Fame lock. The Lions’ biggest weakness is their defense, and specifically the ability to pressure the quarterback, which they’ve manufactured by blitzing. But Matthew Stafford has been great at not only beating the blitz this year, but also making defenses pay for the gamble with big-time throws. Even if Sam LaPorta plays, it’s hard to imagine him being very effective in the multiple ways the Lions need him to be. The Lions’ best chance is to control the clock and keep the ball out of Stafford’s hands. The pick: Rams 33, Lions 28.
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Jeff Seidel
Of course, it had to be Stafford. Of course, it would play out like this. Everything about this game is scary for the Lions and not because Stafford played in Detroit. It’s because Stafford is still a fantastic quarterback with some fantastic, hard-to-stop weapons. The one thing that will tip this in Detroit’s favor is the Lions’ running game. The Lions will win with some complementary football, running the ball as much as possible, eating up clock and trying to keep Stafford on the sideline. Oh, and get ready for some wild Dan Campbell gambles, as he will do against good offenses, trying to steal a possession. The pick: Lions 28, Rams 24.
SHAWN WINDSOR: Lions aren’t battling curses, storylines; Stafford, Rams are legit threats
Shawn Windsor
If we knew Sam LaPorta would be fully healthy this would be a different pick — maybe. But the Rams are ballin’ and it might not matter anyway. They’ve won seven of eight, have beaten good teams in this stretch and their loss was to Baltimore … in overtime. Stanford has elite receivers and one of the best backs in football in his huddle. He’s also got experience. In the end, he makes one more play. The pick: Rams 31, Lions 28.
A life ring from the Edmund Fitzgerald, the famous Great Lakes freighter that was shipwrecked 50 years ago, will be auctioned in Detroit this month.
The orange life ring washed onto the Lake Superior shore after the Fitzgerald sank off the coast of Whitefish Bay on Nov. 10, 1975.
Larry Orr, who was 27 at the time, found it leaning against a tree alongside a plank from one of the Fitzgerald’s lifeboats, according to DuMouchelles, the auction house coordinating the sale. Both the life ring and plank likely came from one of the Fitzgerald’s lifeboats.
Orr took the ring and plank. Ten years later, he loaned them to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum in the Upper Peninsula’s Chippewa County. He decided this year to sell the ring, DuMouchelles President Joe Walker said.
Walker said the life ring is unlike anything the auction house has sold before. It’s an artifact from arguably one of the most famous shipwrecks in the world and the most famous to take place on the Great Lakes. He said he hopes it is purchased by a museum.
“It’s just a piece of Great Lakes history,” he said.
The life ring has a history of its own. It was featured in a lawsuit Orr filed against the state in which he accused a state police officer of violating his rights during a sexual assault investigation, the Associated Press reported last month. The state had initially asked for the life ring as part of a settlement deal in which the state would give Orr $600,000. After the AP called MSP spokeswoman Shanon Banner, the life ring was removed from the deal.
The unusual almost-arrangement shows the resiliency of the Edmund Fitzgerald’s legacy in Michigan.
The ship was built at Great Lakes Engineering Works at a shipyard on the border of Ecorse and River Rouge. Thousands of people crowded around the dock to watch it launch into the Detroit River in 1958. At the time, it was the largest freighter on the lakes. It remained a notable ship until its famous end in Lake Superior.
Other artifacts from the Edmund Fitzgerald are scattered across the Great Lakes. One of the ship’s anchors, which it lost in the Detroit River before it wrecked, is outside the Detroit Historical Society’s Dossin Great Lakes Museum on Detroit’s Belle Isle park. A life raft and oars are on display at the National Museum of the Great Lakes in Toledo.
Selling an artifact from the Fitzgerald is a rare and emotional process, Walker said. DuMouchelles is on East Jefferson Avenue near Mariners Church, so Walker grew up listening to the bells toll each November to honor the 29 men who died on the Fitzgerald and the thousands of other mariners who have died on the Great Lakes.
DuMouchelle’s wouldn’t have auctioned the ring if it had been removed from the wreck site, Walker said, but the ring was legally acquired and Orr is selling out of financial necessity.
“It’s a mixed bag for us, emotionally, to be honest with you,” Walker said. “A lot of what we do is (for) people experiencing emotional, physical, economic hardship, right? And this is one of those cases.”
The life ring will be on display for public viewing at DuMouchelles on East Jefferson Avenue on Dec. 12, 13, 16 and 17. The auction is scheduled for Dec. 19. The starting bid is $11,250.
ckthompson@detroitnews.com
The return of Trevon Diggs will have to wait for the Dallas Cowboys.
Despite anticipation the the former All-Pro cornerback would return to the field Thursday against the Detroit Lions, he was ruled out by the Cowboys on the team’s final injury report Wednesday afternoon.
Diggs has missed the last six games with knee soreness/swelling and a concussion. He’s still on injured reserve but is in the early stages of a 21-day practice window.
Diggs will now have a full 10 days to continue his rehab before a potential return against Minnesota on Sunday Night Football on Dec. 14.
Trevon Diggs wanted to play Thursday night but it seems the team needs to see more of him in practice.
Jadeveon Clowney is a game-time decision. Brian Schottenheimer said they’ll give Clowney every chance to play.— Calvin Watkins (@calvinwatkins) December 3, 2025
Edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney (hamstring) and safety Malik Hooker (back) were both listed as questionable, while left tackle Tyler Guyton will stay with Diggs on the sideline.
Guyton will miss his second straight game as he recovers from a high ankle sprain he suffered in the comeback win over Philadelphia on Nov. 23.
Find more Cowboys coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
1 of 5 | On December 3, 2013, a federal judge ruled that Detroit was eligible for the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. File Photo by Bill Pugliano/UPI
Dec. 3 (UPI) — On this date in history:
In 1818, Illinois was admitted as the 21st state in the United States.
In 1833, Oberlin College in Ohio, the first truly coeducational college in the United States, opened with an enrollment of 29 men and 15 women.
In 1929, the Ford Motor Co. raised the pay of its employees from $6 to $7 a day despite the collapse of the U.S. stock market.
In 1967, Dr. Christiaan Barnard performed the first successful heart transplant at Cape Town, South Africa.
In 1984, poison gas leaked at a Union Carbide pesticide factory in Bhopal, India, in the world’s worst chemical disaster. Death toll estimates varied widely. Government officials said about 3,000 people died shortly after the leak and many thousands more in the months and years ahead.
UPI File Photo
In 1989, U.S. President George H.W. Bush and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev declared the Cold War over during a summit in Malta. Some historians believe the Cold War didn’t end until 1991, though, when the Soviet Union collapsed.
In 1992, the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to authorize sending a U.S.-led multinational force to Somalia.
In 1997, delegates from 131 countries met in Canada to sign the Convention on the Prohibition, Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines.
In 2006, Hugo Chavez, an outspoken critic of U.S. President George W. Bush and U.S. foreign policy, was re-elected for a third term as president of Venezuela.
File Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI
In 2009, Comcast, the largest cable operator in the United States, bought 51 percent of NBC Universal from General Electric for $13.75 billion.
In 2013, a federal judge ruled that Detroit was eligible for the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.
In 2015, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter announced all combat roles in the U.S. armed forces would be opened to women.
In 2017, astronauts on the International Space Station held the first pizza party in space.
In 2024, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law, accusing the opposition party of plotting a rebellion against the government. Hours later, the National Assembly voted to lift the declaration, but Yoon’s actions sparked a political crisis with critics accusing him of attempting to impose authoritarianism. Yoon was impeached Dec. 14 and arrested in January on charges of leading an insurrection.
File Photo by Alexandre Brum/UPI
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