DETROIT — Matthew Stafford held his head down on the bench for the final snap.
Lions center Dominic Raiola couldn’t watch, either, fearing a 20th loss in a row and 100th setback of his nine-season career.
When Detroit’s leaders looked up and saw Washington was out of time, they saw what they were hoping to see Sunday.
Lions 19, Redskins 14.
“We not only got the monkey off our back, we got King Kong off our back,” said Lions owner William Clay Ford.
Detroit (1-2) hadn’t won since Dec. 23, 2007, and its 19-game skid matched the second longest in NFL history. The Lions no longer have to hear about Tampa Bay’s record 26-game losing streak.
Raiola blew kisses to the crowd of 40,896, the smallest at Ford Field and the fewest to watch a Lions home game in 20 years, after time expired with Washington stalled at the Detroit 24.
“I’ve always watched, but I’ve never been in this situation before,” Raiola said. “No team has been in this situation before.
No one has gone 0-16 and then had to try to win a game the next year.”
Stafford threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Bryant Johnson in the first quarter, drew a 47-yard pass interference penalty to set up a fourth-quarter score and didn’t turn the ball over after throwing two interceptions in his first two games.
Stafford smiled as often as any long-suffering Lions fan did on Sunday.
“I’m having fun,” he said. “It’s a great game we get to play.”
Following a brief meeting and prayer in the locker room, first-year coach Jim Schwartz sent his players back to the field to celebrate, nine months after becoming the first NFL team to have an 0-16 season.
“We went a whole season without feeling like this, so you have to take it in and enjoy,” Raiola said.
