1991: With Barry Sanders clearly establishing himself as the best Rusher in the NFL, the Lions find themselves in the hunt for the postseason. On November 17th the Lions enter a game with Los Angeles Rams with a 6-4 record. The Lions would go on to win the game 21-10, but any joy from the victory was taken away when Guard Mike Utley goes down with a serve neck injury. The Lions, Rams, and fans at the Silverdome were forced to look on helpless, as Utley lay on the field unable to move. After his neck was stabilized Utley, who would wind up paralyzed muster up enough strength to lift his thumb, and tell his teammates everything would be alright. The Lions would take "Thumbs up" as a rallying call, and would win their next 6 games to claim the Central Division title with a franchise high 12 wins. In the Divisional Playoffs against the Dallas Cowboys the Lions would host their first home playoff game since 1957. Still using Mike Utley as inspiration the Lions turn a close game at halftime in to 38-6 rout as the Lions are able to win in the postseason for the first time since 1957. The win would earn the Lions a birth in the NFC Championship game. For the first time ever the Lions were 4 quarters away from the Super Bowl. However, the Lions would find them on the road in Washington a city in which they had not won since 1935. In what would be a repeat of the season's first game the Redskins would rout the Lions 41-10 to advance to on the Super Bowl in which they were victorious. Sadly the Lions are forced to deal with tragedy once again in the offseason, when Guard Eric Andolsek is killed by a dunk driver while mowing his front lawn during the off season.