The fans were going crazy.
Detroit Lions running back Kerryon Johnson was sitting on the bench and they flashed his picture on the scoreboard in Ford Field. He had 101 rushing yards.
Yes, the Lions had an honest-to-goodness 100-yard rusher for the first time since 2013. His teammates were celebrating, jumping up and down, and the crowd was going crazy, and this was absolutely stunning. Everything about this night.
Yes, it's OK to rub your eyes and look at it again.
This was the young pupil in a black shirt and with a pencil in his ear beating the old teacher in the grey hoodie.
This was the crowd going crazy: "Let’s go Lions!”
This was "So Lions" of the Lions. Play horrible in the preseason. Play horrible for two straight regular-season games. And then come out against Tom Freakin’ Brady and get the win.
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Against Bill Freakin’ Belichick on national television.
And for one night, it felt surreal.
It was the Lions who were winning one-on-one battles, looking like an honest-to-goodness NFL team.
It was the Patriots, not the Lions, who were dropping passes.
It was Brady going down on the turf, unable to find an open receiver.
It was Darius Slay picking off a Brady pass.
It was New England, not the Lions, who got called for too many men on defense.
It was the Lions who responded in the third quarter, taking New England's punch and adjustments and responding with a touchdown of their own.
It was Brady who looked like a baseball player in a slump. Three and out. Three and out. Three and out.
It was Lions coach Matt Patricia who made a great decision, showing off his arm and throwing a red flag for a video review, which ended up giving the Lions a touchdown.
It was the Lions making third-down stops — take a bow, Glover Quin and Tavon Wilson for combining to make a big third-down hit late in the second quarter.
And it was the Lions who were running the ball at will.
Yes, the Lions.
Lions guard Frank Ragnow and tackle Taylor Decker were creating massive holes on the left side of the line against the NFL's 25th-ranked rush defense, allowing 135 yards per game.
Johnson was ripping off yards, inching closer and closer to that elusive 100-yard mark, which hadn't been topped since Reggie Bush did it on Thanksgiving in 2013.
The run game was working so well that it set up a flea-flicker. It didn’t create a big play — New England was called for defensive holding — but it just shows what an effective run game can do.
Lions fans haven’t seen an effective run game since Barry Sanders was in town.
And that run game set up a big play in the third quarter, a play-action pass — a fake run to the left again — and Stafford rolled to his right and hit Marvin Jones Jr. for a touchdown.
The Patriots were missing several players, and they had virtually no running game because running back Jeremy Hill has a torn ACL. Julian Edelman is suspended, and defensive end Trey Flowers and safety Patrick Chung were out with concussions. It’s so bad in New England that they have taken a flyer on Josh Gordon, a castoff wide receiver from Cleveland, but even he was on the inactive list with a hamstring injury.
The Lions took advantage.
Patricia learned under Belichick. But this was like watching the student stand up in class and correct the teacher.
The Lions dominated the first half, keeping Brady mostly on the sideline.
Still, you had that bad feeling, didn’t you?
It felt like they could have had a 21-3 lead.
The Lions' first drive was something beautiful. They had fourth down and less than a yard.
Do you go for it? Heck, yes.
What do they have to lose?
But Patricia played it safe and kicked the field goal.
In the second quarter, the Lions missed another big opportunity. They got to the 7-yard line, and the drive stalled when Stafford missed Marvin Jones Jr. in the end zone.
They had to settle for the field goal.
The Lions had a 13-3 lead in the second quarter, but it felt like it could have been 21-3.
And that was worrisome. This is the Lions, after all.
It felt too close against Tom Brady.
But it wasn't.
It was the Lions that held on for this win.
It was the Lions, not the Patriots, who looked like the Patriots.
Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @seideljeff. To read his recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel.