When Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell connected with Rock Cartwright for Campbell's second touchdown pass of the day with about two and a half minutes to play in the fourth quarter, Lions fans couldn't help but think, "Here we go again." But the Lions player kept on fighting.

On this day the Lions, who had lost lost 19-straight games dating back to December of 2007, would finally put to rest the thoughts of breaking Tampa Bay's record 26 straight loses. Now, with a 19-14 win, Detriot is 1-2 and holding a better record than seven other NFL teams.

"We not only got the monkey off our back, we got King Kong off our back," said Lions owner William Clay Ford. "I'm hoping that this gets us over that hump and gives us a winning attitude."

As strange at it may sound, Detriot is probably pleased with last season's misfortunes as by going 0-16, they were able to select Matthew Stafford with the No. 1 overall pick in April's draft.

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.

The Lions rookie signal caller held his head down on the bench for the final snap.

"I figured I'd just let the crowd noise tell me what happened," said Stafford. "When it got really quiet, I couldn't take it, so I looked up, and saw them running, and then the tackle, and then I saw the clock was at zero."

After a short meeting in the locker room, Lions head coach Jim Schwartz sent his players back to the field to celebrate with the fans that remained inside Ford Field.

"We went a whole season without feeling like this," said Lions center Dominic Raiola. "So you have to take it in and enjoy."