Lions vs Ravens Final Score: Detroit falls apart in 18-16 loss

Monday Night Football is one of the biggest stages in all of football, and tonight there was plenty of fire-power on display.  The Detroit Lions needed a win to stay atop the NFC North, holding the tie-breaker over Chicago after sweeping the Bears during earlier in the season.  And of course, the Packer have stayed alive, despite missing Aaron Rodgers for the last six weeks with a fractured collarbone.

In front of their home crowd, the Lions took on the defending Super Bowl champ Ravens, and the game literally came down to the final seconds.  Mismanagement of the clock is not anything new for Detroit, and it could be argued that Jim Schwartz held on to his three timeouts late in the game for just a little bit too long.

Despite keeping the Ravens out of the end zone all night, kicker Justin Tucker booted six field goals, with the biggest being a franchise-record 61 yards with less than a minute remaining.

Matthew Stafford had a chance to get the Lions in field goal range after getting the ball back, but a third interception on the night gave Baltimore, who has now won four straight games, a much-needed victory.

The NFC North now looks like this:

- Chicago Bears 8-6 (at Philadelphia, vs Green Bay)

- Green Bay Packers 7-6-1 (vs Pittsburgh, @ Chicago)

- Detroit Lions 7-7 (vs NY Giants, @ Minnesota)

- Minnesota Vikings 4-9-1 (@ Cincinnati, vs Minnesota)

And it's certainly worth mentioning that the Packers are hoping Aaron Rodgers will be back on the field for the final two weeks of the regular season. He will be evaluated this Wednesday.

Fasten your seat belts, folks... It's going to be a wild ride over the next couple of weeks.