'A win is a win': Lions not concerned about playing pretty

Glendale, Ariz. — It wasn’t pretty, but the Detroit Lions don’t want to hear anything about a 17-3 win over the Arizona Cardinals being any less valuable because it lacked style points.

“What was the outcome?” defensive tackle Ricky Jean Francois asked rhetorically. “That’s all I care about. I don’t care how we got it, a win is a win. I know it isn’t going to be pretty sometimes, but as long as we come out with that end result, a ‘W,’ that’s all I care about.”

Lions cornerback Nevin Lawson, who played an important role in a defensive performance that limited the Cardinals to three points and 279 yards on offense, echoed his teammate’s sentiments.

“This isn’t college football, where we’re trying to impress the playoff committee,” Lawson said. “Go look at Kansas City. Was that an ugly win or a pretty win?”

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Lawson was referring to the Chiefs' come-from-behind 27-24 overtime victory over the Baltimore Ravens earlier in the day.

“It’s the NFL,” Lawson continued. “A win is a win. From a fan aspect, I’m pretty sure they want to see points. But there’s only two teams that put up 40 points or more every week. You’re looking at the wrong teams expecting that.”

Fair enough. The Lions entered the game against the Cardinals ranked 25th in total offense and 23rd in scoring. The Cardinals were dead last in both categories.

All things considered, a 3-0 score at the half and a total of 13 offensive points in the game shouldn’t really surprise anyone.

The only stat that matters to the Lions is the tally they got in the win column. 

"We need all the wins badly, because we work too hard to continue to keep losing," cornerback Darius Slay said. "We're putting the work in and it's showing on the field."

jdrogers@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @Justin_Rogers