PHILADELPHIA -- Someone had to be the guy on the hottest seat at the most crucial moment, and the job fell to 
Not all kicks and all games are equal in the NFL, even though coaches and players constantly preach that all 16 games count the same.
Football isn’t math, even though things add up, and Sunday’s game against the Eagles counted more than one game. A season was likely on the line when Hanson lined up a 45-yard field goal that would win the game or keep it tied in overtime.
With a right-to-left wind, Hanson kicked slightly off center to the right and held his breath as the ball hooked back – just enough to stay inside the left upright for a 45-yard field goal that gave the Lions an improbable 26-23 win over the Eagles.
The numbers add up pretty simply. The win made the Lions’ record 2-3. A loss would have dropped them to 1-4, and deeper into last place in the NFC North.
Hanson knew the stakes, as he always has in his 21 pro seasons, all with the Lions.
What did he feel when he ran onto the field?
“Numb,” he said. Not joking.
Was he nervous?
Yes, he was nervous, but it is something he has learned to control and live with.
For the Lions, Sunday’s game was about staying the course, and not letting the emotions of a given play or series or situation knock them so far off their game that they couldn’t cope with the pressure.
In the end, it fell on the defense to make three straight plays in overtime that put the offense in position to put the game on Hanson’s magic right foot.
The defense – the front four in particular – has been maligned for not living up to his ability.
Three plays didn’t erase all of that, but they did enough to turn a game into the Lions’ favor.
Most of the first 60 minutes were a torture test for the offense.
The offense came alive, scoring 17 points to bring the Lions from a 16-6 deficit early in the fourth quarter to tie the game – on Hanson’s field goal with three seconds left in regulation, of course – and put the game in overtime.
Now it was on the defense, with the Eagles getting the kickoff in overtime to start their first possession at their own 15.
On first down,
That only set him up for more abuse. On second down, tackle
On third down, the chase was on again, and Vick had to launch a pass out of bounds to avoid another sack.
The forced a punt that gave the Lions the ball at midfield, four plays and a penalty later, Hanson was sent out to kick the winner. And he did.
The offensive glitz, led by Stafford, and Hanson’s kick are what will be remembered longest from this game. But it was the defensive grit in overtime that set the table.
“We knew we were going to be up first,” Avril said, referring to the Eagles receiving the kickoff.
“You want to get the offense out there. We know what we have as a defensive line.”
The Lions were playing with their season at stake. Hanson said as much after the game, saying he was “kicking for the season.”
“I don’t necessarily think about that when I’m playing,” Avril said. ”During the game, I’m just playing.”
But the math was there – a 1-4 record and a bigger hole if they lost, and a 2-3 record and closer to contention with a win.
“It’s a start,” Avril said. “It’s a start for us.”
A start, for sure, but that doesn’t mean it’s over. The schedule has been brutal, with four of the first six games on the road. The next game, on the road against a Bears team coming off a Bye, will be another gut check.
But on a day when it looked like the Lions had dug a hole too deep to get out of, they got new life from the foot of their oldest hand, and a defense that snuffed the life out of the Eagles’ offense and gave Hanson the chance to win the game.
Hanson’s kick was on target, and so was his description of how he felt.
Numb. It fit the moment.
Imagine how the Eagles were feeling.
