Detroit Lions

Barry Sanders represented the past. Calvin Johnson, Matthew Stafford and company represented the present (and from the looks of things, the future too).

Detroit made first appearance on “Monday Night Football” in a decade. The big crowd ever at Ford Field (67,861) actually delayed the national anthem with their chants of “Bar-ry! Bar-ry!” after the Lions’ legend took part in the coin flip.

Then the current Lions won by 24-13 and comeback victory over NFC North rival Chicago to improve to 5-0 for the first time since 1956, the year before their last NFL title. Detroit kept pace with another division rival, the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers, as the only undefeated teams in the league.

That crowd definitely played a role, causing nine Bears false starts with their ruckus.

"It was unbelievable," said Stafford, who achieved 19 of 26 for 219 yards with two touchdowns. "Especially early on, some of those third downs, you couldn't hear yourself think."

The Bears’ six false begins in the first half were more than any other team had committed in an entire game this season, according to STATS LLC.

Chicago said "We were  against a loud crowd, but that isn't an excuse," In this game Pre-snap penalties kill Chicago.

Johnson gave smile to crowed about with his ninth touchdown reception of the season (an NFL record for the first five games of a season), a 73-yarder from Stafford early in the second quarter to give the Lions a 7-0 lead.

Javid Best had the second-longest run in franchise history, an 88-yard touchdown run (three yards longer than Sanders’ biggest gain on the ground) in the third quarter. Javid best finished with a career-high 163 yards.

First-round draft pick Nick Fairley also made his Lions debut as a backup defensive close behind Ndamukong Suh and others.

Overall, it was a big night for Detroit fans (well, at least Detroit football fans), who were unhappy through an 0-16 season just three years ago. But perhaps the one person who wasn't celebrating was Coach Jim Schwartz, who was worried about the next game against another surprise team, the 4-1 San Francisco 49ers.

"I don't think you win any awards for 5-0. We've got to play 16 games," Schwartz said. "We've got a long way to go. It's a good start."