HOUSTON -- Perceptions are fickle, so much so that they can allow for a quarterback to be compared to a maligned underachiever one week only for opinions to drastically change if that quarterback spearheads a string of victories.Following the Lions 1/3 start, Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford was in some circles being aligned with Bears signal caller Jay Cutler, whose abundant talent has for years failed to deliver on notable team success. Stafford has the statistical profile of an elite quarterback, but the Lions have sputtered along for years, and their sluggish start to this season provided room for those critical of Stafford to sound off.Three wins in three games later and Stafford is earning raves. He ranks third in the NFL in passer rating (105.7), fourth in touchdown passes (15) and eighth in passing yards (1,914). Despite the Lions pass-heavy offense, Stafford has thrown just four interceptions.The accumulation of those numbers has yielded MVP discussion as the Lions visit the Houston Texans Sunday at NRG Stadium.I really dont pay too much attention to it, Stafford said. I just care about how I perform for the guys in this locker room and this coaching staff and the owners and the people affected by the Lions. Thats what I care about. Preparing as hard as I possibly can to play well for those people.Though Stafford is deflecting praise, he has been instrumental in the Lions winning streak. Detroit has defeated the Eagles, Rams and Redskins by a total of seven points, with Stafford leading fourth-quarter surges to victory in each contest.Last Sunday against the Redskins, Stafford completed an 18-yard touchdown pass to Anquan Boldin with 16 seconds to play to cap a six-play, 75-yard drive. His late-game mastery of the offense is as responsible for the MVP talk as his aggregate numbers, and the more Stafford shines down the stretch, the more praise he earns.Well one thing, I think his preparation is such that he really prepares himself for those kinds of moments, Lions coach Jim Caldwell said. Number two, obviously he has some unique talents and focus where he doesnt back down from real tough situations. Number three I think his leadership just in terms of getting guys to rally around him particularly in those crucial moments. He kind of has a knack for that.Somewhat lost amid the furor of Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler delivering an embarrassing effort in his Denver homecoming on Monday night was another subpar performance by the Texans run defense. The Broncos, whod amassed 309 rushing yards in their previous four games combined, gouged Houston for 190 yards and two rushing touchdowns in a 27-9 win that snapped their two-game losing skid.Well, I think any time an offense is able to run the football, it makes it very difficult on a defense, Texans coach Bill OBrien said. It does. It does affect your game plan and we have to people use the phrase, Go back to the drawing board. I dont know if thats what it is. I think every team is different.The way that Detroit runs the ball is a lot different than the way that Denver runs the ball. Were going to have to really study hard here on Detroit and figure out what we need to do to stop the run because it has to get a lot better.The Texans are ranked 29th in the NFL in rushing defense, allowing 135.4 yards per game. Thats a far departure from last season when they finished 10th in the league allowing 99.8 rushing yards per game. Houston has dealt with its share of injuries on defense at all three levels, with of course the most notable absence being All-Pro defensive end J.J. Watt, whose renown is linked to his pass rushing abilities.Even without Watt the Texans shouldnt be this porous. And while their offensive woes are legitimate with Osweiler at the controls, their inability to muster a solid front against opposing rushing attacks is as problematic as the issue at quarterback.Theres no excuses, OBrien said. They dont cancel the games when theres injuries, so we have to all do a better job. Again, it probably gets boring listening to me. Coaches and players, we all just need to do a better job of playing and coaching better on Sundays.Wholesale NHL Jerseys 2020 . Aduriz headed home Markel Susaetas cross in the sixth minute to open the scoring at San Mames Stadium. He bettered that with a long-range blast that went in off the goal frame in the 18th, and converted a penalty in the 72nd after Diego Mainz was sent off for fouling Aduriz with only the goalkeeper to beat. Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic . 24 Baylor in a Big 12 clash between teams trending in opposite directions. Andrew Wiggins made 10-of-12 from the foul line and scored 17 for Kansas (14-4, 5-0 Big 12), which capped a stretch of four straight games against ranked opponents unscathed. https://www.nhljerseys2020.com/ . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. NHL Jerseys 2020 Store . The Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Rays, and Texas Rangers all won on Sunday meaning the Rangers will host the Rays in a play-in game on Monday. NHL Jerseys China . -- Ohio States Urban Meyer has never had any issue acclimating to the biggest stages in college football.By using the tease of stipulations that threatened to affect title matches at Clash of Champions in two weeks, WWE successfully held the attention of fans on Monday during a fair but otherwise uneventful episode of Raw.In the end, both scenarios failed to come to fruition in ways that seemed to please the majority of fans in attendance at Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore.Sasha Banks held off Bayley and Dana Brooke in an entertaining triple-threat match to open the show, preserving her return match against WWE womens champion Charlotte. Meanwhile in Mondays main event, WWE Universal champion Kevin Owens defeated Roman Reigns amid myriad chaos to prevent Reigns from joining his own triple-threat match against Owens and Seth Rollins on Sept. 25, in the first Raw-exclusive pay-per-view since the WWEs brand split in July.In the end, credit WWE for teasing the Reigns swerve -- a polarizing move that wouldve alienated a large section of the fan base, who are tired of predictable booking -- without actually following through. Instead, it was Rusev who emerged to distract Reigns and cost him the match after Owens landed his patented pop-up powerbomb for the pin.The move to further separate Reigns from the Universal title picture not only added credence to the idea that the WWE is committed to its new era of booking, but it allowed for a restart of a very physical Rusev-Reigns feud that has elevated the importance of the WWEs United States title.Rusev and Reigns had essentially pressed pause on their rivalry at SummerSlam following an ill-conceived match squeezed in right before the main event that ended in a no contest. But Rusevs return on Monday proved pop-worthy for anyone tricked by his tweet one week ago stating he would be out of action on his real-life honeymoon until Sept. 29.The only cliffhanger from Raw regarding the Universal title picture surrounds which storyline punishment will be handed down to Rollins by general manager Mick Foley after Rollins defied orders not to interrupt the main event in an effort to prevent Reigns from joining the triple threat at Clash of Champions. Rollins decision also somewhat clouds the idea of what appeared to be a natural heel turn.With commissioner Stephanie McMahon absent from Raw this week and Triple H yet to return after helping Owens to the title in a shocking swerve two weeks ago, Foley carried the majority of the backstage segments Monday, with his acting once again proving to be a bright spot on the show.Foley not only played well off of Rollins, showing believable anger in multiple segments, he continued to play up what will likely become a slow deterioration in his relationship with McMahon as their run leading Raw continues.On the womens side, it was good to see Banks and Bayley turn against each other, considering their rivalry in NXT and the sensational matches they produced, especially since Sashas character -- despite being a baby face -- has too many heel qualities to support the idea of her wanting to be close friends.Keep an eye out, as well, for any fallout following the finish of Mondays triple-threat match after Banks scored a pin on Bayley, despite her own shoulders also appearing to be down. While it wasnt mentioned by any Raw commentators, it could end up playing into the storyline of next weeks go-home episode ahead of Clash of Champions.Hits and missesIts getting hard to keep up with the constant soap opera turns between Brooke and Charlotte each week, despite how well both have performed. Brookes slap of Charlotte in Mondays opening segment produceed a legitimate baby-face pop from the crowd, bringing back memories of Damien Sandow and The Miz.dddddddddddd But soon enough, Brooke was unceremoniously returned to Charlottes side in a later segment, killing any momentum. By the time Brookes full turn finally comes, theres a fear that too many teases will have robbed its potential impact.What was the best way for The New Day and The Club to get us to forget about last weeks unforgivably bad comedy skit? Making light of it was a nice touch (as was The New Day serving fans cereal out of an empty boot, which gave commentator Corey Graves a field day of heel one-liners in response). But the best course of action was allowing Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson the room to re-establish their physical dominance in the matchup with a largely one-sided and punishing victory.Its easy to complain about the lack of buzz each week over the best-of-seven series between Cesaro and Sheamus, which is now 3-2 in favor of Sheamus after Monday. But its also completely warranted. With neither superstar being particularly must-see at the moment, giving each match in their series a gimmick or stipulation would have helped. Instead, the matches have very much blended together, with Mondays tilt memorable only for the questionable booking of baby-face Cesaro cheating to win by pinning Sheamus with his feet on the ropes while selling a back injury. Its just not working.Just like last week, Im all for a new and improved Bo Dallas, especially if he continues to execute such stiff and realistic-looking offense on the various jobbers he is facing. But having him deliver a nonsensical poem before each match feels too much like a creepy, evil version of Lanny Poffo and undermines the effectiveness of his repackaging.Its hard to tell whether Jinder Mahals the man who comes in peace gimmick will have much legs, let alone if the WWE will give it much of a push. But just like the Shining Stars earning victories in back-to-back weeks over Enzo Amore and Big Cass, it was good to see the extension of Mahals character in a situation other than a jobber to the stars role. His victory over Jack Swagger may have done nothing for the silent Baltimore crowd, but considering the success of Heath Slaters rags-to-riches turnaround on SmackDown Live, its good to see bit players at least given the chance to organically get over.Speaking of Enzo, who could once do no wrong from a comedic standpoint, he leveraged the goodwill of fans for the second straight week on Monday with a bit that failed to sizzle, let alone make a whole ton of sense. Like The New Day, fears of overexposure seem real for a character so beloved for his originality.Move of the nightNia Jaxs spear on Alicia Fox through the barricade wall outside the ring showcased a kind of brutal physicality that is almost never seen in a WWE womens match. Not only was it set up effectively by Jax grabbing Fox by the hair and repeatedly swinging her body into the wall, its the perfect way to evolve her booking past the level of squash matches. Jax is not only believable as an unrepentant monster, shes incredibly unique to the WWE roster.Line of the nightBefore we came out here, I got a text from Kevin Owens telling me what to expect from you. Want to know what he said? Ill show you. -- Chris Jericho, before assaulting Sami Zayn with his cellphone and connecting on a Codebreaker during a segment of Chris Jerichos Highlight Reel. ' ' '