Lions' loss haunts Bill Ford Jr.

ByMichael Rothstein ESPN logo
Monday, January 12, 2015

Detroit Lions vice chairman Bill Ford Jr. said he doesn't know if he will ever be able to move past the team's latest playoff loss.

"I'm still getting over that," Ford said on WJR-AM Radio in Detroit on Monday morning as part of an appearance in advance of the NAIAS Auto Show. "I don't think I ever really will. That was a tough one."

It was his first public comments since the Lions' 24-20 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in an NFC wild-card game on Jan. 4.

Ford is the latest among multiple Lions players, coaches and officials to speak out about the loss and the controversial picked-up pass interference flag during the fourth quarter. Last week, general manager Martin Mayhew, coach Jim Caldwell and multiple players discussed the call and their frustration over the loss.

Mayhew said Thursday that he believed the Cowboys deserved to win despite the call, and quarterback Matthew Stafford said Sunday on ESPN that Detroit had opportunities to win after the call.

The hosts on WJR tried to chat more about Dallas wide receiver Dez Bryant being on the field and what happened to the Cowboys on Sunday during their 26-21 loss to the Green Bay Packers, where Bryant had a catch overturned because of the "Calvin Johnson rule" where he didn't complete the process of the catch.

Ford stayed quiet during the longer part of that discussion.

"There's a lot I could say, and I suspect I'm better off being quiet at this point," he said.

Ford and his mother, Lions owner Martha Ford, have not spoken publicly to the team's media since taking ownership of the franchise in March following the death of her husband, William Clay Ford Sr.

Martha Ford was spotted at most Lions games this season, including the team's game in London against the Atlanta Falcons.

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