The Lions have placed Matthew Stafford on the injured reserve, ending his chances of returning in the season's final two weeks. Stafford is dealing with a separated right shoulder. He had played in only three games this season and 10 last year because of injuries.

Matthew Stafford is still hoping to play in Detroit's season finale. The young quarterback told Mitch Albom on his weekly segment on WJR Thursday, "It's been a slow process. When I hurt (his right shoulder) the second time it has taken longer to heal that I'd hoped. But you never know. Maybe I will wake up next week and it'll feel better. If I feel good enough to play I will definitely play." Stafford has been out since Nov. 7, when he separated his throwing shoulder for the second time this season.

The Lions defeated the Buccaneers 23-20 in overtime on Sunday to end their NFL-record 26-game losing streak on the road. Dave Rayner hit a 34-yard field goal with 9:51 left in overtime to win the game after kicking a 28-yarder as time expired in regulation to force the extra period. The Lions won on the road for the first time since Oct. 28, 2007, when they won 16-7 at Chicago.

Drew Stanton is expected to start at quarterback for the Lions on Sunday against the Buccaneers. Stanton has started in Detroit's last two games and has taken most of the first-team reps this week and he took all of them on Friday. "Nothing's been different," said Stanton. "Nobody's told me anything except that Shaun [Hill] was trying to get back. I don't know where he is with that. I know he was able to throw and I am aware that if he can play, he will."

The Lions have stopped distributing free tickets to Monday night's football game between the Vikings and the Giants. The team said in a statement Monday there was an "overwhelming response" to tickets for the Vikings' home game that was moved to Monday at Ford Field in Detroit after the Metrodome's inflated roof collapsed under the weight of heavy snow a day earlier. The Lions said those holding a ticket to the Giants-Vikings game scheduled in Minneapolis will be admitted and given preferred seating in Detroit.

Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson hinted on Thursday that he may not be long for Detroit. "Put it like this, if we turn this thing into a winner, I'm happy," Johnson said. "I've won 11 games since I've been here in four years. Losing definitely sucks, and you definitely don't want to be around losing. You can't get used to that. I can't get used to it because I haven't come from that. I've been used to winning. And if this thing can't get turned around, man, like I said ? I'm just going to leave it at I can't get used to it. I want to win." Johnson is having a Pro Bowl-type season with 62 catches for 872 yards and an NFC-leading 12 touchdowns.

Lions rookie defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh has been fined $15,000 by the NFL for a hit he laid on Bears quarterback Jay Cutler this past Sunday. Suh says he plans to appeal. He drew an unnecessary roughness penalty on the play in question. The penalty came in the fourth quarter Sunday when Suh sent Cutler to the ground with what appeared to be a hard shove to the upper back after the quarterback ran for 8 yards.

The Lions placed kicker Jason Hanson on injured reserve Thursday, ending his season. Hanson has been out with a right knee injury since Nov. 7, when Jets defensive lineman Trevor Pryce ran into his kicking leg on a field-goal attempt. Dave Rayner has kicked for the Lions the last three weeks.

Chicago offensive line coach Mike Tice typically makes a DVD of game film featuring opposing defensive linemen, but he had to include extras to capture Ndamukong Suh. "I had to put four tapes together of that guy," Tice said, referring to the Lions' rookie sensation. "He's a great player. With him and (Kyle) Vanden Bosch ? any time you have two special players like that, you have to account for them. "The thing we're doing better now than we were doing in the opener against Detroit is that our guys are earning their money now when they're called upon without any help. You can't have help every play.'' The Bears' line has improved over the past few weeks. "They've gotten remarkably better every week, especially the young players, but they still have a long ways to go," Martz said. "They're not as good as they can be or will be. All you can do is ask them to get better every week, and that's what they're doing."

Lions quarterback Shaun Hill may miss the rest of the season with a broken finger on his throwing hand. Hill broke the finger in the first half against the Patriots last Thursday. Drew Stanton took first-team reps in practice Monday and is expected to make his second career start Sunday against the Bears.