Stafford is hoping for a happy homecoming

Matthew Stafford doesn’t dwell on Detroit’s loss to his hometown Dallas Cowboys in the playoffs two years ago.

The Lions quarterback focuses on the good memories as he prepares for another homecoming Monday night, knowing his team can clinch a postseason berth with a victory.

“I really like coming home and playing in Dallas,” Stafford said. “It’s where I grew up. I played a lot of football in the state of Texas and in Dallas in my life. It’s a lot of fun going home, seeing friends and family but at the same time just trying to win a ballgame against a really good team.”

The Cowboys (12-2) have clinched the NFC East title and home-field advantage in the playoffs. Dallas did it without playing thanks to Philadelphia beating the New York Giants on Thursday.

Detroit (9-5) got a similar boost on Christmas Eve with Tampa Bay’s loss to New Orleans.

The Lions can’t clinch the NFC North. That will have to wait until the finale at home against Green Bay. But they’re in the playoffs for the second time in three seasons under coach Jim Caldwell if they beat Dallas for the third straight time in the regular season.

The finish line: Good news for the Chicago Bears: only one game remains.

They will try to finish a rough season on a strong note when they visit Minnesota. Then they can address a long list of issues after taking a big step backward.

“As a team, we don’t care what our record is, we might be losing, but we’re going to come back and fight and give it our best shot,” running back Jordan Howard said. “We are all going to fight to the finish.”

A 41-21 loss to Washington on Saturday was as ugly as any this season. It guaranteed the Bears (312) will at best match their worst record in 14 years and left open the possibility they will equal their lowest win total in a nonstrike year in more than four decades.

“I think better days are going to come,” coach John Fox said. “We see improvement. It’s not maybe in our record, but I think we’re closer than people think.”

The Bears went 6-10 last year in Fox’s first season in Chicago. The best they can hope for now is to finish 4-12 and match their worst record since 2002. If they lose to the Vikings, they’ll finish with three wins in a nonstrike year for the first time since the 1973 team went 3-11.