ALLEN PARK, Mich. - NFL coaches always seem keenly aware of the worst-case scenario, so it was no surprise when Detroits Jim Schwartz brushed off any talk of his teams position in the standings. The Lions won at Chicago on Sunday to take over sole possession of first place in the NFC North. With a favourable-looking schedule and generally good health, Detroit has a chance to win its first division title since the 1993 season — but theres still a lot of football to be played. "Weve got six wins," Schwartz said Monday. "Thats not going to be enough." For now, its more than any other team in the division. Detroit (6-3) held on for a 21-19 win to complete its first regular-season sweep of the Bears since 2007. Chicago and Green Bay are a game behind the Lions, and the Packers are dealing with injuries to quarterback Aaron Rodgers and backup Seneca Wallace. When asked about the possibility of hosting a playoff game or earning a first-round bye, Schwartz was having none of that discussion. "Good try," he said. "Weve got way too far to go to start talking about stuff like that. ... I know its exciting for fans of our team and people around the league and things like that, but honestly I think you get sidetracked by starting to get ahead of yourself as a team. We want to guard against that." This is the latest in the season the Lions have been in sole possession of first place since they led the NFC Central after Week 10 in 1999, according to STATS. Detroit was 6-3 at that point, too, then stumbled down the stretch, barely making the playoffs as a wild card at 8-8. The fine line between winning and losing was obvious Sunday. Detroit allowed a touchdown with 40 seconds left, then stopped a pair of 2-point conversion attempts. Chicago got two chances because of a penalty on the first one. Toward the end of the second quarter, the Bears came away with no points after driving all the way to the 4-yard line. Jay Cutlers pass was tipped by Ndamukong Suh and intercepted by DeAndre Levy in the end zone. "It was a great win, no question about it, but youve got to make it count," quarterback Matthew Stafford said. "We have to make this one count later down the road and it starts next week. We have a new opponent that we dont play every week and that team is dangerous." The Lions play at Pittsburgh next weekend. Detroit made a few mistakes against the Bears that could have been costly. Stafford had an interception returned deep into Lions territory in the fourth quarter, but Chicago had to settle for a field goal. The Bears twice appeared to have reached the end zone, but the first touchdown was called back for holding and the second was turned into an incomplete pass by a replay review. When the Bears drove for their final touchdown to pull within two, they were helped by an unnecessary roughness call on Detroit defensive lineman Nick Fairley — but Fairley came back with a sack on the next play. "Its a long season to get through. Theres a lot of things that youve got to persevere through," Schwartz said. "Praise — and success — is one of those things. Quite honestly, thats something that in the past we havent done a good job of." The Lions made the playoffs two seasons ago, then collapsed last year en route to a 4-12 record. Theyve put themselves in position to take another big step forward over the next few weeks. Only one of the remaining seven games on Detroits schedule — the Thanksgiving matchup with Green Bay — is against a team that currently has a winning record. So the Lions are in an unfamiliar position: Theyve played well, caught a few breaks — and now their biggest concern may be how well they handle success. "Being successful in this league is dealing with adversity and bouncing back, but its increasingly becoming part of the scope of the NFL to deal with praise and to deal with the accolades and things like that," Schwartz said. "It makes it difficult to stay level headed. It makes it difficult to stay even keeled throughout the course of a season." Eddie Murray Jersey . Vargas (8-3) allowed four singles and two walks while striking out five, allowing only two runners from a diluted Twins lineup to reach second base. Mike Moustakas and Jarrod Dyson hit RBI singles in the second inning against Kevin Correia (4-10), and that was all Vargas needed. Hunter Wood Jersey . Rodgers was ruled out on Friday by Packers head coach Mike McCarthy. Matt Flynn will make his second consecutive start for the Packers. https://www.cheapindiansonline.com/2558u-phil-maton-jersey-indians.html . The Raptors have been outscored 88-66 in the opening quarter over a three-game span to begin the month of February. Their most recent loss, 109-101 in Sacramento on Wednesday, was eerily similar to Saturdays defeat at the hands of the Trail Blazers. Corey Kluber Indians Jersey . Vinci also beat Dulgheru last week in Bucharest en route to her first WTA final in a year. Vinci next faces sixth-seeded Kurumi Nara of Japan, who beat Czech qualifier Katerina Siniakova 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-2. No. Shane Bieber Indians Jersey .Y. - Major League Soccers independent review panel has taken back the fine and one-game suspension it placed on Toronto FC forward Luke Moore earlier this week. RENTON, Wash. -- So much for concern that running back Marshawn Lynch would be absent from the Seattle Seahawks minicamp. Shortly after the first day of minicamp began for the Super Bowl champions on Tuesday, Lynch strolled from the Seahawks locker room with his No. 24 jersey pulled over a hooded sweatshirt. Lynch was just a spectator, spending most of his day chomping on sunflower seeds and chatting with teammates. But he was in attendance, avoiding the potential of being fined nearly $70,000 for skipping the mandatory team workouts. "We expected him to be here and he was here," Seattle coach Pete Carroll said. Reports surfaced last week that Lynch might consider not attending the practices in hopes of getting a higher salary for the 2014 season. Lynch signed a four-year contract before the 2012 season. He is scheduled to make $5 million in base salary this season plus per-game roster bonuses. Carroll declined to discuss any conversations with Lynch about his contract. "There is nothing in our conversations about that, the business side of it that well talk about," Carroll said. "There is no reason to. We havent talked about other guys in that regard so were not doing that now." Lynch was not available to speak as he sat out the practice with a sore ankle, according to Carroll. Lynch had not been present for Seattles organized team activities and because of a sore ankle, Carroll said it would be unlikely his running back would be on the field during minicamp. Seattles plan is to make sure Lynch is healthy for the season opener against Green Bay on Sept. 4, which will be a very light load of carries during training camp and the preseason. Even though the Seahawks staff at various times during the off-season has expressed getting more carries for reserves Robert Turbin and Christine Michael, Carroll reiterated that Seattles run game begins with Lynch. Lynch has rushed for at least 1,200 yards in each of the past three regular seasons. Hes gotten at least 285 carriies in each of those three seasons and last season during Seattles title run finished the year with 366 carries combined between the regular season and playoffs.dddddddddddd. That was the fourth-most combined carries for any running back since 2009. "We have rested him a lot in the off-season. He takes a big pounding during the year. It takes him a long time to get his body back to where he doesnt feel the rigours of the season thats past," Carroll said. "In this case its unique but he is a unique player and he has a unique role on our football team, so we have to do what we have to do to take care of him." Lynch could have faced significant fines if he decided not to attend minicamp, but he has shown previously he does not enjoy losing money through fines. Last season, Lynch begrudgingly began speaking to the media during the playoffs in an effort to avoid hefty fines from the league. That included memorable sessions during Super Bowl week where he answered questions for about 20 combined minutes during three days of league-mandated media availability. "Marshawn has really been the guy for us and we love everything about the way he plays and what he brings to this team. Hes never taken a step backward at any time for us in all the years hes been here," Carroll said. "From the day we went after him and got him we had sights on him becoming the player that he has become and he has never disappointed us. Hopefully hell be really healthy and ready to go at the season start and if we have accomplished that with this off-season that will be very successful for him and for our team." NOTES: LB Bruce Irvin, who had hip surgery in early June, was the only player not in attendance. ... Rookie WR Paul Richardson was a full participant after being limited in recent off-season workouts with a sore shoulder. ... Veteran DT Kevin Williams was a full participant one day after signing his contract with the Seahawks after spending his entire career with Minnesota. ' ' '