PONTIAC, Mich. -- Gus Frerotte, who made his NFL reputation as a starting quarterback with Washington, is redefining himself these days as a backup for the surprising Detroit Lions.

	Gus Frerotte has led the Lions to two wins in relief of Charlie Batch.

Twice this season Frerotte has come on in relief after Charlie Batch was injured, and on both occasions, Frerotte led the Lions (6-2) to comeback wins. His latest effort came Sunday when he engineered a 77-yard drive, tossing a 12-yard touchdown pass to Johnnie Morton with 28 seconds remaining for a 31-27 triumph over the equally surprising St. Louis Rams.

"You talk to him, you like Gus' demeanor," Lions coach Bobby Ross said. "Somebody compared him with (Mariano) Rivera of the Yankees. I think that's a good parallel."

In the Lions' fifth game, Frerotte took Detroit 48 yards in the closing minutes, with no timeouts left, to set up Jason Hanson's field goal for a 25-23 victory over the Vikings. On that drive, he completed all five of the passes he actually attempted, spiking the ball four other times to stop the clock.

Players who were in the huddle for both games came away impressed with Frerotte's cool under pressure.

"When you've been there, the last thing you want to do is have your eyes too huge and sound like you're stressed or nervous," said Frerotte, who was named to the Pro Bowl squad in 1997. "Those guys out there don't need to hear or see that. They have enough to worry about.

"I just have to go in and stayed poised and stay relaxed."

Frerotte played almost the entire second half against the Rams after Batch whacked his thumb on somebody's helmet. X-rays showed Batch's injury wasn't serious, but the Lions won't hesitate to go with Frerotte at Arizona this week if Batch's thumb still hurts.

"I think that Gus sees himself as a valuable player," Lions quarterbacks coach Jim Zorn said. "He has the ability to make big plays, and he does."

That became painfully evident to the Rams, who have lost two straight after jumping out to a 6-0 start this season. Frerotte completed 12 of 16 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns against St. Louis.

But it was his final drive that will almost certainly go down as one of the most memorable in the Lions' recent history.

It was shades of Bobby Layne when Frerotte, from a fourth-and-28 situation back at his own 21, heaved a long prayer in the direction of Germane Crowell, in front of the Detroit bench. Crowell snatched the ball out of the air for a 57-yard gain.

"Gus, he's poised," Crowell said. "He doesn't say a lot. He comes in and says, 'Fellas, we gotta get it done.' He does a great job of just keeping the team going."

Four snaps later, Frerotte wanted to go to Crowell one last time, but he was covered. Morton, the secondary receiver, was having a hot-and-cold day. He had dropped a couple of balls earlier in the game.

Morton dwells on his mistakes. Sometimes, he become ineffective because he can't shake off early failures.

Still, he was open in the right corner of the end zone. That was good enough for Frerotte. He fired the ball. Morton caught it. Touchdown.

"I asked Gus to throw me the ball, even though I was having an up-and-down day," Morton said. "When I saw him release it, it was like slow motion.

"A couple of years ago, this wouldn't have happened."

In the four quarters he has played since signing with Detroit as a free agent, Frerotte has completed 27 of 40 passes for 349 yards. As a result, the Lions, who were 5-11 last season, lead the NFC at the midway point in the 1999 season.

"Sometimes you wonder why things happen," Frerotte said. "I think it's team confidence."

Still, there is no outward sense of euphoria in the Lions' clubhouse. They are 5-0 against NFC competition and 3-0 in the Central Division. But that only means there are trips to Green Bay Minnesota and Tampa Bay still to be made -- plus two games against the Chicago Bears.

"I don't think we should change anything at all," Ross said. "We'll do what got us here."