As the 10-1 Giants motor away from the rest of the NFC, leaving the surging Cowboys and the flustered Eagles, among others, in the rear-view mirror, no object appears smaller than the Detroit Lions, still winless as they enter their annual Thanksgiving Day showcase.
The Lions, before and after Matt Millen ran the club, with Jon Kitna or Dan Orlovsky or Daunte Culpepper under center, have been quite the turkey.
With the Titans, still stinging from their 34-13 loss to the Jets on Sunday that snapped a season-opening 10-game winning streak, visiting Ford Field for the opening game of the Thursday tripleheader (12:30, CBS), the Lions are in big danger of falling to 0-12.
Loss No. 11 started out with promise — Detroit took a 17-0 first-quarter lead over the Bucs — but ended in the accustomed fashion, a 38-20 defeat.
“No one is quitting, but we don’t know how to win,” defensive tackle Shaun Cody said afterward.
The Lions, whose offense (28th) and defense (31st) both rank in the bottom five in the NFL, will have a struggle to find a victory in the final five games – all against potential playoff teams (Titans, Vikings, at Colts, Saints, at Packers) – and avoid becoming the first 0-16 team in NFL history. The Dolphins started last season 0-13 and finished 1-15; the expansion Bucs went 0-14 in 1976.
The second game on the docket (4:15, FOX) has the Seahawks visiting the Cowboys, who were the conference’s preseason favorites, midseason disappointments, and now, after two straight wins have bumped them to 7-4 and into a three-way tie for the final NFC playoff berth, are the late-season dark horses.
Their stars are aligning: Tony Romo is back from a broken finger, Terrell Owens is heating up (213 yards and a TD in Sunday’s 35-22 win over the 49ers), and running back Marion Barber is proving he can handle 25 carries per game. That has to worry the Redskins, who currently have a tenuous hold on the sixth seed, not to mention bye-worthy Big Blue, who could see the ‘Boys in their postseason opener.
Thursday’s nightcap features the wing-clipped Eagles, a team in turmoil following a 36-7 rout on Sunday at the hands of the Ravens, in which Donovan McNabb was benched at halftime.
McNabb, despite committing seven turnovers in his past seven quarters, gets the starting nod against the 7-4 Cardinals, the Giants’ most recent victim, at 8:15 on the elusive NFL Network.
“As I sit here right now, he’s my starting quarterback,” Eagles coach Andy Reid said. “I need to coach better. Donovan needs to play better and the guys around Donovan need to play better.”
That about sums it up for the 5-5-1 Eagles, who have three NFC East games remaining on their schedule and five squads separating them from a playoff date in January. McNabb, who turned 32 today, is looking like a QB on the wrong side of his prime, and stud RB Brian Westbrook hasn’t been able to get 100 percent healthy. Karma-challenged Philly sports fans may have used up their good fortune on the Phillies’ World Series triumph.
IF THE SEASON ENDED TODAY:
WILD-CARD ROUND
Redskins (6) at Cardinals (3)
Panthers (5) at Bears (4)
FIRST-ROUND BYES
Giants (1), Bucs (2)