The Detroit Lions can match their win total from last season -- five -- after only eight games if they beat the Washington Redskins on Sunday at Ford Field.
The Lions had their first chance to get their fifth victory Sunday at Dallas but came unraveled with penalties and mistakes and lost to the Cowboys, 31-21. Detroit intercepted Dallas quarterback Vinny Testaverde three times, and Lions cornerback Dre Bly returned one of those interceptions for a touchdown. But the Lions allowed Testaverde to complete 19 of 24 passes for 235 yards and three touchdowns. The 40-year-old quarterback also ran for his first touchdown in nearly six years.
The Lions missed a chance to tie the Minnesota Vikings for first place in the NFC North, with their record dropping to 4-3. They lost for the first time in four games this season on the road, that after entering the season with an NFL-record 24-game road losing streak.
The organization and its followers probably will be preoccupied in the coming days with the possible retirement or release of veteran defensive end Robert Porcher, who has been with the team for 13 seasons and is the franchise's career sack leader with 95-1/2. He has been on the inactive list for each of the Lions' seven games this season and didn't accompany the team to Dallas. Porcher is to meet today or Tuesday with Lions President Matt Millen and Coach Steve Mariucci.
Porcher no longer fits into the plans of a team that appears to be one the league's rising young clubs after going a combined 10-38 in the previous three seasons after Millen took over as president and general manager. Millen has stockpiled young talent in the past three drafts by getting quarterback Joey Harrington, wide receivers Charles Rogers and Roy Williams and tailback Kevin Jones, all first-round selections.
Harrington is blossoming in his third NFL season. He is the NFC's third-rated passer, behind only Daunte Culpepper and Donovan McNabb, and has thrown 12 touchdown passes and only four interceptions. Williams already is one of the league's most feared receivers less than halfway into his rookie season. But he has been bothered by a sprained ankle in recent weeks and has sat out two of the Lions' past three games, including the Dallas loss. The Lions are 0-2 without him and 4-1 with him in the lineup, and are particularly dependent on him with Rogers sidelined by a broken collarbone for a second straight season.
Jones also has been plagued by nagging injuries and has had a frustrating rookie season so far. He's yet to rush for more than 65 yards in a game, and Mariucci has abandoned the run quickly in games. Jones had only 11 carries for 36 yards against the Cowboys, and he's yet to have more than 15 carries in a game. Detroit rushed for only 39 yards in Dallas.
The Lions have a winning record despite ranking last in the NFL in total offense and 29th among the 32 teams in total defense. They are tied with the New York Giants for the league's best turnover margin, at plus-12, and usually haven't beaten themselves. But that stretch of error-free play was interrupted at Texas Stadium on Sunday, when the Lions committed 10 penalties and yielded a 55-yard punt return and a 52-yard kickoff return.
The Lions are only 1-2 this season at home, where they've lost their past two games (to Philadelphia and Green Bay) by a combined margin of 68-23.
-- Mark Maske
