Lions vs. Saints: Inexperience Will Doom Detroit in New Orleans

The Detroit Lions have had a remarkable turnaround this season, going 10-6 after finishing 6-10 last year.

But they are still a work in progress, not to mention young and inexperienced. This will doom them against the New Orleans Saints in the Superdome.

As the Lions get set for their Wild Card matchup against the Saints on Sunday, they have a lot of things to be proud of. Their young quarterback Matthew Stafford is already emerging into a star. Their defense has been much better than last season. They are averaging 29.6 points per game, fourth in the NFL, and that's despite not having much of a run game.

But you only have to look at who the Lions have beaten and who they've lost to this season to understand they still have a ways to go before they can topple a team like the Saints in the playoffs.

This season, the Lions have beaten the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Kansas City Chiefs, Minnesota Vikings (twice), Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, Carolina Panthers, Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers.

They've lost to the San Francisco 49ers, Atlanta Falcons, Saints and Green Bay Packers (twice).

Against the Saints in Week 13, they lost, 31-17. This was despite Stafford throwing for more than 400 yards.

When I look at the Lions, I see a team capable of winning the Super Bowl maybe even in a year or two. But right now they are still raw and make too many mistakes to be considered a team that can knock off a Saints team that has a legitimate shot of winning the Super Bowl this season.

Forget the Xs and Os, what it really comes down to is Drew Brees, Marques Colston, Darren Sproles and the rest of the Saints' veterans having more experience in the NFL than the Lions. In the case of Brees and Colston, they've already won a Super Bowl together.

In the end, the Lions will show that they are a rising team, but have not risen to the top just yet.