Ranking Detroit Lions Compared to Rest of NFL's Choke Jobs

The NFL is filled with teams that thrive late in the regular season. The New England Patriots, for example, have won 19 of their last 21 December games and have gone 51-8 in December since 2001.

However, there is also the flip side of that coin, and it seemed that this year, more than ever, there were teams that simply could not get it done when the games mattered most. 

With their playoff lives each at stake, the Miami Dolphins, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions and Baltimore Ravens went a combined 7-11 in the season's final month.

For these four teams, these late-season struggles resulted in early tee times and an invitation to watch the playoffs from home.

However, the New Orleans Saints dropped some key games, and it cost them something they worked all season for—a division title and home-field advantage.

Each of these teams choked in one way or another. The question is which one can be awarded the title of the biggest late-season choke job?

The rankings are based on the quality of the opponents the team played late in the season, the impact of each loss and how they performed (or didn't perform) at the most crucial times.

5. New Orleans Saints

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Heading into Week 13, the New Orleans Saints were 9-2 and had a prime-time date with the Seattle Seahawks with an opportunity to take control of the top seed in the NFC. 

Not only did they get shellacked by the Seahawks, but they also followed that up by losing two of their next four games to blow any hope of winning the NFC South as well.

One of the losses came to the lowly St. Louis Rams, who jumped ahead 24-3 before coasting to a victory. That loss proved to be the difference between the Saints winning the division and clinching the No. 2 seed and getting in as a wild-card team, needing to win three road games to get to the Super Bowl.

For a team that is so dominant at home and so mediocre on the road, the Saints' late-season struggles very likely eliminated any chance they had of winning the Super Bowl, or at the very least a chance to exact revenge on the Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game.

The fact that the Saints didn't completely collapse and were able to win their season finale and actually make it to the playoffs is the only reason they aren't higher on this list.

4. Baltimore Ravens

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The defending Super Bowl champs were in prime position heading into the season's final two weeks. The Ravens were riding a four-game winning streak and could have clinched the AFC North by winning their last two regular-season games.

At the very least, a split in Week 16 and 17 would have awarded them a wild-card berth and a chance at defending their title.

Instead, the Ravens were outscored by a combined 75-24 to the Patriots and Cincinnati Bengals, getting dominated on both sides of the ball in a pair of embarrassing losses.

It was a surprising end to the season for a team that many thought could be very dangerous come playoff time.

However, much like this next team, the only reason the Ravens aren't higher on this list is because their losses came at the hands of a pair of quality playoff teams.

3. Chicago Bears

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While there is no shame in losing to Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers in your season finale, the fact that the Chicago Bears fell one win short of making the playoffs and went 2-4 in their final six games certainly makes them deserving of a choking label.

With the Packers playing without Aaron Rodgers and the Detroit Lions falling apart themselves, the Bears had a chance to take control of the division as the final month neared but instead dropped back-to-back games to the St. Louis Rams and the Minnesota Vikings.

They were able to overcome those losses with wins in Week 14 and 15 and just needed to win one of their final two games to clinch the NFC North championship. 

In Week 16 with a chance to win the division, the Bears traveled to play a Philadelphia Eagles team that had nothing to play for. Instead of coming out fired up with so much at stake, the Bears came out flat and were annihilated, losing 54-11 and following that loss up with another in the season finale to blow the division.

The only consolation Bears fans can take from their finish is that their final two losses at least came against quality opponents, something that can't be said for the next two teams.

2. Miami Dolphins

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The rest of the AFC put a playoff spot on a tee for the Miami Dolphins, and much like a six-year-old playing, trying to bat for the first time, the Dolphins swung and missed.

Miami was playing the two worst teams in the AFC East. It was a pair of below-.500 teams, and it needed to beat just one of them to clinch its first postseason berth since 2008.

Not only did the Dolphins fail to win either game, but they also were embarrassed in both. The Buffalo Bills welcomed Miami in Week 16 and dominated the visitors, cruising to a 19-0 victory while holding the Dolphins offense to just 103 total yards. 

Even after that loss the Dolphins still just needed to beat the lowly New York Jets at home in the season finale to get into the playoffs.

But instead, the same team that Miami decimated 23-3 in New York four weeks earlier came into Sun Life Stadium and returned the favor, shutting down the Dolphins offense and eliminating them from playoff contention.

Playing in two games against below-.500 teams with a playoff spot on the line, the Dolphins scored a combined seven points. 

It's an impressive choke job indeed, but it's the next team that set a new standard on second-half collapses for the second straight year.

1. Detroit Lions

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When it comes to choking, the Detroit Lions are putting shame to the rest of the NFL. They didn't know it then, but after knocking off the Bears in Week 10, all Detroit needed to do to clinch a division title was win three of their final seven games. 

The Lions were 6-3 at the time, and their two biggest competitors in the division were both playing without their starting quarterbacks.

Detroit was essentially handed the NFC North title on a silver platter, and, in response, the Lions subsequently puked all over it.

The Lions dropped six of their final seven games, with losses to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings—all teams that finished the season at or below .500.

Detroit also turned the ball over 21 times over its last seven games, averaging a ridiculous three turnovers per game as it was making its playoff push.

Over the past two years, the Lions have gone a combined 2-14 in their final eight games of the season. However, the finish to this year left an especially bad taste in the collective mouths of the Detroit fans when you consider how easy it could have been for the team to win the division.

The Lions had to play an exceptionally low level of football to not win the NFC North this year, and they somehow managed to play even worse than anyone could have ever expected. 

It is because of this that the Lions "earn" the top spot of the rankings for the biggest choke job in the NFL for the 2013 season.