Walking Into the Lion's Den: Who Will Make It Out Alive This Week?

It's only Week Three in the National Football League, but with a 1-1 record and an offense that has scored one touchdown this year, the Washington Redskins appear to be fighting for their lives, so to speak.

The Detroit Lions, losers of their last 19 games, starting a rookie quarterback, and with a proven winner on the bench, may see their futility reach 20 games.

No, this isn't the Budweiser Hot Seat—that gimmicky ESPN segment—this is "Walking Into the Lion's Den: Week Three in the NFL."

Perform well—you escape unscathed.

Perform poorly—your season is done.

You mean to tell me that an early season matchup between the Redskins and Lions has that much at stake?

That the performance of a few key characters in this game could alter the fate of each team for the rest of the season?

Yes.

Let's start with the Detroit Lions.

Head Coach Jim Schwartz

Even with the bar set real low in Detroit this season, Schwartz already faces a difficult situation: win a few games this season with quarterback Daunte Culpepper or risk losing all 16 games with rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford.

If Schwartz wants to avoid the fate of predecessor Rod Marinelli, he could plug in Daunte Culpepper and watch his team win three or four games. 

He could continue to start Stafford, and watch his team struggle to win a game this year. 

Rookie quarterbacks that start their first season in the NFL usually don't perform well, with Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan the recent exceptions.

So if Stafford performs poorly in a loss to the Redskins—a beatable team—expect to hear some noise from Lions fans about naming Culpepper the starting quarterback.

With Culpepper at the helm, the Lions face a better shot at winning some games, salvaging their season, and, possibly, the job of their head coach.

Matthew Stafford

Stafford is the lowest-rated starting quarterback in the league and has thrown the most interceptions (five). 

He faces a Redskins defense that is ranked 10th against the pass, with one interception and three forced fumbles.

And with a realistic shot that the Redskins' offense will fail to score any touchdowns, the defense will not want to play any part in helping the Redskins become the first team to lose to the Lions since 2007.

However, should Stafford gut out a victory, continue to see him start at quarterback for the Lions for the rest of the season.

Let’s move onto the Washington Redskins.

Head Coach Jim Zorn

With Zorn facing questions about his job security after another anemic performance by his offense last week, his play-calling decisions are critical this week.

Lose—Zorn may be handed a pink slip from Daniel Snyder.

Win big—the heat will be turned down...for the time being.

Zorn's play-calling in the red zone will be the focus for the offense. The Redskins failed to score a touchdown on four drives inside the Rams' red zone last week.

A halfback pass or a failure to call a fade route for Malcolm Kelly or Marko Mitchell will be fatal this week. 

To make matters worse, the Redskins have to adjust to the loss of right guard Randy Thomas. 

Chad Rinehart

Now that Thomas is out for the season, Rinehart, who will make his NFL debut on Sunday, will have to fill the void on the right side.

The Redskins will need to be able to run to the right against the Lions.  Continually running behind Chris Samuels or Derrick Dockery will enable defenses to adjust and shut that down.  

But the Redskins should find success running the ball against the Lions, who are ranked 22nd in the league and give up 134.5 yards per game. 

The Lions pass defense isn't any better—ranked 24th in the league.

This is where Rinehart will factor in.  With Thomas out, the Lions defense will focus their attention on the right side of the line to attack and put pressure on quarterback Jason Campbell.

Rinehart's ability to step in for Thomas will determine how successful the Redskins’ offense will be in running the ball and protecting Campbell.

Because once you walk into the Lion's Den, there is no turning back, baby...