Detroit Lions Must Beat the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday to Maintain Respect

R-E-S-P-E-C-T—you know how the song goes. However, has anyone ever found it coincidental that the Detroit Lions are looking for respect in the NFL, while the song itself was a hit for a Detroit native?

Anyway, the Detroit Lions have a pivotal football game on Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons at Ford Field. Atlanta is not yet looking like the Falcons of two or three years ago, but there's no doubt in anyone's mind that they will be soon.

This game is pivotal for the Lions for a number of reasons.

Firstly, their running game (or lack thereof) took a significant hit last week when second-year running back Jahvid Best was taken out of the game with another concussion. Reports indicate that some of Best's family members are trying to persuade him to sit out the rest of the season.

Earlier in the week, the running game took another hit when the Lions' attempt to trade running back Jerome Harrison to Philadelphia for running back Ronnie Brown was nullified because Philadelphia's doctors found that Harrison had a brain tumor.

This leaves the Lions with two—that's right, two—healthy running backs available for Sunday.

Maurice Morris is likely to start, while Keiland Williams will be the backup. Wide receiver Stefan Logan will be likely to get some carries, too.

If all else fails, they could theoretically use Ndamukong Suh at running back. After all, Suh did kick for the Lions last season.

It's worth a shot, right?

At the rate the Lions are playing right now, they cannot afford to lose another game at home at this stage in the season. The Lions must beat Atlanta on Sunday.

While the loss to San Francisco hasn't yet sucked all of the air out of the balloon, back-to-back losses—especially after the way the 49ers game played out—would really do some damage to the team's psyche.

The Falcons have been among the NFC's elite for the past three years. Matt Ryan is a great quarterback, and Michael Turner has the potential to burn the Lions' run defense just as Frank Gore did last week.

The bottom line is that the Lions need this win on Sunday as much as the city of Detroit needs it.

The Lions are looking for respect. In the NFL, you earn respect by winning and by winning big games. The Lions' wins against Tampa Bay, Dallas, Chicago, Kansas City and Minnesota were a nice first step.

Through the first five games of the season, maybe even six, they have that respect. The trick now is to maintain that respect.

To do that, the Lions must beat Atlanta on Sunday. If they don't, it could be a long rest of the season.