Detroit Lions Headed to 0-16?

The Lions suffered their 14th straight loss, a 31-21 heartbreaker at the hands of the Indianapolis Colts last weekend. With just two games left in the season, the Lions are looking for the opportunity NOT to make history.

But it's not as though the Lions are completely awful. They've lost seven games by seven points or fewer, including a 12-10 heartbreaker against the Vikings in week six.

Despite holding the lead in the fourth quarter multiple times this, Detroit can't seem to finish games. They are being outscored in the third quarter 97-47, and then in the final quarter 102-66. The offense is 27th in the NFL, averaging just 17.1 points a game while they allow 31.7 points a game, which is dead last in the league.

You cannot expect to win in this league with such drastic differences. Things get worse on defense, as the Lions are second to last in total yards allowed.

Quarterback John Kitna went down early in the season, and the offense just never seemed to recover. On the season, Lions quarterbacks have averaged only 186.7 passing yards-a-game, which is 21st in the league.

To help try to revive the squad, the Lions brought Daunte Culpepper off his couch to lead the team. That proved to be a failed experiment as he threw just four touchdowns and six interceptions while completing less than 58 percent of his passes before he was injured.

Since then, former UCONN quarterback Dan Orlovsky has stepped in and has not done too badly, other than his safety against Minnesota which eventually led to the 12-10 loss.

Dan has six scores and four picks on the year, and has actually done a decent job driving the team down the field.

Additionally, the running back situation has really hurt this team as they are averaging only 79.1 yards a game, which is second to last in the league. Kevin Smith has been limited due to injuries and Rudi Johnson has been less-than-stellar in his place, picking up under 250 yards and averaging just three yards-per-carry

The Lions must now travel to New Orleans, which is 7-7 and is fighting for the NFC Wild Card. The Saints are the NFL's No. 1 team in points-per-game (27.9), total yards, and passing yards-per-game, with 304.2.

Drew Brees might be the league MVP this year, as he is completing 64.7 percent of his passes while throwing 28 touchdowns and only 16 interceptions.

The Saints' rushing attack has been handed over to Pierre Thomas due to injuries and suspensions. Thomas has stepped up, taking advantage of the situation while picking up 548 yards, an average of 4.7 yards-per-carry. Against the Lions' dreadful rushing defense, he should have a career day.

Unfortunately, the Lions just do not have the fire-power to keep up with the Saints, and will lose 40-21 to drop to 0-15, a first in NFL history.

The final week of the year will pit the Lions against division rivals the Green Bay Packers.

The Packers are looking to finish the year on a high note and will be looking to make sure they're not the team that gives the Lions a win.

Green Bay are currently ranked fifth in scoring, 10th in yards-per-game, and ninth in passing yards-per-game. Their quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, has had a better-than-expected season, throwing for 23 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while completing 63.5 percent of his passes.

The Packers' rushing attack is led by Ryan Grant, who notched his first 1,000 yard season this year. Their defense has struggled, ranking 21st in scoring, 24th in total yards, and 26th in rushing yards.

The Lions have not won at Green Bay in a very, very long time, so the odds are stacked against Detroit already. With all the emotion on the Lions' side while Green Bay is having a disappointing season and is therefore vulnerable, I see an upset here. I'm calling it 24-21 Lions to end the year 1-15 and avoid the first 0-16 record in NFL history.

No team, from Pop Warner to the NFL, should finish 0-16 with all the work they put in during a season. The Lions deserve to win at least one, and I will be rooting for them in the final two weeks.