Were the Detroit Lions That Bad? Six Teams They Could've Beaten in 2008

There's going to be a lot said, written, and discussed about the Detroit Lions and their record-setting 2008 campaign. A year after the New England Patriots completed the first ever 16-0 regular season, the Lions decided to reciprocate their efforts and finish without a win.

It sucks—not just for Lions fans, but for NFL fans that want to see a competitive contest every week. It sucks for the players who put their bodies on the line every week despite having their spirits broken for hours at a time.

It remains to be seen if the 0-16 season will actually serve as a catalyst for change in Detroit. Some fans are hopeful, but for others, the outlook is grim.

Bleacher Report writer Keith Shelton did an excellent job detailing the problems Detroit will continue to face until the Lions sever ties with the Ford family.

While the slap of the 2008 season still stings, one has to wonder, is there a team the Lions could've beaten?

They didn't have one of the league's more favorable schedules as it was the NFC North's turn to take on the AFC and NFC South—two competitive divisions sending two squads to the playoffs.

The record looks bad, but is it worth letting the Lions go down in the books as one of the worst teams in the history of the NFL? It's safe to argue that they weren't even the worst team in the NFL in 2008.

If the schedule permitted it, who could the Lions have beaten this season?

6. Minnesota Vikings

NFC North champions or not, the Detroit Lions had the Minnesota Vikings beat in Week Six. If not for an unnecessary penalty flag late in the fourth quarter for pass interference, the Vikings wouldn't have had 42 free yards to place them in field-goal position.

People don't take into consideration how deflating that loss was for the Lions. Losing a game in that fashion weighs heavy on the psyche of a team—even when they do enough to win, something is going to push them to a loss.

5. Cincinnati Bengals

It doesn't matter that the Bengals finished the season on a three-game win-streak. In 11 of their losses, they usually did enough to beat themselves.

If we're being honest, a Bengals-Lions matchup would've been one of the season's most disgraceful showings of inept defensive football the NFL has ever seen. But it's a game the Lions could've won.

Make Detroit the home team, and have them meet at around midseason, and it has the potential to be a shootout between two teams who struggled against the pass.

4. Kansas City Chiefs

There's no doubt in my mind that Herm Edwards would've found a way to coach his team out of this game.

The clock would've been managed poorly, the Chiefs would run when they should pass, or the defense would falter at the most inopportune moment.

Daunte Culpepper would find a way to get the ball in Calvin Johnson's hands enough times to pull out a victory.

3. Buffalo Bills

If the Lions faced the Bills from the first-half of the season, I'd be laughed off the Internet for even suggesting this. But in the second-half of the season? The Bills looked like a team that had no business winning seven games.

It's not a contest the Lions would win outright. But it's a game against a Bills' team that would eventually find a way to lose a game.

Eventually there would be a series of plays where the Bills would give the Lions a chance to capitalize and place the game completely out of reach.

2. St. Louis Rams

The 2-14 Rams really weren't two games better than the Detroit Lions. As the saying goes, "A broken clock is right two times a day."

And that's exactly what the Rams were in their only two victories this season. They did enough to pull off upsets when motivated by the firing of Scott Linehan, but make no mistakes, the Rams would have lost to the Detroit Lions, too.

St. Louis would've had no answers for Calvin Johnson or Kevin Smith. And safe money is on Marc Bulger tossing an interception or two in this game.

1. New York Jets

It works out like this: Thomas Jones and Leon Washington run well but remain underutilized, Brett Favre throws costly interceptions, and Calvin Johnson scorches the NFL's 29th-ranked pass defense effortlessly.

For the last few seasons, the New York Jets have become the official "bounce back" team in the NFL. Are you coming off a disappointing loss? Play the New York Jets!

If the Lions take the field with a plan, some aggression, and find a way to hit a rhythm, then yes—Detroit wins this game. The same way Oakland, Seattle, and San Francisco ran the Jets completely off the field, the Lions could've done it, too.

Angel Navedo covers the New York Jets for Examiner.com. His work can also be found on NYJetsFan.com, where he is the Head Writer, and on MyGridironSpace.com—a premier social networking site built exclusively for NFL fans.

He is also a Senior Writer at the Bleacher Report, where he is one of the New York Jets Community Leaders.