Winless Lions dealt yet another blow, top WR goes down.

Right off the bat, Barry Sanders is not coming back. I wish writers around the nation would stop running with these unsubstantiated rumors.

The Lions are now the only team in the NFL without a win as they sit at 0-5 after a loss to the Tennessee Titans, 27-24. Until the Lions win, they wear the tag of "Worst Team in the NFL." I am not making excuses, but the Lions are not the worst team in the league. They are by no means "good," but they've been ravaged by injuries and riddled by bad luck. Poor play on defense (24th overall) has also played a part, but with a few breaks, the Lions and their eighth rated offense could easily be 2-3. Fact remains, they're not.

Now, after yet another heartbreaking loss, the Lions' roster suffered yet another casualty in top target Germane Crowell. Crowell's comes at the hands of the shotty turf, which had to be duct taped down during the Tennessee game, in the Silverdome. On a corner route in the endzone, Crowell's knee buckled and he hit the turf; he was then carted off. Crowell will have surgery on his left knee and be out for the remainder of the season.

The weight of Crowell's loss now falls on the shoulders of Desmond Howard and Larry Foster. Howard did come through big in Sunday's game as he caught a 36 yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 24. It was his first such catch since 1995, when he was with the Jacksonville Jaguars. If he and second year man Foster don't perform well, the Lions can expect their third rated pass offense to plummet. Johnnie Morton can only do so much and anything he will do will come with double and triple coverage.

Featured running back James Stewart left the game early on Sunday with an ankle injury. He remains questionable for the game Sunday. If he doesn't play against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, the duties will fall on Lamont Warren.

After getting benched in week two only to see backup Ty Detmer throw seven interceptions to Cleveland, Charlie Batch is now showing signs of a capable quarterback. Batch is 56-for-83 for 683 yards, six touchdowns and one interception.

While the defense has been the sore spot of the Lions, there are a few promising signs. Rookie tackle Shaun Rogers from Texas leads the team with 40 tackles. Rogers is a dominant force up the middle that fell to the second round as injury concerns hurt his stock. The run defense held star running back Eddie George to just 51 yards, but checked out on a 22 yard Steve McNair scamper in the final minute.

Another Texas alum, CB Bryant Westbrook could return to the lineup as early as Sunday. He is cautious about returning too early, however. Even a return from Westbrook doesn't bring the secondary to 100 percent. Safety Kurt Schulz is still out with a back injury while Terry Fair, Ron Rice and Todd Lyght aren't playing completely healthy.

With Jon Kitna at the helm in Cincinnati, the Lions chances to get that elusive first win are greatly increased. Lions begin to remove Curious George from their backside, 34-20.