Detroit Lions lose 22nd straight on the road

At least the Detroit Lions waited until the final minutes of the fourth quarter to let their fans down again, losing to the Minnesota Vikings 24-14.

Of course, we all expected a loss, after all, the numbers do not lie.

Detroit has lost 22 consecutive road games over the last three years.

It seems impossible that any team in the NFL would not win once in 22 tries away from home. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while (or fill in your own cliche' here).

The record of 23 straight road losses held by the Houston Oilers of the early 1980's will likely fall when the Lions play the Kansas City Chiefs and the Carolina Panthers on the road. So, 25 and counting looks very possible right now.

How did the Lions happen to pull out a loss Sunday?

It was not the fault of the defense. The Lions stopped the Minnesota Vikings on their first possession, but after a three and out by the Lion offense, which is one category the offense is leading the NFL in with 37 "three and outs", the defense let the Viking offense drive down and score to make it 7-0.

It looked like the start of another blowout, however, that did not happen.

The Lions' secondary held a hobbling Randy Moss to no touchdowns and a non-factor in the game.

Dre' Bly stripped Moe Williams of the ball and ran it back most of the way, then laterlalled it to Corey Harris who tied up the game by scoring a touchdown.

The Detroit defense did not do anything stupid that would cost them the game and really gave up only 10 points.

The Lion offense was another story, as Joey Harrington looked like it was his first game as a quarterback in the NFL. He seems to take one step forward and two or more steps back week after week.

Harrington single-handedly lost to the Vikings. He threw four interceptions, which stalled drives and scored touchdowns for the Viking defense.

With the Vikings ahead 10-7 and just over three minutes left in the game, Harrington threw two interceptions in about 20 seconds to seal the loss for Detroit.

He ended the game 21 of 41 for 167 yards, with four interceptions and one touchdown.

That one touchdown pass was very late in the game when the Minnesota defense was just playing back and letting them drive and run out the clock.

This Lions' team also made other mistakes.

Harrington did have a touchdown pass late in the first half, which was called back by a questionable pass interference penalty on Cory Schlesinger.

Then on the same drive, after a timeout by the Lions, Jason Hanson hit a field goal to make it 7-3. But wait, he didn't get the kick off in time.

Yes, you read that right, the Lions were called for a delay of game penalty after calling a timeout. Nice job special teams.

The next kick, after the penalty, was a miss by Hanson, and the half ended 7-0.

Steve Mariucci continues to amaze me with his calls.

Instead of trying for a touchdown late in the first half, he calls a running play and puts it on the foot of Hanson to get a field goal.

Also, the Lions rushed for a grand total of 73 yards. This was against a Minnesota defense that was struggling in the last four starts against the run.

Even with the poor rushing yards and mental mistakes by the offense, Harrington should shoulder the blame for this loss.

The big difference in the Lion team this year is the coach. Mariucci was supposed to right the ship, but he continues to disappoint.

When the Lions were called for a delay of game penalty, Mooch blamed it on a fast 25 second clock.

Why didn't he blame it on himself for not getting his kicking team on the field after a timeout? What is there to discuss on a field goal attempt? Nothing. Just get Hanson out there right away and kick the ball.

Before the last possession when they scored a touchdown, the Lions' offense had 11 possessions which ended up in six punts, a missed field goal, and four interceptions.

Mooch is supposed to be an offensive guru, but he has yet to prove it.

When discussing Joey Harrington, he mentions how Joey looked good on the last touchdown drive.

Doesn't he understand that the Vikings were just letting Detroit come down and score? The game was over. Harrington was throwing against a prevent defense.

Thanksgiving Day is usually a day when the Lions play tough and is better for an NFL team than playing on Monday Night Football. Even NFL fan will be watching. It will be too early to take a nap after the turkey, so the Lions better be ready to put on a show.

Mariucci will have to have some tricks up his sleeve to beat Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers. If not, I'm sure Mooch has his speech writers thinking of new excuses after a loss.

Just in case he's not, here's some help.

* "Green Bay played better than us."

* "I liked what Joey did on the one scoring drive we had."

* "We have a lot of injuries."

* "It will take awhile before we right the ship, it is only my first year."

* "The players are just getting to know each other."

* "We will work it all out in practice."

* "If we just had a few breaks go our way, the game would have been different."

Of course, what he should say is:

* "I am not doing a very good job getting this team ready to play."

* "I need to cut some players and get guys who want to play here."

* "Joey played terrible. I have to work with him to get better or maybe look for another QB."

* "I really need to throw downfield more to keep the defenses honest."

You are welcome for the excuses, Steve, but here's a better idea.

Have your team ready to play on both sides of the ball. Win the game and put your speech writer out of business. Don't treat the fans like they are idiots. They know the team better than you do.