Titans don't want to overlook Lions

DETROIT — No one wants to be the one.

The one, that is, to give a team its only victory in a season.

And on the heels of their first loss of the year after a 10-0 start, the Tennessee Titans certainly don’t want the dubious distinction of being the Detroit Lions’ first victim of the year when they face them on Thanksgiving Day at Ford Field.

Not since the Tampa Bay Buccaneers finished their inaugural season 0-14 has an NFL team finished a full season winless. The Indianapolis Colts went 0-8-1 in the strike-shortened 1982 season.

But the Lions at 0-11 could be knocking on the door of NFL history if they don’t win one of their remaining five games, becoming the first team to go winless in a 16-game season since the league added two regular-season games in 1978.

Just as the Titans were hearing about the unbeaten ’72 Dolphins being brought up when they were on their 10-0 start, the Lions have been hearing about history from a different point of view - the ’76 Bucs.

After Sunday’s loss to this year’s Buccaneers, kicker Jason Hanson even acknowledged to mlive.com that the infamy of going winless was something the Lions should consider as motivation to win.

“Sure, why not?” Hanson said. “I mean, we're 0-11 and we're not doing what we're supposed to do. So I hope everybody in the locker room is looking at it and saying, ‘We can’t be those guys.’

“Everybody should be nervous about it and angry about what we’ve done and take that fire to come out - there is no way we can come out flat. I mean, whatever it takes. We should look like a playoff team just trying to get a win.”

To his credit, Lions coach Rod Marinelli has refused to allow the winless streak take over the focus inside the locker room, even though the questions continue to arise.

“The task at hand is having a great day today. And really, you start wishing your life away when you let other people’s words affect how you live, and that’s wrong. Or it’s weak,” Marinelli said. “And if you’re weak-minded like that, you want to live your life by other people’s words, I feel bad for you. Me, I’m excited about football, I love it, every phase of it. I cherish everyday I’m in this position.”

The good news for the Titans is that history is on their side in this. Of the previous eight teams who finished 1-15, only one time did that lone victory come against a team that had a winning record - in 1989 when the Dallas Cowboys stunned rival Washington in a year where the Redskins would go on to finish 10-6, but miss the playoffs by one game.

And just as the Lions don’t want the dubious distinction of going 0-fer, no team, including the Titans, wants to be the team that hands Detroit its first victory.

Linebacker Keith Bulluck says that with the Titans coming off the first loss of their own, they have plenty of their own worries to be concerned about.

“We’re coming off our first loss of the year, this late in the season,” Bulluck said. “Any time you come off a loss, you want to come out there and have a better performance the next game. That’s definitely what we’re looking to do.

“I’m not thinking about it, because I don’t think we’re gonna be that team. It would be a shame if we are that team, coming off the game we just had. It’s not really a thought.”

The Titans are doing their best to look at the Lions as just another opponent and insist that Detroit is dangerous despite its record. Last week, they had a quick 17-0 lead on Tampa Bay that disintegrated quickly into a 38-20 loss.

“They’re so close,” Titans quarterback Kerry Collins said. “They’ve been so close in a lot of games and they’re playing extremely hard. I know this, we need to play better football than we were the other day.”

The Titans believe they will get the Lions’ best, especially since given the team’s tradition on Thanksgiving Day, although they have lost four and a row and six of seven on the holiday.

And one other thing - all eyes will be on the Titans and Lions today.

“The thought process is this: I’ve played in Detroit on Thanksgiving Day before and I know how jacked up and excited those guys get,” tight end Alge Crumpler said. “People try to say it’s just Detroit, but there’ll be more people watching this game than a normal Monday night football game or Sunday night game. I know a lot of people that don’t know a damn thing about football that sit on the couch on Thanksgiving and watch football.”

INJURY REPORT: The Titans listed cornerback Nick Harper (foot) and defensive tackle Jason Jones (foot) as questionable for today’s game.

Linebacker Colin Allred (concussion), tackle Michael Roos (foot), linebacker Keith Bulluck (ribs) and cornerback Chris Carr (shoulder) are listed as probable.

Titans at Lions

Today, 11:30 a.m.

Ford Field

TV — CBS

What to watch for on offense: Titans coach Jeff Fisher said he wants his team to get back to running the football, something that shouldn’t be too difficult to do against the NFL’s last-ranked run defense. Look for the Titans to feed Detroit a steady Thanksgiving diet of Chris Johnson carrying the football until the Lions prove they can stop it.

What to watch for on defense: Defensively, the Titans need to do a better job of limiting gains on first down by opposing running backs. The Jets did a good job gashing the Titans, who need to stop the Lions on early downs and then target immobile quarterback Daunte Culpepper in long yardage situations.

Worth noting: The Titans have taken Kyle Vanden Bosch completely off the injury report, meaning he should be a full go for today’s game. Cornerback Nick Harper and Jason Jones should also be available after missing two games with foot injuries, making the Titans remarkably healthy for this late in the season.

Prediction: Perhaps the Lions will win a game before the season is over. Rod Marinelli seems like a decent guy, trying to keep the ship afloat. But with Tennessee eager to atone for last week’s ugly showing at home to the New York Jets, the Lions could be an inviting target. Titans 37, Lions 17.