Motown Soul, Lions 19, Redskins 14

Now there's Hell to pay. The Washington Redskins, particularly the Redskins defense, had the cure for whatever was ailing the Detroit Lions. They hit a dead end in Detroit where they looked barely competitive in a 19-14 loss. Detroit just looked like they wanted it more. From ESPN's Matt Mosley: "The Lions, a team that went 0-for-'08, came out and manhandled the Redskins in a 19-14 win at Ford Field. In the first half, the Redskins didn't even belong on the same field as the Lions, who hadn't won a game since Dec. 23, 2007. Second-year running back Kevin Smith slashed through the Skins' revitalized defensive line with ease and rookie quarterback Matt Stafford calmly led his team down the field." Washington lost to a team: that lost 19 straight games; that started five rookies; whose rookie quarterback; Matthew Stafford; had a QB rating of 40 going into the game; who had the 27th ranked defense Sunday morning; that is being rebuilt by a former Redskin, Martin Mayhew. More telling than the score was the Lions' time of possession (36:48) and third-down conversions (10-18). Washington's defense was ranked fourth last season. With the addition of Albert Haynesworth and Brian Orakpo, the Defense was supposed to be the strength of the team. They were owned by Detroit. You can expect a week of bad cliches after this. Take your pick: Washington bails out Detroit again Redskins have a cluncker in Detroit Offense has flat tire Lions offense rear-ends Redskins defense What's driving the Redskins? Here's a statement that is not a cliche. When you lose to the worst team in football, you become the worst team in football. There will be lots of analysis about what ailes the Redskins. Our own Greg Trippiedi will probably tear down game film and break it out for us. But it all comes down to one thing. Our stars are not shining. The players cannot give into this, of course. They have to believe. With 13 games to go, they have to figure out how to make the U-turn on the highway of football.