Detroit Lions hope blowout victory a sign of better days ahead

By Steve Keating

A 44-6 blowout of the St. Louis Rams on Sunday that gave the Detroit (1-4) their first win of the season had Lions fans celebrating in the streets.

A look into the team's performance in recent seasons leaves little to celebrate given three wins in their last 38 games and another record of football futility looming.

The Lions, the only team to go winless in a 16-game regular season, can equal the record they already own for consecutive road losses with a 24th defeat next week against the New York Giants.

Detroit has not triumphed on the road since beating the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field in October 2007.

Long-suffering Detroit supporters, who have had precious little to celebrate, savored every moment of the rout as the Lions put the brakes on a 10-game losing skid reaching back to last November.

Many of the 55,000 packed into Ford Field stayed until the final whistle cheering every point of Detroit's most lopsided win since a 44-0 demolition of Jacksonville in 1995.

The win ended what had been a frustrating start to the season for the rebuilding Lions. Three of Detroit's four losses were heartbreakers, losing by five, three and two points.

"Even though we played well in spots we never validated it with a win," said Lions coach Jim Schwartz. "Today was good validation."

Five games into the current campaign, Detroit's playoff dreams have all but slipped away, further testing the loyalty of supporters who have celebrated one post-season victory in the last half-century.

But the Lions are not prepared to wave the white flag on the season just yet.

"We got over the hump, we got the first win." said Stefan Logan, who sparked the Lions' offensive explosion with a 105-yard kickoff return in the second quarter that gave Detroit a lead they would not relinquish. "We've got to keep it rolling. We know what we're capable of."

(Editing by Frank Pingue)