Cincinnati – The Detroit Lions were supposed to make easy work of the Cincinnati Bengals. They were supposed to go into Week 17, against an equally hapless Packers team floundering without quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and potentially sneak into the postseason for the second consecutive year.
Ten wins looked inevitable, and by hitting the benchmark, playoffs or not, it probably would have been enough to justify another year for coach Jim Caldwell.
But things didn’t go as planned, and following the embarrassing 26-17 loss to the Bengals on Sunday that knocked the Lions from playoff contention, it’s time to hop off the three-year run on the treadmill of mediocrity.