Nothing left, nothing to show, nothing to say. The Lions, once an apparent lock for the playoffs, are expiring quietly, meekly, nothing stirring, not even in their own house.
    What a stupid, sad shame. All the effort the Lions expended earlier, all the good will they spread, is gone, buried under a three-game losing streak, smothered by indifference. It's as if they didn't save anything for when the games really counted. Their 17-7 snoozer against Denver didn't eliminate them from playoff contention only because the NFL cruelly makes everyone hang around, waiting to be dismissed.
    The Lions (8-7) should be dismissed. Seldom has a team with so much to play for offered so little, and embarrassed itself so thoroughly.
    Afterward, Bobby Ross lit into his players, demanding to know what happened to their emotional drive. You wonder if they're listening anymore. It's time a player - or several -- stood up and demanded accountability from teammates.
    "Coach Ross was just as upset as most of the guys," safety Ron Rice said. "I don't know if we're tired, but something obviously is missing. Someone does need to stand up and say something and it'll be me, it'll be anybody who has something to say."
    The Lions appear beaten down, as opponents have started exploiting weaknesses. We know they have injuries. We know Charlie Batch is struggling with a broken right thumb. But, ahem, what about the Broncos? The two-time champs merely lost their quarterback to retirement and their star runner to injury, and were lugging a 5-9 record. They came in with a second-year quarterback, Brian Griese, and absolutely nothing to play for, except professional pride. It was more than enough.
    No gifts this time of year, and no excuses. Now, you earn everything, and we're wondering if the Lions have anything left. By the end, Batch was running, with no place to go. By the end, Denver's Olandis Gary was slicing through the Lions' defense like a knife through a fat Christmas ham. He finished with 185 yards, 174 in the second half. Unbelievable.
    By the end, the Lions were cooked and spent, and if Ross can rally them, he's not a coach, he's a faith-healer. He seemed as disheartened after this game as any all year. He didn't have his team ready, but who thought the players needed help for this one? Dumb me, I figured they had one roar left in them, but no one was inspired, not even the crowd.
    When they were 6-2 a month ago, the Lions played with admirable passion, compensating for one obvious flaw -- the complete lack of a running game. Greg Hill and Sedrick Irvin combined for 15 yards in this one.
    "It's frustrating, because (the Broncos) were giving us the run and we couldn't do it," Batch said. "We usually have energy in the locker room before the game. It just wasn't there. I have no answer."
    After Barry Sanders bolted, 8-8 was considered acceptable. Actually, it was considered impossible. Now, it's tragically possible. Now, if they miss the playoffs, it's a monstrous disappointment.
    Injuries are a convenient excuse but no one is grabbing that crutch, not yet. As battered as the Lions' secondary is, the Broncos won the game on the ground. David Sloan and Germane Crowell, perfectly healthy, dropped a batch of passes.
    So the Lions limp and cough, all the while proving they're not much different than previous editions. Too bad. We thought when we opened this package, we'd find something new and exciting. Instead, just another returnable.

RECAP:

The Detroit Lions did not want to be playing on Christmas, and it showed.

Rookie Olandis Gary came up with another huge performance, rushing for 174 yards and a touchdown in the second half, as the Denver Broncos put a crimp in the Lions' playoff plans with a 17-7 victory.

Detroit (8-7) won their annual Thanksgiving game last month, but defensive end Robert Porcher was among the Lions who complained about playing on another holiday. With quarterback Charlie Batch making his first start in seven games, Detroit never got untracked and suffered its third consecutive loss.

"I'm embarrassed. I apologize for a very lackluster performance," Lions coach Bobby Ross said. "Our running game, it was nothing. It was just not there. We got behind and we had to play catch-up and we're not a catch-up team."

Gary broke his own team rookie record with 185 yards, pushing his season total to 1,121 yards, four more than teammate Terrell Davis gained as a rookie in 1995. A fourth-round pick out of Georgia, Gary entered the lineup in Week Five after Davis suffered a season-ending knee injury.

"When T.D. comes back next year, we'll be a pretty good 1-2 punch," Gary said. "I told T.D. he's always been my idol. To break his record is great."

Held to 11 yards on eight carries in the first half, Gary ran wild after the break. On the second play from scrimmage in the third quarter, he raced 45 yards around left end for the game's first score.

After the Lions punted, Gary rushed five times for 43 yards on a 58-yard drive that ended with Jason Elam's 32-yard field goal with 8:25 left in the period.

Detroit again went nowhere and Gary picked up where he left off, gaining 50 yards on six carries to set up a 1-yard touchdown toss from Brian Griese to tight end Dwayne Carswell.

"People always talk about football like it is a game of chess, but I think what happened was we wore them down in the second half," Gary said.

"It was just guys not being in the right gaps at the right time. There were guys not taking care of their responsibilities, then guys trying to compensate for each other. That just compounded it," Detroit defensive tackle Luther Elliss said. "We missed tackles. I missed three or four myself."

Griese was efficient, completing 22-of-30 passes for 171 yards. He helped the injury-riddled Broncos (6-9) improve to 6-5 since losing their first four games of the season.

"We earned that win today, it wasn't a gift," Griese said. "We're all professionals who have that pride inside of you. We knew a lot of our peers would be watching so we wanted to play well on Christmas."

Batch missed five games with a broken thumb before spelling an ineffective Gus Frerotte in the fourth quarter of last week's 28-10 loss at Chicago. Today, the second-year signal-caller was 21-of-40 for 267 yards and a touchdown. He was sacked five times but led the Lions' anemic ground game with nine yards on two carries.

"Offensively, we just didn't put it together, but even beyond all that there wasn't any competitive fire and spirit," Ross said. "That's not what I like to see at this stage of the season."

Detroit fell into third place in the NFC Central Division, one-half game behind Minnesota and 1 1/2 behind Tampa Bay.

"We have to decide whether or not we want to go to the playoffs," Lions receiver Johnnie Morton said. "We have to address that decision this week. We have to do it Monday. We can't start getting ready five minutes before the game. That's part of being a professional. People with regular jobs don't always feel like going in. We didn't do that today. It's a shame to let all we've built this season go down the drain."

The first nine drives of the game ended in punts before Griese led the Broncos to the Detroit 9-yard line late in the second quarter. But on 3rd-and-6 he was intercepted by safety Mark Carrier.

"I was pleased with the effort of our football team. They had every excuse not to go out there and play hard, considering it's Christmas and being on the road," Denver coach Mike Shanahan said. "They did the things they needed to do to win. I was very impressed."

Scott's Game Commentary:

What more can I say: S A M E O L D L I O N S ! ! ! ! Did anyone think it could get any worse than the fiasco in Chicago??? I never thought so given: 1) The Lions were playing before their sixth sell out crowd 2) Had a national television audience 3) Were playing an injury riddled Broncos team that was just finishing out the stretch 4) And most importantly were just about guaranteed a playoff spot with a victory. But, your 1998 Detroit Lions have returned once again putting on if not one of the most embarrassing, lethargic and piss poor performances I've ever seen at the Silverdome!!! I know this has been a strange year in the NFL, but for a depleted Denver Broncos defense to hold the Lions scoreless for virtually the entire game??? I still can't get over what transpired at the Silverdome!!! Bobby Ross, who badly needs a bus ticket outa here, once again coached an atrocious game. The defense, which doesn't deserve too much blame, played a great 1st half, but allowed a rookie 4th round running back to rush for over 170 yards on them in the 2nd half! This has been one strange season to say the least, but I never thought the Lions would drop five of their last seven games to be 8-7 after being at the top of the NFC only seven weeks ago! S A M E O L D L I O N S.

Grades:

Offense: --- F-. Although Charlie Batch looked like he was playing hurt, the blame goes to the offensive line and especially two individuals: Germane Crowell & David Sloan. Here we have a backup pro bowl tight end and a 2nd year wide receiver who people say could be the next Herman Moore? So in the biggest game of the year what do these two offensive weapons do??? They drop a combined 1/2 dozen passes!!! With the Lions down 17 with 10 minutes left in the game, Batch found Crowell wide open 60 yards downfield...so instead of the Lions clawing their way back in the game, Germane watches the ball go off his hands incomplete....that sealed any dim chance of the Lions getting back in the game. David Sloan, who is lucky to be heading to Hawaii, also cost the Lions a few drives by dropping passes thrown right to him. Where has Herman Moore been since he has returned? He had one big catch the whole damn day that amounted to NOTHING!!! For the 2nd year in a row, Herman has disappeared in the offense. All I'll say about the running game is the Lions better make it their #1 priority to get a starter for next year...Greg Hill is a bust and will be cut at the end of the year...Sedrick Irvin is nothing more than a 3rd down back!!! Boy do we miss B.S., as much as it kills me to say it!!! And finally, the offensive line once again broke down completely yielding five sacks against a Broncos defense that was nothing like it was the past few years. The bottom line is the season is over given the offense hasn't produced a meaningful touchdown since the 1st quarter of the Tampa game, which seems like light years ago! Just mind boggling!!!!

Defense: --- 1st half: A 2nd half: F. Although the defense gave up 17 points, they were not the reason why the Lions lost the game. To begin with, the "D" played brillantly in the first two quarters...Marc Carrier's pick in the endzone late in the 2nd quarter was a big boost...but the wheels came apart ONCE AGAIN in the 2nd half. After containing rookie 4th round pick Olandis Gary for the first half, the defensive line (Jones, Porcher, Elliss and the rest) forgot to show up. Gary gained 174 yards, and he did that in a little more than 20 minutes!!! That is darn right embarrassing! Robert Porcher played by far his worst game of the year...numerous times he missed sacking Brian Griese and had a few penalities...this, coming from someone who will be in the pro bowl next month and was complaining the whole week that the Lions shouldn't have played on Christmas!!! Bryant Westbrook continues to show why he is the biggest 1st round bust since Andre Ware...he was picked to shreds the whole game when Griese threw at him. It's just ashame that the defense only knows how to show up for the first half of football. Someone should remind them football is 60 minutes, not 30!!!!!

Special Teams: --- D. Desmond Howard has done nothing since the Washington game and will be cut at the end of the year...Hanson never got a chance to kick any field goals thanks to Bobby Bonehead....although Jett had some nice punts, he has to learn to kick the ball inside the 20 more often instead of sailing them through the endzone. Return coverage was once again very disappointing. The one time Howard had a nice return, the Lions were called for holding...that figures!

Coaching: --- F-. As much as Wayne "the big buck" Fontes made my blood boil...Bobby "I can never admit i'm wrong" Ross has made it boil even harder!!! Once again Bobby coached on a level lower than the big buck!!! To begin with, does Ross know what the phrase "2 minute drill" is??? The Lions had a chance to get some points before the half but once again forgot to use their time outs and use 2 minute plays. Also in the 1st half, with the game scoreless, Ross decided to punt the ball instead of sending out Hanson to kick a 55 yarder, instead Jett punts it into the endzone and two plays later the Broncos were at mid field. With the Lions down 10-0 in the 3rd quarter, the offense seemed to be having their best drive of the game, but they were faced with a 4th and 2 on the Broncos 44 yard line. So instead of going for it, Bobby decides to have Jett punt the ball and once again Denver crossed mid field a few plays later. And finally, with the Lions down three possessions midway through the 4th quarter, Ross had a decision to make: trim the deficit to two possessions or go for an improbable 4th and 12??? Sure enough Bobby Bonehead Ross decides to go for it and Batch's pass fell incomplete no where near a receiver...and that was the game. Ross after the game said he couldn't understand why the Lions didn't have any effort the past two games...what he has failed to do is mention maybe HE is the one who is screwing up...but as was the case after the Arizona game, he cannot admit that he is a part of this mammoth collapse which is just as embarrassing as last years record! Unfortunately, we will have to put up with this crap for at least one more year!

Overall: --- F-. The Lions had a great chance with a victory over the Broncos to be the 2nd seed in the NFC with a first round bye. But, they pissed that down the toilet. Fortunately, a miracle struck on Sunday as Green Bay, New York & Carolina all lost to put the Lions into the playoffs through the back door. If they beat the Vikings next week, they are guaranteed to host a wild card game!!! As i've said, this has been one strange season in the NFL, but the chances of hell freezing over are better than the Lions chances next week at the Metrodome against the Vikings. So, the Lions will finish 8-8 and will play either Washington or Minnesota on the road in the playoffs. Although the Lions have beaten both the Redskins & Vikings, they will be on the road and that spells certain defeat! All the Lions needed to do was beat Chicago or Arizona and they would have had the home game wrapped up regardless of next weeks outcome.

I will be heading for Florida this Wednesday for a week to watch my Spartans in the Citrus Bowl, so for only the 1st time since I was at the Aloha Bowl in Hawaii two years ago, I will not be able to comment on the last game of the year until Thursday, January 6th. I wish every body a healthy and safe new years and look forwarded to providing you updated and in depth Lions coverage for years to come!!!! Hopefully a miracle will strike on January 2, 2000 in Minnesota!!!

FEEL FREE TO E-MAIL ME YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE LIONS-BRONCOS GAME...I LOVE TO HEAR OTHER PEOPLES TWO CENTS WORTH :-)

Click HERE to go back to my LIONS page!!