Make or break stretch starting for the Lions

October 26, 12:54 PMDetroit Lions ExaminerChris Morgan

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Can Coach Schwartz continue the turnaround? (Getty Images)

We're six games into the 2009 NFL season and the Lions have already improved on last year's record. Sure, all they had to do was win one game, but they still did it. Now, however, is when we are going to see just how much Detroit has improved this season. This upcoming five game stretch is when we see where the Detroit Lions truly stand as an NFL franchise.

It starts this week with a home game against St. Louis. The Rams are absolutely terrible. They are winless, and the Lions need to keep them that way. You don't lose to a terrible team at home unless you are on their level. Last season, the Lions were on that level, they were one of the worst teams in the league, and in fact in league history. If the Lions want to have the chance to proclaim themselves no longer one of the absolute worst teams in the NFL, they must beat the Rams on Sunday. If they don't, it's back to the usual talk surrounding Detroit.

The game after that is winnable as well, as the Lions head to Seattle. When was the last time the Lions won a road game? It is the next big hurdle for them. Are they good enough this year to do it? I don't really think so. However, if Detroit can win this game that was be a huge step for them. A road win against a team that, while pretty bad, isn't terrible? Nobody would be able to say the Lions are terrible then. Bad? Sure. Terrible? Never.

The next game is against Minnesota in the Metrodome, so that's a loss. Let's just hope the Lions play them close in that game. However, the game after that is home against Cleveland. The Browns, just like the Rams, are horrible. That is another must win game for the Lions. That is a game they might be expected to win, perhaps even favored to win. They have to win that game to establish credibility.

The game after that is Thanksgiving against the Packers. I genuinely think they could win that game. Only because it is Thanksgiving and they are a rival with a suspect offensive line, but they could win it none the less. Now that would be a huge win. Not only would it give us Lions fans a win on Thanksgiving which is always nice, but it would be a win over an actual good team. Eventually if you want to be a good team you have to beat other good teams after all. Plus, maybe it would stop all the "Take the Thanksgiving Day game away from the Lions" nonsense.

In the next five weeks, the Lions have four winnable games. After that, I don't see a win on the schedule, unless Chicago has packed it in by week 17, which I doubt. They have to win at least two of those games. If the Lions lose to the Rams or Browns, I would be disappointed. Those are games Coach Schwartz and company must win to prove their progress to the NFL. If they can win three or four of those games, so much the better. Right now, the Lions have only one win. Sure, a 3-13 season doesn't sound too good, and in the abstract it isn't. However, for a team coming off an 0-16 season, it would be huge. Hey, if they can improve three wins per season they'd be a playoff team in 2011. Also, in 2014 they'd do the unthinkable and go 18 and -2.

This Sunday is going to be odd for the Lions and their fans. It is going to be a game where the Lions are favored to win. How will they play with the tables turned on them? They need to rise to the occasion, because with a win the Lions will no longer be the laughingstock of the NFL. They would be on the road to respectability, and that's a path we've long been waiting for.