Despite all the Lions' losing in recent history, Ford Field has sold out every game since it opened in 2002. The Lions have sold out 51 straight games, dating back to their Silverdome finale in '01.

But as of Wednesday afternoon, about 6,000 tickets remained unsold for Sunday's game against Washington.

"That's our fault," coach Rod Marinelli said. "That's my fault. If we were playing better and if we were executing better and were winning more, then they would come. That's on me."

As center Dominic Raiola said after the Lions' most recent defeat, no one wants to see an 0-6 team. The Lions know the fans who do show up might not be in a good mood.

"It's up to us to change that," quarterback Dan Orlovsky said. "The people of this city deserve a winner. People have been saying that for 40 years. And until they get it, they're not going to be happy."

It's not just that the Lions have lost. It's that they haven't been even competitive in five of their six games. They have faced a 31-0 deficit, three 21-0 deficits and a 21-3 deficit.

They rank last or pretty low in every major category - passing offense (22nd), rushing offense (30th), total offense (27th), pass defense (31st), rush defense (31st) and total defense (32nd).

And they just finished the easy part of their schedule. Combined record of the Lions' previous opponents: 19-21 (.475). Combined record of their future opponents: 41-26 (.612). None of their future opponents has won fewer than three games.

The Lions can only hope they can sneak up on the Redskins the way the Rams did two weeks ago.

The Rams' 0-4 start was even worse than the Lions'. They were outscored by 104 points; the Lions were outscored by 81. But the Rams replaced coach Scott Linehan and with defensive coordinator Jim Haslett, then upset the Redskins, 19-17.

"That's kind of the rumor about the Redskins, that we will play down to teams," Washington tight end Chris Cooley said Wednesday.

The problem is, the Redskins (5-2) know that's the rumor, insist they did not overlook the Rams and seem motivated to prove something Sunday by not overlooking the Lions.

"We didn't underestimate St. Louis," Cooley said, blaming turnovers and penalties. "We took it very seriously. When we reviewed the game, we all felt like we played a good game. We just had some stupid mistakes.

"But the media blew it out of proportion that we were a team that plays down to other teams' level, that we were a team that was going to slack off that week, and we really weren't."

Cooley said the Redskins wouldn't slack off this week, either.

"We're not going to underestimate Detroit," Cooley said. "I think they're a good football team. They've had opportunities to win games. They've been close a few games. So you can't look past a team like that."

Washington coach Jim Zorn praised the Lions' effort.

"We're not saying, 'Oh, this is just easy because of the record,' " Zorn said. "I'm trying to get our players to realize it's an NFL team, period. There is parity in this league, and just like the Rams, the Rams got it going, and they started with us."

SERIES HISTORY: 37th meeting. Redskins lead, 26-10. At least the game is at Ford Field. The Lions have never won at Washington - 0-for-18 in the regular season, 0-for-21 including the playoffs. The Lions' last victory over the Redskins was at the Silverdome in 2000.