The Washington Redskins travel to Detroit’s Ford Field on Sunday (1 p.m.) to take on the winless, hapless Lions. The Lions already officially tanked (what’s left of) the 2008 season – not when they dealt stud wide receiver Roy Williams to Dallas for draft picks – but when they took the field this fall with Jon Kitna as their starting quarterback.

What goes down this afternoon? A quick lead helps us ease off Clinton Portis, who’s a little banged up from accepting the most carries in the NFL so far this season. Rock Cartwright and, to a lesser extent, Shaun Alexander get some touches today. Detroit’s decent receiving corps – the too-talented-for-this-team Calvin Johnson along with Mike Furrey and Shaun McDonald – keep the Lions in the mix. Jason Campbell strikes pay dirt with a big play early in the fourth to close out an acceptably comfortable road win, 27-13.

Lions quarterback Dan Orlovsky – starting his third NFL game in his fourth NFL season – got the starting nod behind center when Kitna went down with an injury. Kitna later claimed the Lions used the injury as an excuse to bench him. Which led the rest of the league to ask why a team would need an excuse to bench Jon Kitna.