Lions desperately seek adjectives

The Detroit Lions somberly dressed yesterday after another defeat that was different than all the others.

This one made NFL history. Detroit became the first 0-15 team when it was routed, 42-7, by the New Orleans Saints.

"Awful, embarrassing," Lions quarterback Dan Orlovsky said. "We stunk. Any bad adjective you can use, throw it in there."

The Lions will try to avoid the dubious distinction of finishing 0-16 at Green Bay, where they have not won since 1991.

"It's very real," center Dominic Raiola said. "It's right there in front of us.

"It's pretty sad that its come to this."

Drew Brees threw for 351 yards and two touchdowns after four Saints ran for scores in the first half.

Detroit broke NFL records by being outscored by a combined 176 points at home and by an average of 22 points. The 1981 Colts lost their home games by 146 points and the merged Steelers and Cardinals were defeated by an average of 21.4 points in 1944 with a depleted roster during World War II.

"This is one big nightmare," Raiola said. "You want it to end, but it hasn't ended yet."

Bruce's milestone.

Isaac Bruce of the San Francisco 49ers became the fifth player in NFL history to reach 1,000 receptions with a 3-yard touchdown catch late in the fourth quarter against the St. Louis Rams.

Bruce joined the 1,000-catch club on his sixth reception of the game in San Francisco's 17-16 victory.

The 15-year veteran played his first 14 seasons with the Rams, and fans in St. Louis crooned "Bruce!" after he beat Fakhir Brown for the touchdown. Teammates also marked the milestone with a group hug near the sideline.

Other players to reach 1,000 receptions: Jerry Rice (1,549), ex-Eagle Cris Carter (1,101), Roman Catholic graduate Marvin Harrison (1,095) and Tim Brown (1,094).

Lewis reaches 10,000.

Browns running back Jamal Lewis became the 24th player in NFL history to rush for 10,000 career yards in Cleveland's 14-0 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

He came in needing 63 yards and went over 10,000 on an 8-yard burst up the middle in the third quarter.

The 29-year-old played seven seasons with Baltimore, where he gained 7,801 yards before signing as a free agent with the Browns in 2007. He gained 1,304 yards last season, his best since 2003, when he rushed for 2,066 for the Ravens.

Shockey injured.

Saints tight end Jeremy Shockey hurt his right ankle in the first half of the victory over Detroit and did not return. He caught five passes for 37 yards yesterday before walking off the field just before halftime.

Local heroes.

Steve Slaton, the Texans' rookie runner from Conwell-Egan, ran for 66 yards to give him 1,190 for the season, breaking Domanick Williams' team record of 1,188 set in 2004.

In the same game, Raiders safety Rashad Baker recovered an onside kick for Oakland to set up a Sebastian Janikowski field goal. Baker is a product of Woodrow Wilson High in Camden.

Prime time.

Next Sunday's Denver-San Diego game has been moved from 4:15 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. The battle for the AFC West crown will be seen on NBC.

The game became important when Denver was upset yesterday by Buffalo.

"Everybody is sick to their stomachs," Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said after that defeat. "You can't get sicker than that."