There will be plenty of banners hanging in the Silverdome on Thanksgiving Day, as usual. Don't expect "Save the Wayne" to be among them.
Detroit fans will be pulling for their Lions (5-6) to defeat the Minnesota Vikings (6-5). Yet it's hard to find anyone willing to admit they want coach Wayne Fontes back next season.Lions fans have seen this act before. Too many times, perhaps. The team stumbles around and seems hopelessly out of the playoff picture by midseason. Then the players rally around Fontes, put on a strong finish and save the coach's job - again.
Since 1989, his first full season as coach, Fontes has guided the Lions to a record of 22-13 on and after Thanksgiving. His record before Thanksgiving is only 34-43.
After Thursday, the Lions will have four games remaining. Fontes has compiled a record of 18-6 in the final four games of the season. Through a combination of luck and pluck, the Lions have made it into the playoffs three of the last four seasons.
This season's contract run appears already to have begun. The Lions have won their last two games since club owner William Clay Ford gave Fontes a "win-or-else" ultimatum.
"I hope this is a sign of a run," Fontes said. "There have been things written and said about this team. But no one can ever say it is a team that will lay down and quit."
Still, it will be a tall order for the Lions to handle the red-hot Vikings.
Warren Moon, who turned 39 less than a week ago, has guided the Vikings to three consecutive victories. Moon has 11 touchdown passes in those three games and hasn't thrown an interception in the past four.
The Vikings have averaged more than 33 points and 418 yards during their winning streak. They have 19 plays of 20 yards or more in that span, compared to 24 in the first eight games.
Moon will be operating against a Detroit defense that hasn't had much success. The Lions have been extremely weak at defending against the pass. Opponents have completed 63 percent of their passes against the Lions, chalking up 2,885 yards and 12 touchdowns.
The Detroit secondary has intercepted just 11 passes this season.
However, the Lions offense has been performing well as Scott Mitchell has become the steady quarterback the Lions hoped for when they signed him last year as a free agent.
A sprained ankle kept Mitchell out of practice for one day this week. Yet he was expected to play against the Vikings. If he can't, Don Majkowski proved in last week's victory at Chicago that he is a capable backup.
The Vikings held Sanders to just 35 yards on 13 carries during the second game of the season, and the Vikings won 20-10.
"The thing that makes Barry Sanders hard to defend this year is that Scott Mitchell is throwing the ball so much better," said Viking head coach Dennis Green said. "You can't play everybody up on the line anymore."