In the mid-1950s, the Browns and Lions met in the NFL Championship Game almost annually. The Lions won three times from 1952-57, and the Browns won 56-10 in 1954.

This afternoon, they could be playing for the No. 1 pick in the 2010 draft. The loser of the matchup of 1-8 teams will be no worse than tied with Tampa Bay and St. Louis in the chase for the top pick.

The failures this year are all too familiar to fans of the franchises in Cleveland and Detroit. They have been the worst two teams in the NFL since the Browns returned in 1999, and the fortunes aren’t changing as the decade comes to a close.

Detroit is 49-120 since 1999 with a lone playoff appearance and no playoff wins. It set a league record by going 0-16 in 2008.

“I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy,” said Browns tight end Michael Gaines, who spent last year in Detroit.

Cleveland is 55-114 with a lone one-and-done postseason appearance. It could be drafting in the top five for the sixth time since 1999.

Detroit has one win in its last 26 games, Cleveland one in 15. They are two of the five teams never to participate in a Super Bowl.

Someone’s got to win today — the Lions are a 3½-point favorite at Ford Field — but that hasn’t stopped the snide remarks aimed at this Great Lakes Clunker.

Two suburban Detroit residents are selling “The Official We ARE Terrible Towel” in Browns and Lions themes.

ESPN’s “Mike and Mike in the Morning” listed eight sarcastic reasons to go see the game. The best: “It promises to be more disgusting than “The Dr. Oz Show” and “They’re showing other games on the Jumbotron.”

The afterthought for the rest of the country presents the chance for a much needed win for the participants.

“Whether a team’s 0-10 or 10-0, we got to go out there, we gotta fight, we gotta prepare like no other,” defensive end Robaire Smith said. “If we go in there thinking this is going to be an easy game … I know there ain’t no laying down in them.”

Detroit coach Jim Schwartz is out to change the losing culture from the Matt Millen era, and Cleveland’s Eric Mangini is trying to save his job in just his first season. Randy Lerner has said he plans on sticking with Mangini, but speculation persists that a change could be made if the Browns were embarrassed by the Lions.

“There’s a lot of football left,” Mangini said. “We’re not happy about the record, not satisfied. I don’t think anything worthwhile happens easily or quickly. We’re firmly committed to improving.”

Remember when Don Criqui used to get assigned to the big games? He’s relegated to broadcasting this one, which won’t be shown around Detroit, as the third home blackout this year for the Lions. Fewer than 41,000 attended two games at Ford Field this year, including their only win, 19-14 over Washington on Sept. 27. The Browns’ win was 6-3 over Buffalo on Oct. 11.

“We’re at a point now, we don’t really care who our opponents are,” said Browns receiver Mike Furrey, who spent the previous three years in Detroit. “We’ve got to start looking at ourselves and just do what we need to do.”

There are a million statistics that illustrate the teams’ place in the NFL hierarchy. Here are a few.

The league average for interceptions thrown is nine. The Browns have thrown 15, the Lions 16. The touchdown average is 22.5. The Browns have seven, the Lions 15. The average for points allowed is 195.2. The Browns have given up 225, the Lions 264.

The Browns are last in yardage on offense and defense; the Lions are 31st on defense and 26th on offense. The Browns are 31st in points differential (St. Louis is last) and 32nd in net yardage differential. The Lions are 29th in point differential and 27th in yardage differential.

The most interesting matchup pits the pitiful Browns offense against the leaky Lions defense. The Browns have scored five offensive touchdowns and 78 points (8.7 a game) and are on pace to score the fewest points in a 16-game season. They are last with 116.2 passing yards a game.

The Lions have allowed a league-worst 29.3 points and 271.1 passing yards a game, including five 300-yard games.

“I go in every week wanting to do real well against any defense we play,” offensive coordinator Brian Daboll said. “Whether it’s Baltimore or Detroit, we have to play better than we’ve been playing.”

Furrey and Gaines have experienced a lot of losing in both economically challenged cities, but don’t believe the situations are hopeless.

“I don’t think at all,” Furrey said. “Obviously everybody wants to point fingers and have excuses, that’s just the nature of the beast and humanity. It’s just the little things aren’t connecting to create something that’s a big picture.”

Contact Scott Petrak at 329-7253 or spetrak@chroniclet.com.

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