Lions (6-2) double their win total from last season

DETROIT -- The Detroit Lions had confidence in themselves back in training camp, when Jon Kitna boldly declared he would be disappointed with anything short of 10 wins.

They're not alone now because people outside their locker room are believing in them, too.

Jon Kitna threw 2 touchdown passes and the Detroit Lions scored twice on defense, leading to a 44-7 rout over the Denver Broncos on Sunday.

The Lions (6-2) have established themselves as a legitimate contender in the NFC and perhaps the surprise team in the entire league at the midway point of their season. They are 1 game behind Green Bay (7-1) in the NFC North.

"This is real," defensive tackle Cory Redding said. "This is a different team. It's not the same-old Lions anymore."

In the Super Bowl era, 76 percent of the 146 teams that started 6-2 made the playoffs. The Lions haven't won six of their first eight games since 1999, the last season they made the playoffs.

"I hope we keep playing one snap at a time," coach Rod Marinelli said. "The rest of that is too far down the road. I know that's boring. I'm boring."

At this point, Detroit already has twice as many wins as last year, Marinelli's first season, and matched the most victories in any year under team president Matt Millen. It was also the third straight win for Detroit, which also more than doubled its largest margin of victory since Millen took over in 2001.

Denver (3-5) was handed its most-lopsided loss in nearly two decades, dropping it below .500 halfway through the season for the first time since its last losing season in 1999.

"If you play at the level we did, you get embarrassed," Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said. "I've been embarrassed a couple of times this year. Now, we find out what we're made of."

The banged-up Broncos took more hits when quarterback Jay Cutler and running back Travis Henry were sidelined with injuries. Cutler left the game with a lower leg injury in the second quarter and was replaced by Patrick Ramsey.

"I'll get an MRI," he said. "Hopefully, it's just a bruise."

Henry did not play in the fourth quarter after hurting his left knee, but said he felt fine.

Denver scored with 2½ minutes left to avoid being shut out for the first time since 1992.

The Broncos were about to add another meaningless score in the final seconds, but receiver Brian Clark fumbled into the end zone.

"We're not a good football team right now," said cornerback Dre' Bly, who played in Detroit the previous four seasons. "We've got to look in the mirror and see if we're doing our jobs."