DENVER _ The New York Giants did their part. So did the Miami Dolphins.
And most importantly, the Detroit Lions did theirs.
The Lions lost their eighth straight game Sunday to the Denver Broncos, 27-17, to keep alive their hopes of a top-two pick in April's NFL draft.
The Lions moved up two spots to No. 3 with the loss, plus wins by the Giants and Dolphins, and need a loss in their season finale next week against the Green Bay Packers and a win by Washington against the Dallas Cowboys to have their highest draft selection in a decade.
In 2010, the last time the Lions picked second, they took Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, a three-time first-team All-Pro selection in his five seasons in Detroit.
This time, the prize could be Ohio State defensive end Chase Young, a player who's considered the best prospect four months from the draft.
The Cincinnati Bengals (1-14) locked up the No. 1 pick Sunday with a loss to the Miami Dolphins, but could opt for LSU quarterback Joe Burrow instead of Young.
Already locked into last place in the NFC North and with coach Matt Patricia and general manager Bob Quinn assured of returning in 2020, the only drama left in this waste of a season is where the Lions will end up in the draft order.
On Sunday, they gave fans hoping for the highest possible pick a brief scare, scoring the game's first 10 points. But Denver answered with scores on its next five possessions to improve to 6-9 on the season.
David Blough, making his fourth straight start in place of an injured Matthew Stafford, led the Lions on an 11-play, 68-yard field-goal drive to open the game but finished with just 117 yards on 11 of 19 passing.
The Lions scored one offensive touchdown Sunday, on a 3-yard pass from Blough to Kenny Golladay � Jamal Agnew also returned a punt 64 yards for score � and had a season-low 191 yards of offense for the game.
The Broncos mounted scoring drives of nine and 11 plays in the second quarter, when the Lions had 7 yards of offense and no first downs, and scored two touchdowns to clinch the game in the fourth quarter.
Drew Lock, the second rookie quarterback to beat the Lions this year � they also tied against Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals � threw a 3-yard shovel pass to DaeSean Hamilton for the go-ahead touchdown with 13:08 to play, and Phillip Lindsay followed with a 27-yard touchdown run.
Lock finished 25 of 33 passing for 192 yards, and Lindsay had 107 yards rushing on 19 carries.
Blough was 12 of 24 passing for 117 yards, and Kerryon Johnson had 42 yards rushing on 10 carries in his return from injured reserve.
Johnson played his first game since tearing the meniscus in his right knee in an Oct. 20 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. He split the workload Sunday with Bo Scarbrough, Ty Johnson and J.D. McKissic.
