List of Detroit Lions seasons
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The team plays its home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit. Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and called the Portsmouth Spartans, the team began play in 1928 as an independent professional team.[1]
The Lions have won four NFL championships, tied for 9th overall in total championships amongst all 32 NFL franchises; although the last was in 1957, which gives the club the second-longest NFL championship drought behind the Arizona Cardinals. The Lions were the first franchise to finish a full (non-strike shortened) regular season with no wins or ties since the move to sixteen season games in 1978, going 0–16 during the 2008 NFL season. They are also one of four current teams, and the only one in the NFC, to have never played in the Super Bowl.
Seasons
| NFL champions (1950–1969) | Super Bowl champions (1970–present) | Conference champions | Division champions | Wild Card berth | One-game playoff berth |
| Season | Team | League | Conference | Division | Regular season | Postseason results | Awards | Head coaches | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finish | W | L | T | ||||||||
| Portsmouth Spartans | |||||||||||
| 1930 | 1930 | NFL | 8th | 5 | 6 | 3 | The NFL did not hold playoff games until 1932 | Hal Griffin | |||
| 1931 | 1931 | NFL | 2nd | 11 | 3 | 0 | Dutch Clark | ||||
| 1932 | 1932 | NFL | 3rd[note 1] | 6 | 2 | 4 | Lost Playoff Game (at Bears) 9–0 | ||||
| 1933 | 1933 | NFL | Western | 2nd | 6 | 5 | 0 | ||||
| Detroit Lions | |||||||||||
| 1934 | 1934 | NFL | Western | 2nd | 10 | 3 | 0 | Dutch Clark | |||
| 1935 | 1935 | NFL | Western | 1st | 7 | 3 | 2 | Won NFL Championship (1) (Giants) 26–7 | |||
| 1936 | 1936 | NFL | Western | 3rd | 8 | 4 | 0 | ||||
| 1937 | 1937 | NFL | Western | T–2nd | 7 | 4 | 0 | ||||
| 1938 | 1938 | NFL | Western | 2nd | 7 | 4 | 0 | ||||
| 1939 | 1939 | NFL | Western | 3rd | 6 | 5 | 0 | Gus Henderson | |||
| 1940 | 1940 | NFL | Western | 3rd | 5 | 5 | 1 | Potsy Clark | |||
| 1941 | 1941 | NFL | Western | 3rd | 4 | 6 | 1 | Bill Edwards | |||
| 1942 | 1942 | NFL | Western | 5th | 0 | 11 | 0 | Bill Edwards (0–3) John Karcis (0–8) | |||
| 1943 | 1943 | NFL | Western | 3rd | 3 | 6 | 1 | Gus Dorais | |||
| 1944 | 1944 | NFL | Western | T–2nd | 6 | 3 | 1 | Frank Sinkwich (MVP) | |||
| 1945 | 1945 | NFL | Western | 2nd | 7 | 3 | 0 | ||||
| 1946 | 1946 | NFL | Western | 5th | 1 | 10 | 0 | ||||
| 1947 | 1947 | NFL | Western | 5th | 3 | 9 | 0 | ||||
| 1948 | 1948 | NFL | Western | 5th | 2 | 10 | 0 | Bo McMillin | |||
| 1949 | 1949 | NFL | Western | 4th | 4 | 8 | 0 | ||||
| 1950 | 1950 | NFL | National | 4th | 6 | 6 | 0 | ||||
| 1951 | 1951 | NFL | National | T–2nd | 7 | 4 | 1 | Buddy Parker | |||
| 1952 | 1952 | NFL | National | T–1st | 9 | 3 | 0 | Won Conference Playoff (Rams) 31–21 Won NFL Championship (2) (at Browns) 17–7 |
|||
| 1953 | 1953 | NFL | Western | 1st | 10 | 2 | 0 | Won NFL Championship (3) (Browns) 17–16 | |||
| 1954 | 1954 | NFL | Western | 1st | 9 | 2 | 1 | Lost NFL Championship (at Browns) 56–10 | |||
| 1955 | 1955 | NFL | Western | 6th | 3 | 9 | 0 | ||||
| 1956 | 1956 | NFL | Western | 2nd | 9 | 3 | 0 | ||||
| 1957 | 1957 | NFL | Western | 1st | 8 | 4 | 0 | Won Conference Playoff (at 49ers) 31–27 Won NFL Championship (4) (Browns) 59–14 |
George Wilson (COY) | George Wilson | |
| 1958 | 1958 | NFL | Western | 5th | 4 | 7 | 1 | ||||
| 1959 | 1959 | NFL | Western | 5th | 3 | 8 | 1 | ||||
| 1960 | 1960 | NFL | Western | T–2nd | 7 | 5 | 0 | ||||
| 1961[note 2] | 1961 | NFL | Western | 2nd | 8 | 5 | 1 | ||||
| 1962 | 1962 | NFL | Western | 2nd | 11 | 3 | 0 | ||||
| 1963 | 1963 | NFL | Western | T–4th | 5 | 8 | 1 | ||||
| 1964 | 1964 | NFL | Western | 4th | 7 | 5 | 2 | ||||
| 1965 | 1965 | NFL | Western | 6th | 6 | 7 | 1 | Harry Gilmer | |||
| 1966 | 1966 | NFL | Western | T–6th | 4 | 9 | 1 | ||||
| 1967[note 3] | 1967 | NFL | Western | Central | 3rd | 5 | 7 | 2 | Mel Farr (OROY) Lem Barney (DROY) |
Joe Schmidt | |
| 1968 | 1968 | NFL | Western | Central | 4th | 4 | 8 | 2 | Earl McCullouch (OROY) | ||
| 1969 | 1969 | NFL | Western | Central | 2nd | 9 | 4 | 1 | |||
| 1970 | 1970 | NFL | NFC | Central | 2nd | 10 | 4 | 0 | Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Cowboys) 5–0 | ||
| 1971 | 1971 | NFL | NFC | Central | 2nd | 7 | 6 | 1 | |||
| 1972 | 1972 | NFL | NFC | Central | 2nd | 8 | 5 | 1 | |||
| 1973 | 1973 | NFL | NFC | Central | 2nd | 6 | 7 | 1 | Don McCafferty | ||
| 1974 | 1974 | NFL | NFC | Central | 2nd | 7 | 7 | 0 | Rick Forzano | ||
| 1975 | 1975 | NFL | NFC | Central | 2nd | 7 | 7 | 0 | |||
| 1976 | 1976 | NFL | NFC | Central | 3rd | 6 | 8 | 0 | Greg Landry (CBPOY) | Rick Forzano (1–3) Tommy Hudspeth (5–5) | |
| 1977 | 1977 | NFL | NFC | Central | 3rd | 6 | 8 | 0 | Tommy Hudspeth | ||
| 1978[note 4] | 1978 | NFL | NFC | Central | 3rd | 7 | 9 | 0 | Al Baker (DROY) | Monte Clark | |
| 1979 | 1979 | NFL | NFC | Central | 5th | 2 | 14 | 0 | |||
| 1980 | 1980 | NFL | NFC | Central | 2nd | 9 | 7 | 0 | Billy Sims (OROY) | ||
| 1981 | 1981 | NFL | NFC | Central | 2nd | 8 | 8 | 0 | |||
| 1982 | 1982 | NFL | NFC | — | 8th[note 5] | 4 | 5 | 0 | Lost First Round Playoffs (at Redskins) 31–7 | ||
| 1983 | 1983 | NFL | NFC | Central | 1st | 9 | 7 | 0 | Lost Divisional Playoffs (at 49ers) 24–23 | ||
| 1984 | 1984 | NFL | NFC | Central | 4th | 4 | 11 | 1 | |||
| 1985 | 1985 | NFL | NFC | Central | 4th | 7 | 9 | 0 | Darryl Rogers | ||
| 1986 | 1986 | NFL | NFC | Central | 3rd | 5 | 11 | 0 | |||
| 1987[note 6] | 1987 | NFL | NFC | Central | 5th | 4 | 11 | 0 | |||
| 1988 | 1988 | NFL | NFC | Central | 4th | 4 | 12 | 0 | Darryl Rogers (2–9) Wayne Fontes (2–3) | ||
| 1989 | 1989 | NFL | NFC | Central | 3rd | 7 | 9 | 0 | Barry Sanders (OROY) | Wayne Fontes | |
| 1990 | 1990 | NFL | NFC | Central | 3rd | 6 | 10 | 0 | |||
| 1991 | 1991 | NFL | NFC | Central | 1st | 12 | 4 | 0 | Won Divisional Playoffs (Cowboys) 38–6 Lost NFC Championship (at Redskins) 41–10 |
Wayne Fontes (COY) | |
| 1992 | 1992 | NFL | NFC | Central | 5th | 5 | 11 | 0 | |||
| 1993 | 1993 | NFL | NFC | Central | 1st | 10 | 6 | 0 | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Packers) 28–24 | ||
| 1994 | 1994 | NFL | NFC | Central | 3rd | 9 | 7 | 0 | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (at Packers) 16–12 | Barry Sanders (OPOY) | |
| 1995 | 1995 | NFL | NFC | Central | 2nd | 10 | 6 | 0 | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (at Eagles) 58–37 | ||
| 1996 | 1996 | NFL | NFC | Central | 5th | 5 | 11 | 0 | |||
| 1997 | 1997 | NFL | NFC | Central | 3rd | 9 | 7 | 0 | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (at Buccaneers) 20–10 | Barry Sanders (MVP) | Bobby Ross |
| 1998 | 1998 | NFL | NFC | Central | 4th | 5 | 11 | 0 | |||
| 1999 | 1999 | NFL | NFC | Central | 3rd | 8 | 8 | 0 | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (at Redskins) 27–13 | ||
| 2000 | 2000 | NFL | NFC | Central | 4th | 9 | 7 | 0 | Bobby Ross (5–4) Gary Moeller (4–3) | ||
| 2001 | 2001 | NFL | NFC | Central | 5th | 2 | 14 | 0 | Marty Mornhinweg | ||
| 2002 | 2002 | NFL | NFC | North | 4th | 3 | 13 | 0 | |||
| 2003 | 2003 | NFL | NFC | North | 4th | 5 | 11 | 0 | Steve Mariucci | ||
| 2004 | 2004 | NFL | NFC | North | 3rd | 6 | 10 | 0 | |||
| 2005 | 2005 | NFL | NFC | North | 3rd | 5 | 11 | 0 | Steve Mariucci (4–7) Dick Jauron (1–4) | ||
| 2006 | 2006 | NFL | NFC | North | 4th | 3 | 13 | 0 | Rod Marinelli | ||
| 2007 | 2007 | NFL | NFC | North | 3rd | 7 | 9 | 0 | |||
| 2008 | 2008 | NFL | NFC | North | 4th | 0 | 16 | 0 | |||
| 2009 | 2009 | NFL | NFC | North | 4th | 2 | 14 | 0 | Jim Schwartz | ||
| 2010 | 2010 | NFL | NFC | North | 3rd | 6 | 10 | 0 | Ndamukong Suh (DROY) | ||
| 2011 | 2011 | NFL | NFC | North | 2nd | 10 | 6 | 0 | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (at Saints) 45–28 | Matthew Stafford (CBPOY) | |
| 2012 | 2012 | NFL | NFC | North | 4th | 4 | 12 | 0 | |||
| 2013 | 2013 | NFL | NFC | North | 3rd | 7 | 9 | 0 | |||
| 2014 | 2014 | NFL | NFC | North | 2nd | 11 | 5 | 0 | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (at Cowboys) 24–20 | Jim Caldwell | |
| 2015 | 2015 | NFL | NFC | North | 3rd | 7 | 9 | 0 | |||
| 2016 | 2016 | NFL | NFC | North | 2nd | 9 | 7 | 0 | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (at Seahawks) 26–6 | ||
| 2017 | 2017 | NFL | NFC | North | 2nd | 9 | 7 | 0 | |||
| 2018 | 2018 | NFL | NFC | North | 4th | 6 | 10 | 0 | Matt Patricia | ||
| 2019 | 2019 | NFL | NFC | North | 4th | 3 | 12 | 1 | |||
| 2020 | 2020 | NFL | NFC | North | 4th | 5 | 11 | 0 | Matt Patricia (4–7) Darrell Bevell (1–4) | ||
| Totals 4 Division Titles 4 Conference Titles 4 NFL Titles |
567 | 681 | 33 | (1930–2020, regular season) | |||||||
| 7 | 13 | 0 | (1930–2020, playoffs) | ||||||||
| 574 | 694 | 33 | (1930–2020, regular season and playoffs) | ||||||||
See also
Notes
- Finished tied for 1st (by winning percentage) at 6–1–4; lost tiebreaker playoff game to the Bears, which dropped them to 3rd place (by winning percentage). The tiebreaker game was considered a regular season game, so 3rd place at 6–2–4 is the Spartan's final standing.
- In 1961, the NFL expanded its regular season schedule, which had been 12 games since 1947, to 14 games.
- The 1967 NFL season marks the first season in the league's history where the league was divided into two conferences which were subdivided into two divisions. Up to 1967, the league was either divided into two divisions, two conferences, or neither.
- In 1978, the NFL expanded its regular season schedule, which had been 14 games since 1961, to 16 games.
- Due to the 1982 NFL strike, the league was split into two conferences, instead of its usual divisional alignment. The season was shortened to nine games, and the top eight teams in each conference earned berths in an expanded 16-team playoff tournament.
- The 1987 NFL strike caused the schedule to be reduced to 15 games.
References
- "Detroit Lions History". CBS Sportsline. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
- "Detroit Lions History". Football @ JT-SW.com. John M. Troan. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
- "The Portsmouth Spartans" (PDF). Pro Football Researchers. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 2, 2013. Retrieved September 28, 2013.
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