1982 Detroit Lions season

Last updated

1982 Detroit Lions season
Head coach Monte Clark
Home field Pontiac Silverdome
Results
Record4–5
Division place8th NFC (would have been 4th in the NFC Central)
Playoff finishLost Wild Card Playoffs
(at Redskins) 7–31
Pro Bowlers
AP All-Pros
1

The 1982 Detroit Lions season was the 53rd season in franchise history. An NFL players strike shortened the regular season to nine games.

Contents

The NFL changed the playoff format due to the strike to allow the top eight teams in each conference to qualify. Because of this, the Lions qualified for their first postseason appearance since 1970, becoming one of only four teams to ever qualify for the playoffs despite having a losing record. [1] [2] The Lions and the 1982 Cleveland Browns are the only two teams with a losing record to qualify as wildcards.

The Lions lost to the Washington Redskins at RFK Stadium in the first round of the playoffs.

It would not be until 2010 when the Seattle Seahawks became the third team with a losing record to qualify for the playoffs (7–9), the first to do so in a 16-game season and the first to win a division title with a losing record. [2] The Carolina Panthers in 2014 (7–8–1) and Washington in 2020 (7–9) have subsequently won their divisions and made the postseason with losing records.

Offseason

NFL draft

RoundPickPlayerPositionCollege
115 Jimmy Williams LB Nebraska
242 Bobby Watkins CB Southwest Texas State
369 Steve Doig LB New Hampshire
496 Bruce McNorton CB Georgetown (KY)
5127 William Graham S Texas
6154 Mike Machurek QB Idaho State
7175Phil Bates RB Nebraska
7187Victor Simmons WR Oregon State
8208Martin Moss DE UCLA
9231Dan Wagoner DB Kansas
10266 Roosevelt Barnes LB Purdue
11292Edward Lee WR South Carolina State
12319 Ricky Porter RB Slippery Rock
12326 Rob Rubick TE Grand Valley State

Roster

Detroit Lions roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists
  • currently vacant

rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendance
1September 12 Chicago Bears W 17–101–0 Pontiac Silverdome 71,337
2September 19at Los Angeles Rams W 19–142–0 Anaheim Stadium 59,470
Player strike cancels seven games
3November 21at Chicago Bears L 17–202–1 Soldier Field 71,337
4 November 25 New York Giants L 6–132–2Pontiac Silverdome64,348
5December 6 New York Jets L 13–282–3Pontiac Silverdome79,361
6December 12at Green Bay Packers W 30–103–3 Lambeau Field 51,875
7December 19 Minnesota Vikings L 31–343–4Pontiac Silverdome73,058
8December 26at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 21–233–5 Tampa Stadium 65,997
9January 2 Green Bay Packers W 27–244–5Pontiac Silverdome64,377
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

NFC Central
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
Green Bay Packers (3)531.6111–24–2226169L1
Minnesota Vikings (4)540.5563–14–1158178W3
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7)540.5562–13–3158178W1
Detroit Lions (8)450.4443–34–4181176W1
Chicago Bears 360.3331–32–5141174L1
#TeamWLTPCTPFPASTK
Seeded postseason qualifiers
1 Washington Redskins 810.889190128W4
2 Dallas Cowboys 630.667226145L2
3 Green Bay Packers 531.611226169L1
4 [lower-alpha 1] Minnesota Vikings 540.556187198W1
5 [lower-alpha 1] Atlanta Falcons 540.556183199L2
6 [lower-alpha 1] St. Louis Cardinals 540.556135170L1
7 [lower-alpha 1] Tampa Bay Buccaneers 540.556158178W3
8 [lower-alpha 2] Detroit Lions 450.444181176W1
Did not qualify for the postseason
9 [lower-alpha 2] New Orleans Saints 450.444129160W1
10 [lower-alpha 2] New York Giants 450.444164160W1
11 [lower-alpha 3] San Francisco 49ers 360.333209206L1
12 [lower-alpha 3] Chicago Bears 360.333141174L1
13 [lower-alpha 3] Philadelphia Eagles 360.333191195L1
14 Los Angeles Rams 270.222200250W1
Tiebreakers
  1. 1 2 3 4 Minnesota (4–1), Atlanta (4–3), St. Louis (5–4), Tampa Bay (3–3) seeds were determined by best won-lost record in conference games.
  2. 1 2 3 Detroit finished ahead of New Orleans and the N.Y. Giants based on best conference record (4–4 to Saints’ 3–5 to Giants’ 3–5).
  3. 1 2 3 San Francisco finished ahead of Chicago, and Chicago finished ahead of Philadelphia, based on conference record (49ers’ 2–3 to Bears’ 2–5 to Eagles’ 1–5).

Season summary

Week 12

Week Twelve: New York Giants (0–3) at Detroit Lions (2–1)
Period1234Total
Giants 006713
Lions 33006

at Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, Michigan

Game information

Playoffs

Period1234Total
Lions00707
Redskins10147031

at RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.

The Redskins jumped to a 24–0 lead en route to a 31–7 victory over the Lions.

Records

Regular-season record

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References

  1. 1 2 NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book . New York: Workman Publishing Co. 2001. p.  294. ISBN   0-7611-2480-2.
  2. 1 2 3 Seahawks defeat Rams 16–6 to win NFC West title, January 2, 2011, retrieved January 3, 2011