French
Deutsch1984 Detroit Lions season
| 1984 Detroit Lions season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | William Clay Ford Sr. |
| Head coach | Monte Clark |
| Home field | Pontiac Silverdome |
| Results | |
| Record | 4–11–1 |
| Division place | 4th NFC Central |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers | None |
| AP All-Pros | DT Doug English (2nd team) |
The 1984 Detroit Lions season was their 55th in the National Football League. The team failed to improve upon their previous season's output of 9–7, winning only four games.[1] The team missed the playoffs for the first time in three seasons. Like the previous season, the Lions started 1–4, but unlike 1983, the Lions couldn't come back. In a season littered with numerous key injuries, the most painful was star running back Billy Sims suffering a career-ending knee injury in a game against the Minnesota Vikings. In just five seasons in the NFL since joining Detroit in 1980, Sims had set the Lions career rushing mark at 5,106.[2]
Offseason[edit]
NFL Draft[edit]
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | David Lewis | TE | California |
| 2 | 47 | Pete Mandley | WR | Northern Arizona |
| 3 | 62 | Eric Williams | DT | Washington State |
| 3 | 74 | Ernest Anderson | RB | Oklahoma State |
| 3 | 75 | Steve Baack | DE | Oregon |
| 4 | 106 | Dave D'Addio | RB | Maryland |
| 6 | 160 | John Witkowski | QB | Columbia |
| 7 | 178 | Jimmie Carter | LB | New Mexico |
| 7 | 187 | Renwick Atkins | OT | Kansas |
| 8 | 214 | David Jones | C | Texas |
| 9 | 246 | Rich Hollins | WR | West Virginia |
| 10 | 259 | William Frizzell | CB | North Carolina Central |
| 10 | 273 | James Thaxton | S | Louisiana Tech |
| 11 | 300 | Mike Saxon | P | San Diego State |
| 12 | 327 | Glenn Streno | C | Tennessee |
Roster[edit]
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
| Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
| Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
| Reserve lists
| ||||||
Schedule[edit]
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 2 | San Francisco 49ers | L 30–27 | 0–1 | 56,782 |
| 2 | September 9 | at Atlanta Falcons | W 27–24 (OT) | 1–1 | 49,878 |
| 3 | September 16 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 21–17 | 1–2 | 44,560 |
| 4 | September 23 | Minnesota Vikings | L 29–28 | 1–3 | 57,511 |
| 5 | September 30 | at San Diego Chargers | L 27–24 | 1–4 | 53,509 |
| 6 | October 7 | Denver Broncos | L 28–7 | 1–5 | 55,836 |
| 7 | October 14 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 13–7 (OT) | 2–5 | 44,308 |
| 8 | October 21 | at Minnesota Vikings | W 16–14 | 3–5 | 57,953 |
| 9 | October 28 | at Green Bay Packers | L 41–9 | 3–6 | 54,289 |
| 10 | November 4 | Philadelphia Eagles | T 23–23 (OT) | 3–6–1 | 59,141 |
| 11 | November 11 | at Washington Redskins | L 28–14 | 3–7–1 | 50,212 |
| 12 | November 18 | at Chicago Bears | L 16–14 | 3–8–1 | 54,911 |
| 13 | November 22 | Green Bay Packers | W 31–28 | 4–8–1 | 63,698 |
| 14 | December 2 | at Seattle Seahawks | L 38–17 | 4–9–1 | 62,441 |
| 15 | December 10 | Los Angeles Raiders | L 24–3 | 4–10–1 | 66,710 |
| 16 | December 16 | Chicago Bears | L 30–13 | 4–11–1 | 53,252 |
| Note: Intra-divisional opponents are in bold text. | |||||
Game summaries[edit]
Week 1 (Sunday, September 2, 1984): vs. San Francisco 49ers[edit]
Week One: San Francisco 49ers at Detroit Lions
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 49ers (1–0) | 7 | 7 | 3 | 13 | 30 |
| Lions (0–1) | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 27 |
at Pontiac Silverdome • Pontiac, Michigan
- Date: September 2, 1984
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
- Game weather: indoors
- Game attendance: 56,782
- Referee: Bob Frederic
- TV announcers (CBS): Tom Brookshier (play-by-play) and Wayne Walker (color commentator)
- Pro-Football-Reference.com
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| SF | Passing | Joe Montana | 16/25, 188 YDS, 1 TD |
| Rushing | Wendell Tyler | 16 CAR, 87 YDS, 2 TDs | |
| Receiving | Freddie Solomon | 4 REC, 61 YDS | |
| DET | Passing | Gary Danielson | 17/24, 177 YDS, 2 TDs |
| Rushing | Billy Sims | 17 CAR, 69 YDS, 1 TD | |
| Receiving | Leonard Thompson | 3 REC, 58 YDS, 1 TD |
| Scoring summary | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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- Point spread: 49ers by 2½
- Over/Under: 43.0 (over)
- Time of Game:
| 49ers | Game Statistics | Lions |
|---|---|---|
| 24 | First downs | 19 |
| 32–124 | Rushes–yards | 28–132 |
| 188 | Passing yards | 177 |
| 16–25–0 | Passes | 17–24–0 |
| 2–14 | Sacked–yards | 2–11 |
| 174 | Net passing yards | 166 |
| 298 | Total yards | 298 |
| 198 | Return yards | 98 |
| 2–45.5 | Punts | 4–44.0 |
| 2–1 | Fumbles–lost | 0–0 |
| 2–32 | Penalties–yards | 6–45 |
| 30:44 | Time of Possession | 29:16 |
Week 2: at Atlanta Falcons[edit]
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lions | 10 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 27 |
| Falcons | 0 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 24 |
at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
- Date: Sunday, September 9
- Game time: 1:00 p.m.
- Game weather: 70 °F or 21.1 °C, wind 10 miles per hour (16 km/h; 8.7 kn)
- Referee: Fred Silva
- Pro-Football-Reference.com
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Week 14: at Seattle Seahawks[edit]
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lions | 3 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| Seahawks | 7 | 14 | 0 | 17 | 38 |
at Kingdome, Seattle, Washington
- Date: December 2
- Game time: 1:02pm local
- Game weather: indoors
- Game attendance: 62,441
- Referee: Red Cashion
- TV announcers (CBS): Jim Hill and John Dockery
- Gamebook
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Standings[edit]
| NFC Central | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Chicago Bears(3) | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 7–1 | 8–4 | 325 | 248 | W1 |
| Green Bay Packers | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 5–3 | 8–4 | 390 | 309 | W3 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 3–5 | 5–9 | 335 | 380 | W2 |
| Detroit Lions | 4 | 11 | 1 | .281 | 3–5 | 4–7–1 | 283 | 408 | L3 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 3 | 13 | 0 | .188 | 2–6 | 3–9 | 276 | 484 | L6 |
References[edit]
- ^ 1984 Detroit Lions
- ^ Season summary and stats a Sports E Cyclopedia
- ^ The Football Database. Retrieved 2022-Jun-20.