1982 Detroit Lions season

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1982 Detroit Lions season
Head coachMonte Clark
Home fieldPontiac Silverdome
Results
Record4–5
Division place8th NFC (would have been 4th in the NFC Central)
Playoff finishLost Wild Card Playoffs (at Redskins) 7–31

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

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) -- they were the first team 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 since won their divisions and made the postseason with losing records.

Offseason[]

NFL Draft[]

Main article: 1982 NFL Draft
Round Pick Player Position School
1 15 Jimmy Williams LB Nebraska
2 42 Bobby Watkins CB Southwest Texas State
3 69 Steve Doig LB New Hampshire
4 96 Bruce McNorton CB Georgetown (KY)
5 127 William Graham S Texas
6 154 Mike Machurek QB Idaho State
7 175 Phil Bates RB Nebraska
7 187 Victor Simmons WR Oregon State
8 208 Martin Moss DE UCLA
9 231 Dan Wagoner DB Kansas
10 266 Roosevelt Barnes LB Purdue
11 292 Edward Lee WR South Carolina State
12 319 Ricky Porter RB Slippery Rock
12 326 Rob Rubick TE Grand Valley State

Roster[]

Detroit Lions roster
Quarterbacks

Running Backs

Wide Receivers

Tight Ends

Offensive Linemen

Defensive Linemen

  • 60 Al Baker DE
  • 74 Joe Ehrmann DE
  • 78 Doug English DE
  • 79 William Gay DE
  • 62 Curtis Green DE
  • 63 Martin Moss DE
  • 75 Dave Pureifory DE
 Linebackers

Defensive Backs

Special Teams

Reserve Lists
  • Currently vacant

Rookies in italics

Regular season[]

Schedule[]

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 12 Chicago Bears W 17–10 1–0 Pontiac Silverdome 71,337
2 September 19 at Los Angeles Rams W 19–14 2–0 Anaheim Stadium 59,470
Player strike cancels seven games
3 November 21 at Chicago Bears L 17–20 2–1 Soldier Field 71,337
4 November 25 New York Giants L 6–13 2–2 Pontiac Silverdome 64,348
5 December 6 New York Jets L 13–28 2–3 Pontiac Silverdome 79,361
6 December 12 at Green Bay Packers W 30–10 3–3 Lambeau Field 51,875
7 December 19 Minnesota Vikings L 31–34 3–4 Pontiac Silverdome 73,058
8 December 26 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 21–23 3–5 Tampa Stadium 65,997
9 January 2, 1983 Green Bay Packers W 27–24 4–5 Pontiac Silverdome 64,377

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings[]

NFC Central
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 W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Green Bay Packers(3) 5 3 1 .611 1–2 4–2 226 169 L1
Minnesota Vikings(4) 5 4 0 .556 3–1 4–1 158 178 W3
Tampa Bay Buccaneers(7) 5 4 0 .556 2–1 3–3 158 178 W1
Detroit Lions(8) 4 5 0 .444 3–3 4–4 181 176 W1
Chicago Bears 3 6 0 .333 1–3 2–5 141 174 L1
National Football Conference
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 W L T PCT PF PA STK
Washington Redskins(1) 8 1 0 .889 190 128 W4
Dallas Cowboys(2) 6 3 0 .667 226 145 L2
Green Bay Packers(3) 5 3 1 .611 226 169 L1
Minnesota Vikings(4) 5 4 0 .556 187 198 W1
Atlanta Falcons(5) 5 4 0 .556 183 199 L2
St. Louis Cardinals(6) 5 4 0 .556 135 170 L1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers(7) 5 4 0 .556 158 178 W3
Detroit Lions(8) 4 5 0 .444 181 176 W1
New Orleans Saints 4 5 0 .444 129 160 W1
New York Giants 4 5 0 .444 164 160 W1
San Francisco 49ers 3 6 0 .333 209 206 L1
Chicago Bears 3 6 0 .333 141 174 L1
Philadelphia Eagles 3 6 0 .333 191 195 L1
Los Angeles Rams 2 7 0 .222 200 250 W1

Season summary[]

Week 12[]

See also: 1982 New York Giants season
Week Twelve: New York Giants (0–3) at Detroit Lions (2–1)
1 2 34Total
Giants 0 0 6713
Lions 3 3 006

at Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, Michigan

  • Date: November 25, 1982
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: Indoors (dome)
  • Referee: Tom Dooley
  • TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and John Madden
  • Pro-Football-Reference.com

Playoffs[]

1 2 34Total
Lions 0 0 707
Redskins 10 14 7031

at RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.

  • Game time: 12:30 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 46 °F (8 °C), cloudy
  • Game attendance: 55,045
  • Referee: Tom Dooley
  • TV announcers (CBS): Dick Stockton and Roger Staubach

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

Awards and records[]

Regular Season record

  • First team with a losing record (4–5, .444) to qualify for the playoffs. Shared with Cleveland Browns[1]
  • Worst regular season record (4–5, .444) to qualify for the playoffs. Shared with Cleveland Browns. Broken by the 2010 Seattle Seahawks and later matched by the 2020 Washington Football Team (7–9, .438).[2]

References[]

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