1984 Detroit Lions season

1984 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
	← 1983; Lions seasons; 1985 →;

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 Lions 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 during the season. 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[]

NFL Draft[]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School
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		Tennessee

Roster[]

**1984 Detroit Lions roster**

	Quarterbacks 16 Gary Danielson 17 Eric Hipple 14 Mike Machurek 18 John Witkowski Running backs 24 Dexter Bussey 44 Dave D'Addio 31 Ken Jenkins PR 30 James Jones FB 36 Mike Meade FB Wide receivers 80 Carl Bland 89 Jeff Chadwick 82 Pete Mandley 86 Mark Nichols 39 Leonard Thompson Tight ends 87 David Lewis 81 Reese McCall 84 Rob Rubick		Offensive linemen 72 Chris Dieterich T 70 Keith Dorney G 65 Amos Fowler C 67 Don Greco G 73 Don Laster T 64 Larry Lee G/C Defensive linemen 66 Mike Cofer DE/OLB 78 Doug English DT 79 William Gay DE 62 Curtis Green DE 76 Eric Williams DE		Linebackers 54 Roosevelt Barnes 53 Garry Cobb OLB 50 August Curley 58 Steve Doig 57 Ken Fantetti MLB Defensive backs 33 William Graham FS 35 Alvin Hall SS 21 Demetrious Johnson S 29 Bruce McNorton CB 34 Dan Wagoner DB 27 Bobby Watkins CB Special teams 11 Mike Black P 3 Eddie Murray K		Reserve lists 52 Steve Mott C (IR) 20 Billy Sims RB (IR) 71 Rich Strenger T (IR) Practice squad Rookies in italics

Schedule[]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 2	San Francisco 49ers	L 30–27	56,782
2	September 9	at Atlanta Falcons	W 27–24 _OT	49,878
3	September 16	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 21–17	44,560
4	September 23	Minnesota Vikings	L 29–28	57,511
5	September 30	at San Diego Chargers	L 27–24	53,509
6	October 7	Denver Broncos	L 28–7	55,836
7	October 14	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 13–7 _OT	44,308
8	October 21	at Minnesota Vikings	W 16–14	57,953
9	October 28	at Green Bay Packers	L 41–9	54,289
10	November 4	Philadelphia Eagles	T 23–23 _OT	59,141
11	November 11	at Washington Redskins	L 28–14	50,212
12	November 18	at Chicago Bears	L 16–14	54,911
13	November 22	Green Bay Packers	W 31–28	63,698
14	December 2	at Seattle Seahawks	L 38–17	62,441
15	December 10	Los Angeles Raiders	L 24–3	66,710
16	December 16	Chicago Bears	L 30–13	53,252

Game summaries[]

Week 2: at Atlanta Falcons[]

	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, wind 10 mph
Referee: Fred Silva
Pro-Football-Reference.com

Game information

First quarter

Lions – Billy Sims 9 yard run (Eddie Murray kick) – Lions 7–0
Lions – Eddie Murray 46 yard field goal – Lions 10–0

Second quarter

Lions – David Lewis 11 yard pass from Gary Danielson (Eddie Murray kick) – Lions 17–0
Falcons – Gerald Riggs 1 yard run (Mick Luckhurst kick) – Lions 17–7
Falcons – Mick Luckhurst 51 yard field goal – Lions 17–10

Third quarter

Falcons – Billy Johnson 45 yard pass from Steve Bartkowski (Mick Luckhurst kick) – Tie 17–17
Lions – Leonard Thompson 11 yard pass from Gary Danielson (Eddie Murray kick) – Lions 24–17

Fourth quarter

Falcons – Stacey Bailey 29 yard pass from Steve Bartkowski (Mick Luckhurst kick) – Tie 24–24

Overtime

Lions – Eddie Murray 48 yard field goal – Lions 27–24

Lions

Gary Danielson
21/32, 250 Yds, 2 TD, 2 INT
Billy Sims
23 Rush, 140 Yds, TD
David Lewis
4 Rec, 68 Yds, TD

Falcons

Steve Bartkowski
24/28, 299 yds, 2 TD
Gerald Riggs
19 Rush, 78 Yds, TD
Billy Johnson
8 Rec, 116 Yds, TD

Week 14: at Seattle Seahawks[]

	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

First quarter

SEA – Steve Largent 3-yard pass from Dave Krieg (Norm Johnson kick), 10:44 (SEA 7–0)
DET – Eddie Murray 45-yard field goal, 14:51 (SEA 7–3)

Second quarter

DET – Ken Jenkins 25-yard run (Eddie Murray kick), 1:59 (DET 10–7)
SEA – Steve Largent 13-yard pass from Dave Krieg (Norm Johnson kick), 5:24 (SEA 14–10)
DET – James Jones 15-yard pass from Gary Danielson (Eddie Murray kick), 11:51 (DET 17–14)
SEA – Daryl Turner 4-yard pass from Dave Krieg (Norm Johnson kick), 14:24 (SEA 21–17)

Third quarter

No scoring plays

Fourth quarter

SEA – Daryl Turner 51-yard pass from Dave Krieg (Norm Johnson kick), 1:43 (SEA 28–17)
SEA – Norm Johnson 36-yard field goal, 5:06 (SEA 31–17)
SEA – Mike Tice 5-yard pass from Dave Krieg (Norm Johnson kick), 8:03 (SEA 38–17)

Top passers

DET – Gary Danielson: 11/20, 117 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
SEA – Dave Krieg: 27/38, 294 yds, 5 TD, 1 INT

Top rushers

DET – Ken Jenkins: 12 car, 73 yds, 1 TD
SEA – David Hughes: 7 car, 46 yds

Top receivers

DET – James Jones: 6 rec, 42 yds, 1 TD
SEA – Steve Largent: 8 rec, 104 yds, 2 TD

Team – pass – rush – total – to

DET – 139 – 108 – 247 – 2
SEA – 275 – 113 – 388 – 2

Standings[]

NFC Central
view talk	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[]

[1] 1984 Detroit Lions

[2] Season summary and stats a Sports E Cyclopedia

[1]

[2]

v t Detroit Lions
Founded in 1930 Formerly the Portsmouth Spartans (1930–1933) Based in Detroit, Michigan Headquartered in Allen Park, Michigan
Franchise	Franchise History in Portsmouth Seasons Players First-round draft picks Starting quarterbacks Coaches
Stadiums	Universal Stadium University of Detroit Stadium Tiger Stadium Pontiac Silverdome Ford Field
Culture	NFL on Thanksgiving Day Paper Lion (film) "What's Going On" (Marvin Gaye song) Home Improvement Beverly Hills Cop Cheerleaders
Lore	1932 NFL Playoff Game
Rivalries	Chicago Bears Green Bay Packers Minnesota Vikings
Notable people	William Clay & Martha Firestone Ford Sheila Ford Hamp Matt Millen Barry Sanders Bobby Layne Glenn Presnell Calvin Johnson Wayne Fontes Alex Karras
Media	Broadcasters Radio: Radio network Dan Miller Lomas Brown WXYT-FM TV: Television network Chris Spielman Jennifer Hammond WJBK Bally Sports Detroit
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League Conference: National Football Conference Division: North Division

v t Detroit Lions seasons
Formerly the Portsmouth Spartans (1930–1933)
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