1998 Detroit Lions season

1998 Detroit Lions season
1998 Detroit Lions season
Owner	William Clay Ford, Sr.
Head coach	Bobby Ross
General manager	Chuck Schmidt
Home field	Pontiac Silverdome
Results
Record	5–11
Division place	4th NFC Central
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	3 RB Barry Sanders; DT Luther Elliss; DE Robert Porcher;
Uniform
	← 1997; Lions seasons; 1999 →;

The 1998 Detroit Lions season was their 69th in the league. The team failed to improve upon their previous season's output of 9–7 and did not make a repeat playoff appearance, instead posting their third 5–11 mark in seven seasons.^[1] This was the last season Barry Sanders would play in the NFL.

Offseason[]

NFL Draft[]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1998 Detroit Lions draft
1	20	Terry Fair	Defensive back	Tennessee
2	50	Germane Crowell	Wide receiver	Virginia
2	60	Charlie Batch	Quarterback	Eastern Michigan
6	185	Jamaal Alexander	Defensive back	Southern Miss
7	207	Chris Liwienski	Tackle	Indiana
Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Undrafted Free Agents[]

1998 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player	Position	College
Lamar Campbell	Cornerback	Wisconsin
Kywin Supernaw	Defensive back	Indiana
Corey Thomas	Wide Receiver	Duke

Personnel[]

Staff[]

1998 Detroit Lions staff

Front Office

Owner and Chairman – William Clay Ford, Sr.
Vice Chairman – William Clay Ford, Jr.
Executive Vice President and COO – Chuck Schmidt
Vice President of Football Operations – Larry Lee
Vice President of Player Personnel – Ron Hughes
Director of Pro Scouting – Kevin Colbert

Head Coaches

Head Coach – Bobby Ross

Offensive Coaches

Offensive Coordinator – Sylvester Croom
Quarterbacks – Jim Zorn
Running Backs – Frank Falks
Wide Receivers – Jerry Sullivan
Tight Ends – Bob Palcic
Offensive Line – Jack Henry
Offensive Assistant – Stan Kwan
Quality Control/Offense – John Misciagna

Defensive Coaches

Defensive Coordinator – Larry Peccatiello
Defensive Line – Brian Baker
Linebackers – Gary Moeller
Defensive Backs – Richard Selcer
Defensive Assistant – Don Clemons
Quality Control/Defense – Dennis Murphy

Special Teams Coaches

Special Teams – Chuck Priefer
Special Teams Assistant – Stan Kwan

Strength and Conditioning

Strength and Conditioning – Bert Hill

^[2]

Roster[]

**1998 Detroit Lions final roster**

	Quarterbacks 10 Charlie Batch 19 Scott Mitchell 14 Frank Reich Running backs 21 Jerris McPhail 26 Brock Olivo FB 34 Ron Rivers 20 Barry Sanders 30 Cory Schlesinger FB 44 Tommy Vardell FB Wide receivers 80 Tommie Boyd 82 Germane Crowell 84 Herman Moore 87 Johnnie Morton 83 Brian Stablein 15 Corey Thomas Tight ends 81 Pete Chryplewicz 46 Kevin Hickman 89 Walter Rasby		Offensive linemen 79 Eric Beverly C 77 Mike Compton G 64 Jeff Hartings G 70 Andre Johnson T 61 Jim Pyne C 72 Ray Roberts T 75 Tony Ramirez T 62 Tony Semple G 71 Larry Tharpe T Defensive linemen 95 Mike Chalenski DE 94 Luther Elliss DT 90 Dan Owens DT 91 Robert Porcher DE 97 Tracy Scroggins DE 92 Marc Spindler DE 96 Henry Taylor DT 93 Kerwin Waldroup DE		Linebackers 55 Allen Aldridge OLB 57 Stephen Boyd MLB 53 Rob Fredrickson OLB 58 George Jamison MLB 99 Richard Jordan MLB 52 Scott Kowalkowski OLB 59 Kevin O'Neill Defensive backs 35 Robert Bailey CB 39 Lamar Campbell CB 27 Mark Carrier FS 23 Terry Fair CB/RS 25 Greg Jeffries CB 28 Ron Rice SS 42 Ryan Stewart CB 29 Kywin Supernaw SS 32 Bryant Westbrook CB Special teams 4 Jason Hanson K 18 John Jett P		Reserve lists —— Jerome Davis DE (IR) 66 Hessley Hempstead G (IR) 73 Juan Roque T (IR) 54 Matt Russell OLB (IR) 86 David Sloan TE (PUP) 82 Eric Stocz TE (IR) Practice squad -- QB Rookies in italics

Regular season[]

Schedule[]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 6	at Green Bay Packers	L 19–38	0–1	Lambeau Field	60,102
2	September 13	Cincinnati Bengals	L 34–28 OT	0–2	Pontiac Silverdome	66,354
3	September 20	at Minnesota Vikings	L 6–29	0–3	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	63,107
4	September 28	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 27–6	1–3	Pontiac Silverdome	74,724
5	October 4	at Chicago Bears	L 27–31	1–4	Soldier Field	66,944
6	Bye
7	October 15	Green Bay Packers	W 27–20	2–4	Pontiac Silverdome	77,932
8	October 25	Minnesota Vikings	L 13–34	2–5	Pontiac Silverdome	77,885
9	November 1	Arizona Cardinals	L 15–17	2–6	Pontiac Silverdome	66,087
10	November 8	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 9–10	2–7	Veterans Stadium	66,785
11	November 15	Chicago Bears	W 26–3	3–7	Pontiac Silverdome	63,152
12	November 22	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 28–25	4–7	Raymond James Stadium	64,265
13	November 26	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 19–16 OT	5–7	Pontiac Silverdome	78,139
14	December 6	at Jacksonville Jaguars	L 22–37	5–8	Alltel Stadium	70,717
15	December 14	at San Francisco 49ers	L 13–35	5–9	3Com Park	68,585
16	December 20	Atlanta Falcons	L 17–24	5–10	Pontiac Silverdome	67,143
17	December 27	at Baltimore Ravens	L 10–19	5–11	Raven Stadium	68,045

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings[]

NFC Central
view talk	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
⁽¹⁾ Minnesota Vikings	15	1	0	.938	556	296	W8
⁽⁵⁾ Green Bay Packers	11	5	0	.688	408	319	W3
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	8	8	0	.500	314	295	W1
Detroit Lions	5	11	0	.313	306	378	L4
Chicago Bears	4	12	0	.250	276	368	L1

Season summary[]

Week 1[]

Week One: Detroit Lions (0–0) at Green Bay Packers (0–0)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Lions	3	3	13	0	19
Packers	10	7	7	14	38

at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin

Date: September 6, 1998
Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
Game weather: 74 °F (23 °C)
Game attendance: 60,102
TV announcers (Fox): Dick Stockton and Matt Millen
Pro-Football-Reference.com, The Football Database

Game information

First quarter

GB – Ryan Longwell 32-yard field goal, 9:19. Packers 3–0. Drive: 11 plays, 58 yards, 5:41.
GB – LeRoy Butler 32-yard interception return (Ryan Longwell kick), 6:23. Packers 10–0.
DET – Jason Hanson 47-yard field goal, 1:10. Packers 10–3. Drive: 10 plays, 51 yards, 5:13.

Second quarter

GB – Dorsey Levens 4-yard run (Ryan Longwell kick), 9:40. Packers 17–3. Drive: 13 plays, 80 yards, 6:30.
DET – Jason Hanson 43-yard field goal. Packers 17–6. Drive: 11 plays, 63 yards, 2:11.

Third quarter

DET – Herman Moore 25-yard pass from Scott Mitchell (pass failed), 12:39. Packers 17–12. Drive: 7 plays, 50 yards, 2:21.
GB – Antonio Freeman 6-yard pass from Brett Favre (Ryan Longwell kick), 0:17. Packers 24–12. Drive: 18 plays, 85 yards, 9:34.
DET – Terry Fair 101-yard kickoff return (Jason Hanson kick), 0:00. Packers 24–19.

Fourth quarter

GB – Roell Preston 100-yard kickoff return (Ryan Longwell kick), 14:38. Packers 31–19.
GB – Antonio Freeman 84-yard pass from Brett Favre (Ryan Longwell kick), 1:53. Packers 38–19. Drive: 3 plays, 86 yards, 0:29.

Top passers

DET – Scott Mitchell – 23/44, 248 yards, TD, INT
GB – Brett Favre – 24/32, 277 yards, 2 TD

Top rushers

DET – Barry Sanders – 17 rushes, 70 yards
GB – Dorsey Levens – 25 rushes, 59 yards, TD

Top receivers

DET – Herman Moore – 9 receptions, 100 yards, TD
GB – Antonio Freeman – 4 receptions, 110 yards, 2 TD

Awards and Records[]

Barry Sanders retired as the second leading rusher in NFL history.

15,269 yards.
109 touchdowns
5.0 average per rush attempt

References[]

^ 1998 Detroit Lions
^ "All-Time Coaches". DetroitLions.com. Archived from the original on 23 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-09.

[1] 1998 Detroit Lions

[2] "All-Time Coaches". DetroitLions.com. Archived from the original on 23 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-09.

[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)
1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Bold indicates NFL Championship (1920–69) or Super Bowl (1966–present) victory Italics indicates NFL Championship (1920–69) or Super Bowl (1966–present) appearance