1982 Detroit Lions season

1982 Detroit Lions season
1982 Detroit Lions season
Head coach	Monte Clark
Home field	Pontiac Silverdome
Results
Record	4–5
Division place	8th NFC (would have been 4th in the NFC Central)
Playoff finish	Lost Wild Card Playoffs; (at Redskins) 7–31
Pro Bowlers	3 T Keith Dorney ; RB Billy Sims ; DT Doug English ;
AP All-Pros	1 DT Doug English (1st team) ;
	← 1981; Lions seasons; 1983 →;

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), 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

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
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

14 Mike Machurek

16 Gary Danielson

17 Eric Hipple

Running backs

24 Dexter Bussey

31 Ken Callicutt

32 Rick Kane

25 Horace King

46 Ricky Porter

20 Billy Sims

Wide receivers

83 Robbie Martin

86 Mark Nichols

89 Tracy Porter

87 Freddie Scott

39 Leonard Thompson

Tight ends

81 David Hill

80 Ulysses Norris

84 Rob Rubick

Offensive linemen

76 Karl Baldischwiler T

73 Russ Bolinger G

72 Chris Dieterich T

70 Keith Dorney T

61 Homer Elias G

65 Amos Fowler C

55 Tom Turnure C

67 Don Greco G

77 Bob Rafflebarger T

64 Larry Lee G

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

54 Roosevelt Barnes

53 Garry Cobb

58 Steve Doig

57 Ken Fantetti

51 James Harrell

50 Terry Tautolo

52 Stan White

59 Jimmy Williams

Defensive backs

33 William Graham FS

35 Alvin Hall SS

27 Bobby Watkins CB

44 Wayne Smith CB

40 William Cesare

34 Danny Wagoner

29 Bruce McNorton

23 Ray Oldham

28 James Hunter

26 Hector Gray

Special teams

3 Eddie Murray K

1 Tom Skladany P

12 Robert R. Thomas K

6 John James P

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	Green Bay Packers	W 27–24	4–5	Pontiac Silverdome	64,377
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

NFC Central
view talk edit	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

NFC v t e
#	Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
Seeded postseason qualifiers
1	Washington Redskins	8	1	0	.889	190	128	W4
2	Dallas Cowboys	6	3	0	.667	226	145	L2
3	Green Bay Packers	5	3	1	.611	226	169	L1
4^[a]	Minnesota Vikings	5	4	0	.556	187	198	W1
5^[a]	Atlanta Falcons	5	4	0	.556	183	199	L2
6^[a]	St. Louis Cardinals	5	4	0	.556	135	170	L1
7^[a]	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	5	4	0	.556	158	178	W3
8^[b]	Detroit Lions	4	5	0	.444	181	176	W1
Did not qualify for the postseason
9^[b]	New Orleans Saints	4	5	0	.444	129	160	W1
10^[b]	New York Giants	4	5	0	.444	164	160	W1
11^[c]	San Francisco 49ers	3	6	0	.333	209	206	L1
12^[c]	Chicago Bears	3	6	0	.333	141	174	L1
13^[c]	Philadelphia Eagles	3	6	0	.333	191	195	L1
14	Los Angeles Rams	2	7	0	.222	200	250	W1
Tiebreakers
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d 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. ^ ^a ^b ^c 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). ^ ^a ^b ^c 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)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Giants	0	0	6	7	13
Lions	3	3	0	0	6

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

Game information

First quarter

DET – Eddie Murray 46-yard field goal. Lions 3–0. Drive:

Second quarter

DET – Eddie Murray 44-yard field goal. Lions 6–0. Drive:

Third quarter

NYG – Joe Danelo 34-yard field goal. Lions 6–3. Drive:
NYG – Joe Danelo 40-yard field goal. Tie 6–6. Drive:

Fourth quarter

NYG – Lawrence Taylor 97-yard interception return (Joe Danelo kick). Giants 13–7.

Top passers

NYG – Scott Brunner – 12/28, 136 yards, 2 INT
DET – Gary Danielson – 12/19, 125 yards, 3 INT

Top rushers

NYG – Butch Woolfolk – 21 rushes, 87 yards
DET – Billy Sims – 26 rushes, 114 yards

Top receivers

NYG – Johnny Perkins – 5 receptions, 80 yards
DET – Mark Nichols – 3 receptions, 49 yards

Playoffs

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Lions	0	0	7	0	7
Redskins	10	14	7	0	31

at RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.

Game time: 12:30 p.m. EST
Game weather: 46 °F or 7.8 °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.

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

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

[5–4-3] 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.

[4–5-4] 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).

[3–6-5] 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).

[nfl-book-1] NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book. New York: Workman Publishing Co. 2001. p. 294. ISBN 0-7611-2480-2.

[seahawks-2] Seahawks defeat Rams 16–6 to win NFC West title, January 2, 2011, retrieved January 3, 2011

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