1984 Detroit Lions season
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]
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) |
Offseason
NFL Draft
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
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
|
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
|
Reserve lists
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Schedule
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
Week 1 (Sunday, September 2, 1984): vs. San Francisco 49ers
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
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 | ||
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Week 14: at Seattle Seahawks
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 | ||
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Standings
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
- 1984 Detroit Lions
- Season summary and stats a Sports E Cyclopedia
- The Football Database. Retrieved 2022-Jun-20.