Tag: Lions history

Detroit Lions vs. San Francisco 49ers is a rematch 66 years in the making

Detroit Lions vs. San Francisco 49ers is a rematch of the last Lions playoff win on the road way back in 1957

The Detroit Lions are setting themselves up to face off against the San Francisco 49ers this coming Sunday. The winner of that battle of top-tier NFC teams will represent the conference in Super Bowl LVIII.

This is not the first time these two teams have faced off with a chance to play for a league championship.

On Dec. 22, 1957, a mere 66 years ago, the Lions and 49ers met in San Francisco in the Western Conference title game. The Niners held a commanding 24-7 halftime lead, led by the passing of Y.A Tittle. The second half saw the Lions score 24 points while holding the 49ers to just three points, with Detroit advancing to the NFL Championship against the Cleveland Browns.

This 49ers team is likely to come out of the gates firing. They will be pressing the Lions’ secondary and linebacking groups. Brock Purdy will be doing his best Tittle impression, but the Lions need to do what they did back in 1957 — bend but not break. This Lions defense has done that all year, and they need to do it for two more games.

Will history repeat itself come Sunday?

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Lions RB duo achieved a feat not done in Detroit in 87 years

Lions RB duo of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery achieved a feat not done in Detroit since 1936

Not since the days of Ace Gutowsky and Dutch Clark have the Lions done things that the current offense is pulling off.

When David Montgomery exploded through the Chargers defense for a 75-yard touchdown, it was his second TD run of at least 20 yards this season. Fellow RB Jahmyr Gibbs also has two TDs on runs of 20 yards or more.

That doesn’t happen very often, having two RBs each score on runs of 20-plus yards. In Detroit, it hadn’t happened in 87 years. From the Lions PR team:

The last Lions RB duo to pull off what Gibbs and Montgomery have done in the first nine games of 2023 was Clark and Gutowsky back in 1936. They were keys to an offense that ran for nearly 2,900 yards in a 12-game season, back when the forward pass wasn’t used often; the ’36 Lions passed for just 818 yards on 61 completions on the season.

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A history of the No. 6 overall pick in the NFL draft

A history of the No. 6 overall pick in the NFL draft

The Detroit Lions find themselves in unusual territory in the 2023 NFL draft. By virtue of the trade with the Los Angeles Rams, the Lions hold the No. 6 overall pick in the draft.

It’s a slot where the Lions haven’t made a selection in a very long time. The history of the sixth overall pick features a variety of success stories, weird misses, and very little reference to the Detroit Lions.

Here’s a brief history of the No. 6 pick in the NFL draft.

The Lions buried some bad streaks with the win over Chicago

The Detroit Lions ended some historically bad streaks with the win over Chicago

Sunday’s 31-30 victory in Chicago by the Detroit Lions was an emotional ride for fans, coaches and players. That victorious ride ended some bumpy streaks for the Lions franchise.

The Week 10 win marked the first road victory of the Dan Campbell coaching era. Detroit’s last road win came in Chicago in Week 13 of the 2020 season, the first game following the firing of head coach Matt Patricia and GM Bob Quinn. It wound up being the only win under interim head coach Darrell Bevell.

Combined with last week’s win over the Green Bay Packers, the Lions have now won consecutive games for the first time since Weeks 6 and 7 of the 2020 season. Detroit knocked off Jacksonville and Atlanta in those games, both on the road.

The win improved Detroit to 3-6 on the season and dropped the Bears to 3-7. Detroit no longer sits in the NFC North basement for the first time since they lost to the Vikings in Week 8 of 2020. Both teams ended that game at 3-5, allowing Minnesota out of the cellar.

Detroit also had not won two divisional contests in a row since the 2017 season. Those Lions beat Chicago in Week 15 and Green Bay in Week 17 to finish Jim Caldwell’s final season in Detroit.

Then there’s this tidbit:

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Lions set some interesting historical marks in Week 18 win

The Detroit Lions set some interesting historical marks in their Week 18 win over the Packers

Sunday’s season finale made its mark in the Detroit Lions record books. The Lions added several new entries to the historical annals in the 37-30 win over the Green Bay Packers.

Among the team marks the Lions established in the Week 18 win, perhaps the most impressive is winning their third home game in a row for the first time since 2016. Two of those wins came against playoff teams, too.

Several of the other marks date back a lot longer, or are unprecedented in Lions history. That’s the case for the productively diverse passing attack, a sentence I did not expect to ever write about this team back in October…

When D’Andre Swift caught the second of his four passes on Sunday, it pushed the running back over the 60 reception mark. He joined WR Amon-Ra St. Brown (82) and TE T.J. Hockenson (61) in topping 60 catches. It’s the first time in franchise history the Lions have ever had a WR, TE and RB hit at least 60 catches. Keep in mind Hockenson and Swift each played in just 12 games, too.

St. Brown also made some history on his own. He became just the third rookie WR in NFL history to net at least 90 receiving yards and a touchdown catch in three straight games. You’ve probably heard of the other two who’ve done it: Odell Beckham Jr. and Randy Moss.

Another Lions receiver etched his name in the history books with his passing. Tom Kennedy set the team record for the longest touchdown pass thrown by a wide receiver. His 75-yard TD strike to Kalif Raymond is the second-longest pass by any NFL wide receiver in the last 40 years.

As a team, the Lions set the new NFL standard for fourth-down conversions in a season, both in attempts (41) and successful conversions (21). They pulled that off while also having punter Jack Fox produce the highest gross punting average for a season at 49.2 yards.

All the facts and figures are courtesy of the Lions’ PR department. 

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On this date: Lions pummel Cowboys for the team’s only playoff win in the Super Bowl era

Where were you on that glorious date?

Where were you on January 5, 1992? If you were old enough to be a Lions fan, chances are it was one of the happiest dates of your football life.

On that date, 29 years ago today, the Lions scored the only playoff win in the Super Bowl era in franchise history. Detroit pummeled the visiting Dallas Cowboys, 38-6, in the old Pontiac Silverdome to win the NFC divisional-round matchup.

Wayne Fontes’ Lions never looked better than that day, waxing the floor with Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and all the luminaries of Jimmy Johnson’s vaunted Cowboys. Willie Green caught two TD passes from Erik Kramer, while Mel Jenkins scored a too-easy pick-six off Aikman, who would get yanked in the game for Steve Beuerlein.

Barry Sanders ran for 69 yards and a touchdown. Herman Moore also caught a touchdown pass as the Lions offense racked up 421 total yards of offense.

It was a magical day. I watched the game at a sports bar in Sandusky, Ohio with a raucous group of Lions fans, some of whom never sat down. There was cheering, there was hugging, there was something special about being a Lions fan that day.

Here’s to the memory of the greatest moment in Lions franchise history in the last 60 years!

Jack Fox named Special Teams Player of the Month, becomes first Lions’ punter win award

Jack Fox has been named Special Teams Player of the Month for September 2020, becoming the first Detroit Lions’ punter win this award.

Jack Fox has introduced himself to the NFL in emphatic fashion.

Through the first month of the 2020 season, Fox leads the league in Average Punt Yards per Attempt (53.1 yards), Net Punting Yards (51.1 yards), and Hang Time on punts (4.78 seconds). Additionally, Fox sits atop Pro Football Focus’ punter rankings with a 92.8 grade and is nearly 20 points higher than the next punter.

Fox’s hard work and fantastic performances throughout September have been recognized by the NFL and he has been named Special Teams Player of the Month — the first time a Detroit Lions punter has ever be recognized with this award.

As impressive as Fox has been throughout the year, both he and special teams coordinator Brayden Coombs have bigger aspirations ahead:

“Me and Jack are kind of on the same page in terms of the more success we have, we’re just going to keep raising the bar,” Coombs told the media on Tuesday. “We’re not really looking back right now and talking about anything that we’ve done. As he continues to go out and do better, then we’re just going to raise the goals higher and try to accomplish more… He knows that I’m very, very confident in him. I just don’t want he, or us, ever to feel satisfied or like we’ve arrived. We’re just going to keep trying to reach higher and higher and see how far we can take it.”

If Fox improves — or even maintains his pace — he will blow the NFL records out of the water. For perspective, the single-season NFL record for Net Punting yards is 46.0, and last year’s leader finished with an average of 44.5 yards.

Former Lions 1st-round pick Herb Orvis has passed away

Orvis was a Flint native and the Lions 1st-round pick in 1972

Former Detroit Lions defensive tackle Herb Orvis has passed away at age 73. Orvis, a Flint-area native, died from Parkinson’s disease.

Orvis was Detroit’s first-round pick in the 1972 NFL Draft after a stellar college career at Colorado. He played for the Lions from 1972 through 1977 before moving on to the Baltimore Colts. His best season was in 1975, when the speedy Orvis earned second-team All-NFC honors in the era before sacks were an official statistic.

He was inducted into the Greater Flint Area Sports Hall of Fame last year. Per MLive, Orvis had arranged prior to his passing to have his brain donated for CTE research after being moved by watching the film, “Concussion”.

Our sympathies are with those who knew and loved Orvis. May he rest in peace.

Visiting the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a Lions fan

Our Jeff Risdon visited the Pro Football Hall of Fame to explore the museum as a Lions fan

For the first time in nearly 25 years, I made a return visit inside the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio on Friday. Along with my family, I made the trek back to where pro football began.

I’ve been at the Hall of Fame for the enshrinement ceremonies and the annual exhibition game (canceled this year) several times over the years, most recently in 2017. But I haven’t toured the Hall since 1995, when I was fortunate enough to get to access some of the archives in the basement library as a college student doing research on my senior thesis.

It had been too long. Even as a Detroit Lions fan, there’s still a lot to take in and experience at the Hall of Fame.

Despite the team’s relative lack of success for the last few decades, the Lions are distinctly represented. One of the very first busts you encounter in the (truly grand) hall of enshrinees is Dutch Clark, the touchdown master of the 1930s. Seeing the busts of Joe Schmidt, Charlie Sanders, Dick Lebeau, Lem Barney, Barry Sanders and other Detroit legends brings an instant connection with the reason why we are Lions fans.

Outside the main hall, there is quite a lot of fascinating NFL history. Some of it encapsulates the Lions, with mementos like Matthew Stafford’s draft selection card from 2009 and a purple (?!?) coach’s jacket with Honolulu blue trim from a bygone era. The large board with the team records year-by-year and color coding for success is a reminder of the Lions’ dominance back in the 1950s, the Bobby Layne era. Layne is the featured performer in the Lions section of a well-produced video on NFL dynasties.

Outside of Lions fandom, it’s worth a trip. The theater featuring a Joe Namath hologram is impressive. My kids were both worried it would be cheesy but the technology worked well. The Madden exhibit is currently limited due to COVID-19 restrictions, unfortunately. I enjoyed the small USFL display and the Black College Hall of Fame in that area.

Some of the objects on display are eye-opening. Seeing the progression of helmets from leather to the modern ones is crazy. The old uniforms are fascinating too.

Canton is a little over a three-hour drive from Ford Field. If you haven’t been in the last few years, it’s worth a refresher trip. Tip: wear Lions gear and represent your fandom.

Compensatory pick history proves they’re basically worthless for the Lions

The Detroit Lions are much better at signing free agents than they are at using compensatory draft picks from not signing them

Earlier this week the NFL revealed the compensatory picks for the 2020 NFL Draft. As expected, the Detroit Lions did not get any comp picks. When teams spend more in free agency than what the departing free agents from the team earn on the open market, there is no compensation balance needed.

Even when the Lions have received comp picks in the past, they’ve not come anywhere close to as valuable as the free agents who left Detroit.

Take the last time the Lions received comp picks, 2016. In return for Ndamukong Suh signing with Miami and Nick Fairley moving to New Orleans as free agents, the Lions got the No. 95 pick and the No. 210 pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. The first pick became Graham Glasgow, the second Jimmy Landes.

Those are the only comp picks of the Bob Quinn era, where signing free agents from other teams has dramatically outpaced what ex-Lions have immediately received on the free agent market.

Glasgow emerged as a quality starter on the offensive interior, but that’s not an impact position like Suh. Granted Suh wound up being radically overpaid by Miami and the Dolphins are still paying the price for that, but Ndamukong Suh is more important to a team than Graham Glasgow. Anyone who argues otherwise will gladly buy your oceanfront property in Oklahoma.

Glasgow might be the most successful comp pick in Lions history, which dates back to the origins of the compensatory pick system in the 1990s. Cornerback Nevin Lawson (2014) and DE Devin Taylor (2013) are the only other players drafted by the Lions with comp picks that ever started a game for the team.

Far more of the Lions comp pick history resembles the Jimmy Landes experience. Landes, a long snapper from Baylor, never played a down for the Lions. That’s true for more than half the players on the list below, courtesy Draft History:

None of the first six players, all taken in the 1990s when the franchise was a regular playoff participant, ever made the Lions…or any NFL roster. Dan Gronkowski and Alfonso Boone had careers with other teams after quickly washing out of Detroit.

Now consider comp picks are earned by not spending on free agents from the outside. Would you rather have had Glover Quin, Golden Tate, Marvin Jones, Reggie Bush, Trey Flowers or any other long-term Lions stalwarts or the comp picks that would have come from not signing them?

Don’t sweat the lack of compensatory picks. They’ve been almost completely pointless to the Detroit Lions.