1984 Detroit Lions season

1984 Detroit Lions season
1984 Detroit Lions season
Owner	William Clay Ford Sr.
Head coach	Monte Clark
Home stadium	Pontiac Silverdome
Results
Record	4–11–1
Division place	4th NFC Central
Playoffs	Did not qualify
All-Pros	DT Doug English (2nd team)
Pro Bowlers	None

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]

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

**1984 Detroit Lions roster**
Quarterbacks (QB) 16 Gary Danielson 17 Eric Hipple 14 Mike Machurek 18 John Witkowski Running backs (RB) 24 Dexter Bussey 44 Dave D'Addio 31 Ken Jenkins 30 James Jones 36 Mike Meade Wide receivers (WR) 80 Carl Bland 89 Jeff Chadwick 82 Pete Mandley 83 Robbie Martin 86 Mark Nichols 39 Leonard Thompson Tight ends (TE) 87 David Lewis 81 Reese McCall 84 Rob Rubick		Offensive linemen (OL) 72 Chris Dieterich G/T 70 Keith Dorney T 61 Homer Elias G 65 Amos Fowler C 67 Don Greco G 73 Donald Laster T 64 Larry Lee G/C Defensive linemen (DL) 68 Steve Baack DE 66 Mike Cofer DE 78 Doug English DT 79 William Gay DE 62 Curtis Green DT 63 Martin Moss DE 76 Eric Williams DE		Linebackers (LB) 54 Roosevelt Barnes OLB 53 Garry Cobb OLB 50 August Curley OLB 93 Kirk Dodge OLB 58 Steve Doig MLB 57 Ken Fantetti MLB 92 Angelo King OLB 59 Jimmy Williams OLB Defensive backs (DB) 26 William Frizzell CB/S 33 William Graham SS 35 Alvin Hall FS 21 Demetrious Johnson SS 43 Al Latimer CB 29 Bruce McNorton CB 27 Bobby Watkins CB Special teams (ST) 11 Mike Black P 3 Eddie Murray K		Reserve 51 David Jones C (IR) 74 Dee Monson DT (IR) 52 Steve Mott C (IR) 20 Billy Sims RB (IR) 71 Rich Strenger T (IR) 55 Terry Tautolo LB (IR) 38 Vince Thompson RB (IR) Rookies in italics

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

^[3]

Week One: San Francisco 49ers at Detroit Lions

Quarter	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

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	SF	DET
1	4:50				Lions	Sims 2-yard touchdown run, Murray kick good	0	7
1	0:00				49ers	Monroe 5-yard touchdown reception from Montana, Wersching kick good	7	7
2	11:07				Lions	39-yard field goal by Murray	7	10
2	5:01				49ers	Tyler 2-yard touchdown run, Wersching kick good	14	10
2	0:03				Lions	43-yard field goal by Murray	14	13
3	6:36				Lions	Jones 2-yard touchdown reception from Danielson, Murray kick good	14	20
3	0:50				49ers	42-yard field goal by Wersching	17	20
4	10:29				49ers	53-yard field goal by Wersching	20	20
4	8:25				49ers	Tyler 9-yard touchdown run, Wersching kick good	27	20
4	5:01				Lions	Thompson 49-yard touchdown reception from Danielson, Murray kick good	27	27
4	0:04				49ers	22-yard field goal by Wersching	30	27
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							30	27

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

Quarter	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

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

Quarter	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
	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
	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.

[1] 1984 Detroit Lions

[2] Season summary and stats a Sports E Cyclopedia

[3] The Football Database. Retrieved 2022-Jun-20.

[1]

[2]

[3]

Detroit Lions
Founded in 1928 Formerly the Portsmouth Spartans (1928–1933) Based in Detroit, Michigan Headquartered in Allen Park, Michigan
Franchise	Ownership: William Clay Martha Firestone Ford Sheila Ford Hamp Franchise overview Team history in Portsmouth, Ohio
Records	All-time roster (A–Las, Lat–Z) Coaches Draft history First-round draft picks Picks from 1936 to 1969 Picks from 1970 to present Lists of players NFL All-Decade Team selections Pride of the Lions Pro Bowlers Pro Football Hall of Famers Retired numbers 7 20 20 20 22 37 56 85 Seasons Starting quarterbacks
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 Axel Foley Cheerleaders Quarterback
Lore	1932 NFL Playoff Game Curse of Bobby Layne 0–16 Matt Flynn Game Miracle in Motown
Rivalries	Chicago Bears Green Bay Packers Minnesota Vikings
Division championships (10)	1935 1952 1953 1954 1957 1983 1991 1993 2023 2024
League championships (4)	1935 1952 1953 1957
Media	Broadcasters Radio: Radio network Dan Miller Lomas Brown WXYT-FM TV: Television network WJBK Bally Sports Detroit
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League (1930–present) Conference: National Football Conference (1970–present) Division: North Division (2002–present)

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 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 2022 2023 2024 2025
Bold indicates NFL Championship (1920–69) or Super Bowl (1966–present) victory Italics indicates NFL Championship (1920–69) or Super Bowl (1966–present) appearance