History of the Detroit Lions

[32] On January 15, 1948, the NFL owners unanimously approved the sale of the Lions from Fred J. Mandel to the Detroit Football Company, a seven-person syndicate led by D. Lyle Fife.

[47][48][49] The Lions faced the Browns in the 1953 NFL Championship Game, in which Layne found Jim Doran for a 33-yard game-winning touchdown in the final minutes to win 17–16.

Bobby Layne had been lost to injury three weeks prior, but Lions backup quarterback Tobin Rote led the team to 24 unanswered points and a 31–27 come from behind win.

The team started by trading defensive end Gerry Perry to the St. Louis Cardinals for cornerback Dick "Night Train" Lane.

[77] A betting scandal involving Alex Karras and Packers running back Paul Hornung, which led to both players being suspended for the 1963 season, also played a part in the Lions' collapse.

[86][87] The Lions struggled through the mid to late '60s, but used the time to rebuild their roster eventually drafting Lem Barney to replace Lane, Bob Kowalkowski and Ed Flanagan to build up the offensive line and running back Mel Farr.

[89][90] With the AFL–NFL merger, the Lions were placed in the new NFC Central division with the Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, and Minnesota Vikings.

[91] Motown soul singer Marvin Gaye made plans, after the death of duet partner Tammi Terrell, to join the Lions and go into football.

[94] Also in 1970, the Lions were the opponent on the day Tom Dempsey of the New Orleans Saints kicked what was then the longest field goal in NFL history.

[94][96] While playing at home against the Bears on October 24, 1971, tragedy struck when wide receiver Chuck Hughes collapsed and died of a massive heart attack.

[97][98] To honor his memory, the team wore black armbands for the rest of the season and retired his #85,[99] although the number eventually returned to circulation.

[102] Heart disease claimed another member of the franchise when head coach Don McCafferty died shortly before training camp in 1974.

[113] Detroit improved immediately in 1980, jumping out to a 4–0 start, before finishing with a 9–7 record, tied for first place in the Central Division with the Vikings, but failing to qualify for the playoffs due to Minnesota winning more games within the conference.

[114] The next year, the Lions had a chance to win the division on the final week of the season by defeating the Buccaneers at home; however, they would lose that game, once again failing to qualify for the playoffs, as they finished 8–8.

After the 49ers took a 14–3 in the first quarter, the Lions were able to trim the deficit to 14–9 by halftime on couple of field goals by kicker Eddie Murray, who made a then postseason record 54-yard kick in the closing seconds of the first half.

Joe Montana then made one of his signature fourth quarter drives by completing six passes, the last of which was the go-ahead touchdown to Freddie Solomon, which gave the 49ers a 24–23 lead with 1:23 left.

Even though backup quarterback Gary Danielson, who had replaced an injured Eric Hipple, threw five interceptions, he pieced together a closing drive to put the team within field goal range with 11 seconds left.

Murray, who had previously made three of four field goals, missed for the second time from 43 yards on a kick that went wide right, which secured the victory for the 49ers.

[136] With such a young core, which included eventual Pro Bowlers Jerry Ball, Bennie Blades and Chris Spielman, things were once again looking up for the Lions.

[142] They were inspired late in the season by the loss of guard Mike Utley, who sustained a career ending paralysis injury against the Los Angeles Rams on November 17, 1991.

[160] After Barry Sanders retired, the 1999 season shockingly saw the Lions make the playoffs with an 8–8 record, before being dispatched by the Washington Redskins 27–13 in the Wild Card Round.

Despite having the lead for most of the game, the Lions suffered a heartbreaking 19–14 loss to the Chicago Bears when an apparent go-ahead touchdown catch by Calvin Johnson was ruled incomplete in an extremely controversial decision.

[224][225] Then came five losses in a row, including a Thanksgiving Day match with the New England Patriots where the Lions blew an early lead to lose 45–24.

[243] Ndamukong Suh was ejected from the game after stomping on the arm of Packers offensive lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith, which enhanced his reputation as a dirty player.

At the end of a close game, Matthew Stafford drove the team downfield and threw a go-ahead touchdown pass to Calvin Johnson.

However, a series of devastating injuries and close losses broke the team, resulting in a 1–12 run the rest of the way, which included a stretch where they lost their last nine games to finish 3–12–1.

[304] Patricia was succeeded by the Lions' offensive coordinator, Darrell Bevell, who served as interim head coach for the remainder of the season.

[312] The Lions would get fortunate in the draft, managing to select offensive tackle Penei Sewell seventh overall and acquiring Amon-Ra St. Brown in the fourth round.

In the draft, the Lions acquired multiple pieces of their core, including defensive ends Aidan Hutchinson and Josh Paschal, wide receiver Jameson Williams, cornerback Kerby Joseph, and linebackers James Houston and Malcolm Rodriguez.

[316] However, thanks to the Seattle Seahawks beating the Los Angeles Rams 19–16 in overtime in Week 18, the team missed the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season.