1983 Detroit Lions season
NFL team season
- ← 1982
- Lions seasons
- 1984 →
The 1983 Detroit Lions season was the 54th season in franchise history. Despite a 1–4 start, the Lions rallied to finish with a 9–7 record. They were able to rise to the top of a weak NFC Central (three of the other four teams went 8–8, and Tampa Bay tied for the NFL's worst record at 2–14), to claim their first division championship since 1957, made the playoffs in a non-strike season for the first time since 1970, and they would make the playoffs in consecutive seasons for the first time since playing for the NFL championship in 1952, 1953 and 1954. The Lions would not return to the postseason for another eight years and not do so in consecutive seasons until doing it three straight years from 1993 to 1995.
The offense ranked 15th in the NFL in points scored, leaving the defense to carry the load. The Lions’ defense turned out to be the second-best in the league in points allowed, keyed defensive tackle Doug English and his 13 sacks. English was the team's only Pro Bowler, though he also got some help from defensive end William Gay, who registered 13½ sacks of his own. In the NFC playoffs, the Lions lead the San Francisco 49ers late into the fourth quarter, until Joe Montana drove the 49ers down the field for a 14-yard touchdown pass to Freddie Solomon to give the 49ers a 24–23 lead. The Lions would have a chance to win the game, as Gary Danielson drove them into field goal range, but placekicker Eddie Murray missed a 44-yard field goal with five seconds remaining.[1]
Offseason
NFL draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | School |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 | James Jones | FB | Florida |
| 2 | 40 | Rich Strenger | OT | Michigan |
| 3 | 67 | Mike Cofer | LB | Tennessee |
| 4 | 94 | August Curley | LB | USC |
| 5 | 115 | Demetrious Johnson | S | Missouri |
| 5 | 121 | Steve Mott | C | Alabama |
| 6 | 154 | Todd Brown | WR | Nebraska |
| 7 | 181 | Mike Black | P | Arizona State |
| 8 | 208 | Bill Stapleton | DB | Washington |
| 10 | 261 | Dave Laube | G | Penn State |
| 11 | 287 | Ben Tate | RB | North Carolina Central |
| 12 | 321 | Jim Lane | C | Idaho State |
Roster
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
| Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
| Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
| Reserve lists
Rookies in italics | ||||||
Regular season
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 4 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 11–0 | 1–0 | 62,154 |
| 2 | September 11 | Cleveland Browns | L 31–26 | 1–1 | 60,095 |
| 3 | September 18 | Atlanta Falcons | L 30–14 | 1–2 | 54,622 |
| 4 | September 25 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 20–17 | 1–3 | 58,254 |
| 5 | October 2 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 21–10 | 1–4 | 49,403 |
| 6 | October 9 | Green Bay Packers | W 38–14 | 2–4 | 67,738 |
| 7 | October 16 | Chicago Bears | W 31–17 | 3–4 | 66,709 |
| 8 | October 23 | at Washington Redskins | L 38–17 | 3–5 | 43,189 |
| 9 | October 30 | at Chicago Bears | W 38–17 | 4–5 | 58,764 |
| 10 | November 7 | New York Giants | W 15–9 | 5–5 | 68,985 |
| 11 | November 13 | at Houston Oilers | L 27–17 | 5–6 | 40,660 |
| 12 | November 20 | at Green Bay Packers | W 23–20(OT) | 6–6 | 50,050 |
| 13 | November 24 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 45–3 | 7–6 | 77,724 |
| 14 | December 5 | Minnesota Vikings | W 13–2 | 8–6 | 79,169 |
| 15 | December 11 | at Cincinnati Bengals | L 17–9 | 8–7 | 45,728 |
| 16 | December 18 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 23–20 | 9–7 | 78,392 |
| Note: Intra-divisional opponents are in bold text. | |||||
Game summaries
Week 1
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Week 11 at Oilers
Week Eleven: Detroit Lions (5–5) at Houston Oilers (0–10)
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lions | 0 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 17 |
| Oilers | 3 | 7 | 14 | 3 | 27 |
at Houston Astrodome, Houston, Texas
- Date: November 13, 1983
- Game time: 1:00 p.m.
- Game weather: Indoors (dome)
- Game attendance: 40,660
- Referee: Bob Frederic
- Box Score, Box Score
Billy Sims, rather than be tackled during a rushing attempt, ran at, jumped, and, while fully airborne, kicked Oilers cornerback Steve Brown in the head.
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lions | Passing | Eric Hipple | 17/29, 213 Yds, 3 INT |
| Rushing | Billy Sims | 20 Rush, 105 Yds, TD | |
| Receiving | Billy Sims | 9 Rec, 90 Yds | |
| Oilers | Passing | Oliver Luck | 18/26, 189 Yds, 2 TD, INT |
| Rushing | Earl Campbell | 28 Rush, 107 Yds | |
| Receiving | Mike Renfro | 7 Rec, 75 Yds |
| Scoring summary | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Standings
| NFC Central | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Detroit Lions(3) | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 7–1 | 8–4 | 347 | 286 | W1 |
| Green Bay Packers | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 4–4 | 6–6 | 429 | 439 | L1 |
| Chicago Bears | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 4–4 | 7–7 | 311 | 301 | W2 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 4–4 | 4–8 | 316 | 348 | W1 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 2 | 14 | 0 | .125 | 1–7 | 1–11 | 241 | 380 | L3 |
Postseason
NFC Divisional Playoff, San Francisco 49ers 24, Detroit Lions 23
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lions | 3 | 6 | 0 | 14 | 23 |
| 49ers | 7 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 24 |
at Candlestick Park, San Francisco
- Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST/1:00 p.m. PST
- Game weather: 59 °F or 15 °C, sunny
- Game attendance: 59,286
- Referee: Pat Haggerty
- TV announcers (CBS): Frank Glieber and Dick Vermeil
References
- Detroit Lions on Pro Football Reference
- Detroit Lions on jt-sw.com
- Detroit Lions on The Football Database
