1982 Detroit Lions season

1982 Detroit Lions season
Head coach	Monte Clark
Home field	Pontiac Silverdome
Results
Record	4–5
Division place	8th NFC (would have been 4th in the NFC Central)
Playoff finish	Lost Wild Card Playoffs (at Redskins) 7–31
Pro Bowlers	3 T Keith Dorney RB Billy Sims DT Doug English
AP All-Pros	1 DT Doug English (1st team)

The 1982 Detroit Lions season was the 53rd season in franchise history. An NFL players strike shortened the regular season to nine games.

The NFL changed the playoff format due to the strike to allow the top eight teams in each conference to qualify. Because of this, the Lions qualified for their first postseason appearance since 1970, becoming one of only four teams to ever qualify for the playoffs despite having a losing record. The Lions and the 1982 Cleveland Browns are the only two teams with a losing record to qualify as wildcards.

The Lions lost to the Washington Redskins at RFK Stadium in the first round of the playoffs.

It would not be until 2010 when the Seattle Seahawks became the third team with a losing record to qualify for the playoffs (7–9), the first to do so in a 16-game season and the first to win a division title with a losing record. The Carolina Panthers in 2014 (7–8–1) and Washington in 2020 (7–9) have subsequently won their divisions and made the postseason with losing records.

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1982 NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1	15	Jimmy Williams	LB	Nebraska
2	42	Bobby Watkins	CB	Southwest Texas State
3	69	Steve Doig	LB	New Hampshire
4	96	Bruce McNorton	CB	Georgetown (KY)
5	127	William Graham	S	Texas
6	154	Mike Machurek	QB	Idaho State
7	175	Phil Bates	RB	Nebraska
7	187	Victor Simmons	WR	Oregon State
8	208	Martin Moss	DE	UCLA
9	231	Dan Wagoner	DB	Kansas
10	266	Roosevelt Barnes	LB	Purdue
11	292	Edward Lee	WR	South Carolina State
12	319	Ricky Porter	RB	Slippery Rock
12	326	Rob Rubick	TE	Grand Valley State

Roster

Detroit Lions roster
Quarterbacks 14 Mike Machurek 16 Gary Danielson 17 Eric Hipple Running backs 24 Dexter Bussey 31 Ken Callicutt 32 Rick Kane 25 Horace King 46 Ricky Porter 20 Billy Sims Wide receivers 83 Robbie Martin 86 Mark Nichols 89 Tracy Porter 87 Freddie Scott 39 Leonard Thompson Tight ends 81 David Hill 80 Ulysses Norris 84 Rob Rubick		Offensive linemen 76 Karl Baldischwiler T 73 Russ Bolinger G 72 Chris Dieterich T 70 Keith Dorney T 61 Homer Elias G 65 Amos Fowler C 55 Tom Turnure C 67 Don Greco G 77 Bob Rafflebarger T 64 Larry Lee G Defensive linemen 60 Al Baker DE 74 Joe Ehrmann DE 78 Doug English DE 79 William Gay DE 62 Curtis Green DE 63 Martin Moss DE 75 Dave Pureifory DE		Linebackers 54 Roosevelt Barnes 53 Garry Cobb 58 Steve Doig 57 Ken Fantetti 51 James Harrell 50 Terry Tautolo 52 Stan White 59 Jimmy Williams Defensive backs 33 William Graham FS 35 Alvin Hall SS 27 Bobby Watkins CB 44 Wayne Smith CB 40 William Cesare 34 Danny Wagoner 29 Bruce McNorton 23 Ray Oldham 28 James Hunter 26 Hector Gray Special teams  3 Eddie Murray K  1 Tom Skladany P 12 Robert R. Thomas K  6 John James P		Reserve lists currently vacant rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 12	Chicago Bears	W 17–10	1–0	Pontiac Silverdome	71,337
2	September 19	at Los Angeles Rams	W 19–14	2–0	Anaheim Stadium	59,470
Player strike cancels seven games
3	November 21	at Chicago Bears	L 17–20	2–1	Soldier Field	71,337
4	November 25	New York Giants	L 6–13	2–2	Pontiac Silverdome	64,348
5	December 6	New York Jets	L 13–28	2–3	Pontiac Silverdome	79,361
6	December 12	at Green Bay Packers	W 30–10	3–3	Lambeau Field	51,875
7	December 19	Minnesota Vikings	L 31–34	3–4	Pontiac Silverdome	73,058
8	December 26	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 21–23	3–5	Tampa Stadium	65,997
9	January 2	Green Bay Packers	W 27–24	4–5	Pontiac Silverdome	64,377
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

NFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Green Bay Packers(3)	5	3	1	.611	1–2	4–2	226	169	L1
Minnesota Vikings(4)	5	4	0	.556	3–1	4–1	158	178	W3
Tampa Bay Buccaneers(7)	5	4	0	.556	2–1	3–3	158	178	W1
Detroit Lions(8)	4	5	0	.444	3–3	4–4	181	176	W1
Chicago Bears	3	6	0	.333	1–3	2–5	141	174	L1

NFC
#	Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
Seeded postseason qualifiers
1	Washington Redskins	8	1	0	.889	190	128	W4
2	Dallas Cowboys	6	3	0	.667	226	145	L2
3	Green Bay Packers	5	3	1	.611	226	169	L1
4	Minnesota Vikings	5	4	0	.556	187	198	W1
5	Atlanta Falcons	5	4	0	.556	183	199	L2
6	St. Louis Cardinals	5	4	0	.556	135	170	L1
7	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	5	4	0	.556	158	178	W3
8	Detroit Lions	4	5	0	.444	181	176	W1
Did not qualify for the postseason
9	New Orleans Saints	4	5	0	.444	129	160	W1
10	New York Giants	4	5	0	.444	164	160	W1
11	San Francisco 49ers	3	6	0	.333	209	206	L1
12	Chicago Bears	3	6	0	.333	141	174	L1
13	Philadelphia Eagles	3	6	0	.333	191	195	L1
14	Los Angeles Rams	2	7	0	.222	200	250	W1
Tiebreakers

Season summary

Week 12

See also: 1982 New York Giants season

Week Twelve: New York Giants (0–3) at Detroit Lions (2–1)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Giants	0	0	6	7	13
Lions	3	3	0	0	6

at Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, Michigan

• Date: November 25, 1982
• Game time: 12:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: Indoors (dome)
• Referee: Tom Dooley
• TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and John Madden
• Pro-Football-Reference.com

Game information

First quarter DET – Eddie Murray 46-yard field goal. Lions 3–0. Drive: Second quarter DET – Eddie Murray 44-yard field goal. Lions 6–0. Drive: Third quarter NYG – Joe Danelo 34-yard field goal. Lions 6–3. Drive: NYG – Joe Danelo 40-yard field goal. Tie 6–6. Drive: Fourth quarter NYG – Lawrence Taylor 97-yard interception return (Joe Danelo kick). Giants 13–7. Top passers NYG – Scott Brunner – 12/28, 136 yards, 2 INT DET – Gary Danielson – 12/19, 125 yards, 3 INT Top rushers NYG – Butch Woolfolk – 21 rushes, 87 yards DET – Billy Sims – 26 rushes, 114 yards Top receivers NYG – Johnny Perkins – 5 receptions, 80 yards DET – Mark Nichols – 3 receptions, 49 yards

Playoffs

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Lions	0	0	7	0	7
Redskins	10	14	7	0	31

at RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.

• Game time: 12:30 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 46 °F or 7.8 °C, cloudy
• Game attendance: 55,045
• Referee: Tom Dooley
• TV announcers (CBS): Dick Stockton and Roger Staubach

The Redskins jumped to a 24–0 lead en route to a 31–7 victory over the Lions.

Records

Regular-season record

• First team with a losing record (4–5, .444) to qualify for the playoffs. Shared with Cleveland Browns
• Worst regular-season record (4–5, .444) to qualify for the playoffs. Shared with Cleveland Browns. Broken by the 2010 Seattle Seahawks and later matched by the 2020 Washington Football Team (7–9, .438).

References

• Detroit Lions on Pro Football Reference
• Detroit Lions on jt-sw.com
• Detroit Lions on The Football Database