1984 Detroit Lions season

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. In a Lions 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 during the season. In just five seasons in the NFL since joining Detroit in 1980, Sims had set the Lions career rushing mark at 5,106.[2]

1984 Detroit Lions season
Head coach	Monte Clark
Owner	William Clay Ford, Sr.
Home field	Pontiac Silverdome
Results
Record	4–11–1
Division place	4th NFC Central
Playoff finish	Did not qualify

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 1984 NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School
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 16 Gary Danielson 17 Eric Hipple 14 Mike Machurek 18 John Witkowski Running backs 20 Billy Sims 24 Dexter Bussey 44 Dave D'Addio 31 Ken Jenkins PR 30 James Jones FB 36 Mike Meade FB Wide receivers 80 Carl Bland 89 Jeff Chadwick 82 Pete Mandley 86 Mark Nichols 39 Leonard Thompson Tight ends 87 David Lewis 81 Reese McCall 84 Rob Rubick		Offensive linemen 72 Chris Dieterich T 70 Keith Dorney G 65 Amos Fowler C 67 Don Greco G 73 Don Laster T 64 Larry Lee G/C 52 Steve Mott C 71 Rich Strenger T Defensive linemen 66 Mike Cofer DE/OLB 78 Doug English DT 79 William Gay DE 62 Curtis Green DE 76 Eric Williams DE		Linebackers 54 Roosevelt Barnes 53 Garry Cobb OLB 50 August Curley 58 Steve Doig 57 Ken Fantetti MLB Defensive backs 33 William Graham FS 35 Alvin Hall SS 21 Demetrious Johnson S 29 Bruce McNorton CB 34 Dan Wagoner DB 27 Bobby Watkins CB Special teams 11 Mike Black P  3 Eddie Murray K		Reserve lists Practice squad Rookies in italics

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 2	San Francisco 49ers	L 30–27	56,782
2	September 9	at Atlanta Falcons	W 27–24 OT	49,878
3	September 16	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 21–17	44,560
4	September 23	Minnesota Vikings	L 29–28	57,511
5	September 30	at San Diego Chargers	L 27–24	53,509
6	October 7	Denver Broncos	L 28–7	55,836
7	October 14	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 13–7 OT	44,308
8	October 21	at Minnesota Vikings	W 16–14	57,953
9	October 28	at Green Bay Packers	L 41–9	54,289
10	November 4	Philadelphia Eagles	T 23–23 OT	59,141
11	November 11	at Washington Redskins	L 28–14	50,212
12	November 18	at Chicago Bears	L 16–14	54,911
13	November 22	Green Bay Packers	W 31–28	63,698
14	December 2	at Seattle Seahawks	L 38–17	62,441
15	December 10	Los Angeles Raiders	L 24–3	66,710
16	December 16	Chicago Bears	L 30–13	53,252

Game summaries

Week 2: at Atlanta Falcons

	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, wind 10 mph
• 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

	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
Detroit Lions	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

1. 1984 Detroit Lions
2. Season summary and stats a Sports E Cyclopedia