1988 Detroit Lions season

The 1988 Detroit Lions season was the 59th season in franchise history. The team fell a step further from their 4–11 record in the strike-affected 1987 season, losing 12 of 16 games and suffering their fifth successive losing record. Head coach Darryl Rogers, who had served since 1985, was fired after 11 games and replaced by defensive coordinator Wayne Fontes.[1]

1988 Detroit Lions season
Head coach	Darryl Rogers Wayne Fontes
General manager	Russ Thomas
Owner	William Clay Ford, Sr.
Home field	Pontiac Silverdome
Results
Record	4–12
Division place	4th NFC Central
Playoff finish	Did not qualify

The 1988 Lions’ offense was historically inept; their 3,405 offensive yards gained is the second-lowest all-time in a 16-game season, and the lowest total of the 1980s.[2] Their 220 points scored (13.75 per game) is the fifth-fewest of the 1980s.[3] They scored 20 or more points only three times all season.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 1988 NFL Draft

1988 Detroit Lions draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	3	Bennie Blades *	S	Miami (FL)
2	29	Chris Spielman *	LB	Ohio State
2	32	Pat Carter	TE	Florida State
3	58	Ray Roundtree	WR	Penn State
4	85	William White	S	Ohio State
5	111	Eric Andolsek	G	LSU
6	142	Carl Painter	RB	Hampton
7	169	Jeff James	WR	Stanford
8	196	Gary Hadd	DT	Minnesota
9	223	Kip Corrington	S	Texas A&M
9	234	Todd Irvin	OT	Mississippi
10	254	Paco Craig	WR	UCLA
11	281	Danny McCoin	QB	Cincinnati
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[4]

Personnel

Staff

1988 Detroit Lions staff

	Front office Owner and President – William Clay Ford, Sr. Executive Vice President and General Manager – Russ Thomas Treasurer – William Clay Ford, Jr. Vice President for Finance – Chuck Schmidt Vice President for Player Personnel – Jerry Vainisi Director of Player Personnel – Joe Bushofsky Director of Pro Scouting – Ron Hughes Head coaches Head Coach and Director of Football Operations – Darryl Rogers Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks – Bob Baker Running Backs – Vic Rapp Receivers – Lew Carpenter Tight Ends/Staff Administrative Assistant – Don Doll Offensive Line – Bill Muir			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator/Secondary – Wayne Fontes Defensive Line – Dick Modzelewski Inside Linebackers – Mike Murphy Outside Linebackers – Willie Shaw Special teams coaches Special Teams – Carl Battershell Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning Coordinator – Don Clemons

Roster

1988 Detroit Lions final roster

	Quarterbacks 12 Rusty Hilger 17 Eric Hipple 16 Chuck Long 18 John Witkowski Running backs 32 Garry James 30 James Jones 49 Tony Paige FB 26 Carl Painter 38 Scott Williams 21 Butch Woolfolk Wide receivers 89 Jeff Chadwick 41 Paco Craig 83 Gary Lee 82 Pete Mandley 86 Ray Roundtree 81 Stephen Starring Tight ends 87 Pat Carter 84 Rob Rubick		Offensive linemen 65 Eric Andolsek G 61 Scott Barrows G 75 Lomas Brown T 53 Kevin Glover G 74 Joe Milinichik G 52 Steve Mott C 73 Harvey Salem T 64 Eric Sanders T Defensive linemen 93 Jerry Ball NT 96 Paul Butcher DE 77 Keith Ferguson DE 62 Curtis Green DE 71 Gary Hadd NT 60 Reggie Rogers DE 94 Thomas Strauthers DE 76 Eric Williams DE		Linebackers 57 Dave Ahrens 96 Paul Butcher 55 Mike Cofer OLB 98 Dennis Gibson ILB 58 George Jamison OLB 56 Shelton Robinson 54 Chris Spielman ILB Defensive backs 36 Bennie Blades SS 34 James Griffin FS 43 Jerry Holmes CB 29 Bruce McNorton CB 31 Devon Mitchell FS 27 Bobby Watkins CB 35 William White Special teams  3 Eddie Murray K  6 Jim Arnold P		Reserve lists Practice squad Rookies in italics active, inactive, practice squad

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 4	Atlanta Falcons	W 31–17	31,075
2	September 11	at Los Angeles Rams	L 17–10	46,262
3	September 18	New Orleans Saints	L 22–14	32,943
4	September 25	New York Jets	L 17–10	29,250
5	October 2	at San Francisco 49ers	L 20–13	58,285
6	October 9	Chicago Bears	L 24–7	64,526
7	October 16	at New York Giants	L 30–10	74,813
8	October 23	at Kansas City Chiefs	W 7–6	66,926
9	October 30	New York Giants	L 13–10 OT	38,354
10	November 6	at Minnesota Vikings	L 44–17	55,573
11	November 13	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 23–20	25,956
12	November 20	at Green Bay Packers	W 19–9	44,327
13	November 24	Minnesota Vikings	L 23–0	46,379
14	December 4	Green Bay Packers	W 30–14	28,124
15	December 11	at Chicago Bears	L 13–12	55,010
16	December 18	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 21–10	37,778

Game summaries

Week 1

1 2 3 4 Total Falcons 3 0 0 14 17 • Lions 0 10 14 7 31 Date: September 4 Location: Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, Michigan Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: indoors (dome)

Scoring summary 1 ATL Greg Davis 19 yard field goal Falcons 3–0 2 DET Pete Mandley 7 yard pass from Chuck Long (Eddie Murray kick) Lions 7–3 2 DET Eddie Murray 37 yard field goal Lions 10–3 3 DET Garry James 1 yard run (Eddie Murray kick) Lions 17–3 3 DET George Jamison 4 yard fumble return (Eddie Murray kick) Lions 24–3 4 ATL Alex Higdon 9 yard pass from Chris Miller (Greg Davis kick) Lions 24–10 4 DET Mark Lewis 1 yard pass from Chuck Long (Eddie Murray kick) Lions 31–10 4 ATL John Settle 2 yard run (Greg Davis kick) Lions 31–17

[5]

Week 8

1 2 3 4 Total • Lions 0 7 0 0 7 Chiefs 0 3 3 0 6 Date: October 23 Location: Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, MO Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game weather: 58°F; wind 20

Scoring summary Q2 KC Lowery 38 yard field goal KC 3–0 Q2 DET Chadwick 14 yard pass from Hilger (Murray kick) DET 7–3 Q3 KC Lowery 43 yard field goal DET 7–6

[6]

Week 12

1 2 3 4 Total • Lions 3 6 0 10 19 Packers 0 0 3 6 9 Date: November 20 Location: Milwaukee County Stadium, Milwaukee, WI Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 38°F; wind 13

Scoring summary Q1 DET Murray 42 yard field goal DET 3–0 Q2 DET Murray 37 yard field goal DET 6–0 Q2 DET Murray 19 yard field goal DET 9–0 Q3 GB Dawson 32 yard field goal DET 9–3 Q4 DET Williams 1 yard run (Murray kick) DET 16–3 Q4 DET Murray 26 yard field goal DET 19–3 Q4 GB Matthews 3 yard pass from Majkowski (kick failed) DET 19–9

[7]

Week 14

1 2 3 4 Total Packers 0 0 0 14 14 • Lions 10 17 0 3 30 Date: December 4 Location: Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, MI Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: Indoors (dome)

Scoring summary Q1 DET Murray 26 yard field goal DET 3–0 Q1 DET Mandley 21 yard run (Murray kick) DET 10–0 Q2 DET Murray 23 yard field goal DET 13–0 Q2 DET Mitchell 90 yard interception return (Murray kick) DET 20–0 Q2 DET James 2 yard run (Murray kick) DET 27–0 Q4 GB West 4 yard pass from Wright (Dorsey kick) DET 27–7 Q4 DET Murray 23 yard field goal DET 30–7 Q4 GB Sharpe 24 yard pass from Wright (Dorsey kick) DET 30–14

[8]

Standings

NFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Chicago Bears^(1)	12	4	0	.750	6–2	9–3	312	215	L1
Minnesota Vikings^(4)	11	5	0	.688	6–2	9–3	406	233	W1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	5	11	0	.313	4–4	4–8	261	350	W1
Detroit Lions	4	12	0	.250	2–6	3–11	220	315	L2
Green Bay Packers	4	12	0	.250	2–6	3–9	240	313	W2

References

1. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 114
2. Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1978 to 2011, in the regular season, sorted by ascending Total Yds.
3. In a 16-game season, Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1980 to 1989, in the regular season, sorted by ascending Points For.
4. "1988 Detroit Lions Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
5. Pro-Football-Reference.com
6. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Dec-28.
7. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Nov-07.
8. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Nov-07.

External links

• 1988 Detroit Lions at Pro-Football-Reference.com