Best seasons in Detroit Lions history
With over a century of history that dates back to 1920, the NFL has plenty of memorable seasons.
In the 2016 season, for instance, Tom Brady was suspended his first four games before he orchestrated a miraculous 28-3 comeback to cap the year in the Super Bowl. Then there's the 1985 Chicago Bears and their Super Bowl Shuffle. The 2004 season saw a trio of astounding feats, with Peyton Manning breaking Dan Marino's long-standing passing touchdown record, a rookie quarterback leading Pittsburgh to a 15-1 record, and Philadelphia's Terrell Owens lighting up the league at wide receiver before a broken leg ended his regular season. The strike seasons of 1982 and 1987 were memorable in their own, unique ways, too. And who could forget the 1972 Miami Dolphins, the only team to win a Super Bowl with a perfect record.
It's hard to single out the best NFL season—and harder still to try and qualify or quantify what "best" really is.
But what about the best seasons of a single team? Can we determine the best seasons in a team's history?
To a degree, that's quantifiable, and where this list comes in. Stacker compiled the top 10 best seasons in Detroit Lions history using Pro-Football-Reference.com data that goes back to the first NFL season in 1920. Seasons were ranked based on how far the team progressed in the playoffs in a particular year. Any ties were broken first by each season's regular season record, then by net points per game. Supplemental data points include the team's head coach and, for years after 1931, top passers, rushers, and receivers of specific seasons.
Read on through to find out which seasons count as the Detroit Lions' best. Of course, there's wiggle room to define what makes a season one of the "best"—take a peek below to see if you agree with how the rankings played out.
#10. 1995
- Regular season record: 10-6
- Playoffs: Lost in Wild Card round
- Points per game: 27.3
- Opponent points per game: 21.0
- Net points per game: 6.3
- Head coach: Wayne Fontes
- Top passer: Scott Mitchell
- Top rusher: Barry Sanders
- Top receiver: Herman Moore
#9. 2014
- Regular season record: 11-5
- Playoffs: Lost in Wild Card round
- Points per game: 20.1
- Opponent points per game: 17.6
- Net points per game: 2.4
- Head coach: Jim Caldwell
- Top passer: Matthew Stafford
- Top rusher: Joique Bell
- Top receiver: Golden Tate
#8. 1983
- Regular season record: 9-7
- Playoffs: Lost in divisional round
- Points per game: 21.7
- Opponent points per game: 17.9
- Net points per game: 3.8
- Head coach: Monte Clark
- Top passer: Eric Hipple
- Top rusher: Billy Sims
- Top receiver: Leonard Thompson
#7. 1970
- Regular season record: 10-4
- Playoffs: Lost in divisional round
- Points per game: 24.8
- Opponent points per game: 14.4
- Net points per game: 10.4
- Head coach: Joe Schmidt
- Top passer: Greg Landry
- Top rusher: Mel Farr
- Top receiver: Charlie Sanders
#6. 1991
- Regular season record: 12-4
- Playoffs: Lost in conference championship
- Points per game: 21.2
- Opponent points per game: 18.4
- Net points per game: 2.8
- Head coach: Wayne Fontes
- Top passer: Erik Kramer
- Top rusher: Barry Sanders
- Top receiver: Brett Perriman
#5. 1954
- Regular season record: 9-2-1
- Playoffs: Lost in NFL championship
- Points per game: 28.1
- Opponent points per game: 15.8
- Net points per game: 12.3
- Head coach: Buddy Parker
- Top passer: Bobby Layne
- Top rusher: Lew Carpenter
- Top receiver: Dorne Dibble
#4. 1957
- Regular season record: 8-4
- Playoffs: Won NFL championship
- Points per game: 20.9
- Opponent points per game: 19.3
- Net points per game: 1.7
- Head coach: George Wilson
- Top passer: Bobby Layne
- Top rusher: John Henry Johnson
- Top receiver: Jim Doran
#3. 1935
- Regular season record: 7-3-2
- Playoffs: Won NFL championship
- Points per game: 15.9
- Opponent points per game: 9.3
- Net points per game: 6.7
- Head coach: Potsy Clark
- Top passer: Glenn Presnell
- Top rusher: Ernie Caddel
- Top receiver: Ernie Caddel
#2. 1952
- Regular season record: 9-3
- Playoffs: Won NFL championship
- Points per game: 28.7
- Opponent points per game: 16.0
- Net points per game: 12.7
- Head coach: Buddy Parker
- Top passer: Bobby Layne
- Top rusher: Bob Hoernschemeyer
- Top receiver: Cloyce Box
#1. 1953
- Regular season record: 10-2
- Playoffs: Won NFL championship
- Points per game: 22.6
- Opponent points per game: 17.1
- Net points per game: 5.5
- Head coach: Buddy Parker
- Top passer: Bobby Layne
- Top rusher: Bob Hoernschemeyer
- Top receiver: Doak Walker
