1991 Detroit Lions season

1991 Detroit Lions season
Head coach Wayne Fontes
General manager Chuck Schmidt
Owner William Clay Ford, Sr.
Home field Pontiac Silverdome
Results
Record 12–4
Division place 1st NFC Central
Playoff finish Won Divisional Playoffs
(Cowboys) 38–6
Lost NFC Championship
(Redskins) 41–10

The 1991 Detroit Lions season was the franchise's 62nd season in the National Football League, their 58th as the Detroit Lions.

The team finished 12–4, win the NFC Central Division, and appear in the playoffs for the first time since 1983. It stands as the team's best season since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970. The Lions finished the season undefeated in the Pontiac Silverdome, including playoffs, and the team did not lose a game at an indoor facility the entire season, having made trips to Indianapolis and Minnesota during the year.

This season also saw the Lions debut of wide receiver Herman Moore, the team's 1991 first round draft pick who went on to set records as part of an explosive passing offense later in the decade. This was the last season until 2015 in which the Lions won at Green Bay.

The season

Statistics site Football Outsiders summed up Detroit's season thusly:[1] "The Lions were one of the most inconsistent teams of the year, which is what happens when you win 12 games but lose 45–0 (to Washington) and 35–3 (to San Francisco). Otherwise, it's a little hard to tell why they ended up only 17th in [efficiency]. The Lions didn't have too many super-close victories, but did go 4–0 in games decided by a touchdown or less. They didn't particularly take advantage of long plays ... with only four gains of 50 yards or more. They did benefit a little extra from fumbles on defense, recovering 15 of 23. They also benefitted from poor opponent special teams...."

Detroit, according to Football Outsiders, had "a bit of an odd schedule; on the surface, it doesn't look like Detroit's schedule of opposing run defenses was that easy. The Lions missed the [league-leading] Eagles, but they did have to play six games against the teams ranked sixth through ninth in run defense [efficiency]: San Francisco, Chicago, Washington, and Green Bay. Except running back Barry Sanders didn't play against Washington in Week 1, and he had only seven carries against San Francisco in Week 8. His two highest-carry games came against the two worst run defenses in the league, Miami and Indianapolis."

Season summary

The Lions were plagued by injuries most of the season. Wide receiver Aubrey Matthews was lost for the season to a knee injury on a meaningless final play during a 45-0 loss to the Washington Redskins during Week 1. Starting quarterback Rodney Peete was lost for the season in the 9th game of the year, a 34–10 victory over the Dallas Cowboys. Second string quarterback Erik Kramer, who had won the backup quarterback job from Andre Ware (the team's #1 draft pick from the season before) during training camp, guided the team the rest of the way. Although Peete's injury was serious, perhaps the most devastating injury was the career-ending injury that befell guard Mike Utley in a Week 12 game against the Los Angeles Rams. Utley suffered a severe injury to two of his cervical vertebrae, rendering him paralyzed from the chest down and ending his career. Unaware of this, Utley gave a thumbs-up gesture to the crowd as he was being wheeled from the field. For the rest of the season Lions players wore a decal with Utley's number 60 on their helmets to honor their fallen teammate.

Utley's injury gave inspiration to a team that at that point in the season was struggling, and the team won its last six games to steal the division title away from the Chicago Bears, whose Week 17 loss to the San Francisco 49ers left them a game behind the Lions who did not lose a game the rest of the season following Utley's injury. By winning the division and having one of the two best records in the conference, the Lions earned a bye into the divisional round. There they faced Dallas, who had beaten the Bears the week before to get their first playoff win since 1982. Although the Cowboys held Lions' star running back Barry Sanders in check for most of the game, Kramer threw for 341 yards and three touchdowns and Sanders closed the scoring with a 47-yard touchdown run for a 38–6 drubbing of Dallas. It is the Lions' only postseason victory since they won their last league championship in 1957.

The win earned the Lions a return trip to Washington for the NFC Championship Game and a chance to avenge the 45–0 defeat in the season opener. The Redskins jumped to an early 10–0 lead when Kramer was sacked and fumbled on the Lions' first possession, then was intercepted on the second. The Lions fought back with a touchdown pass to receiver Willie Green and a field goal by kicker Eddie Murray in the second quarter to stay within one score at the half. The Lions trailed 17–10 at the break, but failed to score again as Washington scored 24 points in the second half to put the game away. Ware replaced Kramer as quarterback in the fourth quarter. He promptly threw an interception which was returned by Darrell Green for the game's final touchdown. The 1991 Lions' season thus ended the way it started, with a loss to the Redskins at RFK Stadium; the final in this game was 41–10 in favor of the eventual Super Bowl champions.

The Lions finished the season with a 9–0 record at home, counting their playoff win. The team did not play particularly well on the road: outside of their wins at Indianapolis and Minnesota, their only other outdoor wins came against the Green Bay Packers in Week 16 (the Lions' last road victory against Green Bay until 2015) and the eventual AFC Champion Buffalo Bills in Week 17; the margin of victory in those games were four and three points respectively and the Lions gave up 30 or more points in three of their four road losses, two of which came to teams that failed to qualify for the playoffs (San Francisco 49ers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers).

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 1991 NFL Draft
1991 Detroit Lions draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 10 Herman Moore *  Wide receiver Virginia
3 58 Reggie Barrett  Wide Receiver Texas-El Paso
4 91 Kevin Scott  Defensive Back Stanford
5 118 Scott Conover  OT Purdue
6 151 Richie Andrews  K Florida State
7 178 Franklin Thomas  TE Grambling State
8 205 Cedric Jackson  RB TCU
9 231 Darryl Milburn  DE Grambling State
11 285 Slip Watkins  LSU
12 318 Zeno Alexander  Arizona
      Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[2]

Personnel

Staff

1991 Detroit Lions staff
Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches
  • Defensive Coordinator/Outside Linebackers – Woody Widenhofer
  • Defensive Line – Lamar Leachman
  • Inside Linebackers – Herb Paterra
  • Defensive Backs – Len Fontes
  • Defensive Assistant – Don Clemons

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and Conditioning/Defensive Assistant – Bert Hill

Roster

1991 Detroit Lions final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists


Practice squad


Rookies in italics
 47 Active, 10 Inactive, 2 Practice squad

Regular season

Schedule

Week Home Team Away Team Result Score Overall Record Divisional Record Attendance
1 Washington Detroit L 45–0 (0–1) (0–0) 52,958
2 Detroit Green Bay W 23–14 (1–1) (1–0) 43,132
3 Detroit Miami W 17–13 (2–1) (1–0) 56,896
4 Indianapolis Detroit W 33–24 (3–1) (1–0) 53,396
5 Detroit Tampa Bay W 31–3 (4–1) (2–0) 44,479
6 Detroit Minnesota W 24–20 (5–1) (3–0) 63,423
7 Bye
8 San Francisco Detroit L 35–3 (5–2) (3–0) 61,240
9 Detroit Dallas W 34–10 (6–2) (3–0) 74,906
10 Chicago Detroit L 20–10 (6–3) (3–1) 57,281
11 Tampa Bay Detroit L 30–21 (6–4) (3–2) 37,742
12 Detroit LA Rams W 21–10 (7–4) (3–2) 60,873
13 Minnesota Detroit W 34–14 (8–4) (4–2) 51,644
14 Detroit Chicago W 16–6 (9–4) (5–2) 78,879
15 Detroit NY Jets W 34–20 (10–4) (5–2) 69,304
16 Green Bay Detroit W 21–17 (11–4) (6–2) 43,881
17 Buffalo Detroit W 17–14 (OT) (12–4) (6–2) 78,059

Game summaries

Week 1

1 234Total
Lions 0 000 0
• Redskins 21 1473 45
  • Date: September 1
  • Location: RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.
  • Game start: 8:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: 76°F; wind 15

[3]

Week 2

1 234Total
Packers 0 770 14
• Lions 7 3103 23

[4]

Week 3

1 234Total
Dolphins 3 703 13
• Lions 3 770 17

[5]

Week 4

1 234Total
• Lions 0 71610 33
Colts 10 0014 24

[6]

Week 5

1 234Total
Buccaneers 0 300 3
• Lions 14 7010 31

[7]

Week 6

1 234Total
Vikings 7 733 20
• Lions 0 3021 24

[8]

Week 8

1 234Total
Lions 0 300 3
• 49ers 0 21140 35

[9]

Week 9

1 234Total
Cowboys 0 1000 10
• Lions 3 71014 34

[10]

Week 10

1 234Total
Lions 0 1000 10
• Bears 3 0107 20

[11]

Week 11

1 234Total
Lions 7 077 21
• Buccaneers 7 1670 30

[12]

Week 12

1 234Total
Rams 3 070 10
• Lions 0 7014 21

Week 13

1 234Total
• Lions 7 31410 34
Vikings 0 707 14

[13]

Week 14

1 234Total
Bears 0 600 6
• Lions 10 033 16

[14]

Week 15

1 234Total
Jets 14 033 20
• Lions 14 10100 34

[15]

Week 16

Erik Kramer led the Detroit Lions to victory with 2 touchdown passes and no turnovers.[16]

This was the last time the Lions won in Wisconsin until 2015.[17]

1 234Total
• Lions 7 0014 21
Packers 7 307 17

[18]

Week 17

1 234OTTotal
• Lions 0 00143 17
Bills 0 7070 14

[19]

Standings

NFC Central
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
(2) Detroit Lions 12 4 0 .750 6–2 8–4 339 295 W6
(4) Chicago Bears 11 5 0 .688 7–1 9–3 299 269 L1
Minnesota Vikings 8 8 0 .500 3–5 8–6 301 306 L1
Green Bay Packers 4 12 0 .250 3–5 3–9 273 313 W1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 3 13 0 .188 1–7 2–10 199 365 W1

Playoffs

Divisional

1 234Total
Cowboys 3 300 6
• Lions 7 10147 38

Quarterback Erik Kramer led the Lions to their only postseason victory since 1957 by completing 29 out of 38 passes for 341 yards and 3 touchdowns. As of 2015, this is the Lions' only playoff win in 56 years.

NFC Championship

1 234Total
Lions 0 1000 10
• Redskins 10 71014 41

The Redskins crushed the Lions, 41–10, as quarterback Mark Rypien completed 12 out of 17 passes for 228 yards and 2 touchdowns. Detroit quarterback Erik Kramer was sacked 5 times, three of them by Washington linebacker Wilber Marshall. Lions running back Barry Sanders, who rushed for 1,548 yards during the season, was held to just 44 yards on 11 carries.

Awards and honors

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/29/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.