Rank all Detroit Lions playoff teams, #1 to #18

[Gary Najman]

Of all the Lions playoff teams my favorite is 1983 although they may not be the better team). Doug English and the underrated William Gay were All-Pro caliber in the defensive line (the defense was #2 in the NFL in points allowed), and Billy Sims had a 1,000 yard season, while tight end Ulysses Norris caught 7 TD passes. They started 1-4 and went on to finish 9-7 and win the NFC Central, and only a Eddie Murray missed FG in the last seconds against SF kept them out of the NFC Championship game.

[lastcat3]

The '91 Lions definitely had Dallas's number that year. They beat them during the regular season almost as badly as they did in the playoffs (and that was before Aikman got injured).

I guess they just matched up well against the '91 Cowboys.

[Brian wolf]

The 1957 team finished strong but I believe their best team was 1953. To beat the Browns back to back was saying something and that defense was special ... The Browns finally got revenge in the next championship game.

[74_75_78_79_]

The Schmidt-HC'ed 1970 squad 'Number One' in your book, Todd?? Very interesting!

Considering the not-too-dominant field remaining once 12-2 best-record/"Power Rankings" darling Vikings (who swept Det) get knocked out the way by San Fran, those Lions were a rather SBV-win-capable team in their own right! Had they just mustered-up a coup'la FGs at the Cotton Bowl, they play in the NFC Championship against the very team that they beat, 28-7, in Week #10 though, this time, it would be on the road instead of at home.

And it was that very Week #10 win that started a 5-0 finish! A season-ending streak at the expense of four-straight quality opponents! Next up, after belting SF, was another Bay Area team, coached by John Madden, on Thanksgiving Day (Raiders wearing black at Tigers; Schmidt...Madden...what a gritty, meat-and-potatoes combo! Wouldn't you love to sit and have a Cold One with the two? They talk, you simply...listen - and take it all IN)!

And then came a 16-3 shutdown (yet again at home) of the 8-2-1 Cardinals, thus sending StL in free-fall-mode! And then a road-win vs a quality opponent...George Allen's 8-3-1 Rams at the Coliseum!

In the finale, back at Tigers, they shutout a respectable but still 6-7 Packers team, 20-0, whom they decimated on Opening Day (also a shutout) at Lambeau, 40-0 (adding even more sadness in Titletown considering a very fresh/recent Passing; Lions first two games of '70 they win by a combined, 78-3)! Not sure if Lions were either already in control of their destiny going into that very Week #14, or - even better - they already clinched that very Wild Card berth! If they lose, and Giants beat Rams, do they still get the WC?

In either event, had Schmidt's troops made it to the NFCC, and got by SF, I can't really envision them giving the Colts any less of a challenge than Big D did. This even if they also lose as well.

I would love to see that very 5-0 NFC Divisional Round affair! But real bad quality from the obvious place where you can see the very event; so I'd rather wait for a "re-mastering". And as you all see, I did place '70 above ALL Fontes teams - '91 included! But maybe I should place them above World Champ, 1935, as well!

Interesting factoid connecting the '70 and '91 Lions...in 1970, both they and Dallas were each on five-game win-streaks before their playoff meeting; in '91, both they and Dallas were on six-game win-streaks going into their playoff meeting!

[RichardBak]

I actually think the 1954 team---the one that got pasted by Cleveland in the title game---may have been the best-balanced of them all, even though they lost Yale Lary and a couple other starters to the army. Without taking anything away from the Browns, I think it was that scheduling quirk that forced the teams to meet twice in Cleveland on consecutive Sundays that kept the Lions from winning a third straight championship. After Layne led a classic comeback in a blizzard to beat the Browns in the season finale---rescheduled from October because of a conflict with the World Series---meeting the same team on the same field exactly one week later was a bit of anti-climax. The Detroit players weren't overconfident, but after that latest win over the Browns they just had a hard time reaching the same emotional pitch. Cleveland, meanwhile, had everything to prove against their Motown nemesis.

[74_75_78_79_]

Okay, so where do we - thus far, going into the CCs - place this 2023 installment on this, here, list?

Are they already better than '91?

Or would they have to go that 'next step' further for it to be the case?

Initially, when starting this thread at the beginning of the 2022 season, I thought they'd make the playoffs. But I was just barely off with they finishing 9-8! But here they are, this week, now at two total wins away! It's great to see! I remember rooting for them hard after that Broncos/Bills game, but sadly all for naught. 2023 Forty Niners are not that juggernaut '91 Gibbs squad even if they do win the SB, but this seems to be a tall enough task for Detroit going in just the same. '91 Lions, fair or not, had that 'fluke' tag, but 2023 lacks the needed secondary. Wishing for the best this coming Sunday and anything IS possible!


PS - and that very last World Championship that the Detroit Lions won...just WHO and WHERE did they have to play in order to GET to that very title game (hint - the same as who and where had they just somehow were able to turn that 5-0 defeat at Dallas into a 'W')??

[JohnTurney]

1934, of course, is better than ’35!

11-3 installment of ’62 (who almost swept the Mighty 13-1 Pack)? Perhaps they and ’34 each better than any of the actual League Champions!

Glad you mentioned these ---- 1934 was odd, 10-0 then lost final 3 ... one of best defenses ever (point allowed) and even for that era were excellent

[Brian wolf]

I think this offensive team is their best since 1993 in terms of talent, though more comparable to 2014 statistically but could end once Ben Johnson leaves.(I like Ben Johnson the actor as well)
This offensive line could be special if they continue to stay healthy and Sewell-Bosa will be a great matchup this weekend. I dont believe their defense will hold up this sunday, unless Houston can help Hutchinson on the pass rush but if the team loses, maybe Johnson will come back, while the team adds more defense next year--doubtful though--

[Bryan]

For this length of time, the blame has to go to the ownership group of the Ford family. They don't even get credit for the 1950s, since they didn't own the team then. At this point, even dismal franchises like the Bengals and Cardinals have clearly outperformed the Lions. 60 years of this?!?

What's the deal? Does someone know the reason? The Bengals and Cardinals are owned by NFL lifers, some small pockets maybe, but the Lions don't even have that excuse. What's one daring move, name one, that has happened with this ownership group? Even the Tobin Rote trade was with the prior group. The Fords just seem content to go through a lifetime with a C- or D+. Utterly baffling.

I remember back in the 90's I read some Sporting News articles where they had some mathematical formula to rank owners. I forgot the particulars, and William Clay Ford ranked low overall, but he had one of the highest scores for 'stability' as the Lions didn't really fire coaches that often. That said, they didn't really hire great coaches and probably would have been better off with earlier firings. Daryl Rogers being allowed to coach into the 1988 season is egregious, for example.

[SixtiesFan]

For this length of time, the blame has to go to the ownership group of the Ford family. They don't even get credit for the 1950s, since they didn't own the team then. At this point, even dismal franchises like the Bengals and Cardinals have clearly outperformed the Lions. 60 years of this?!?

What's the deal? Does someone know the reason? The Bengals and Cardinals are owned by NFL lifers, some small pockets maybe, but the Lions don't even have that excuse. What's one daring move, name one, that has happened with this ownership group? Even the Tobin Rote trade was with the prior group. The Fords just seem content to go through a lifetime with a C- or D+. Utterly baffling.

I remember back in the 90's I read some Sporting News articles where they had some mathematical formula to rank owners. I forgot the particulars, and William Clay Ford ranked low overall, but he had one of the highest scores for 'stability' as the Lions didn't really fire coaches that often. That said, they didn't really hire great coaches and probably would have been better off with earlier firings. Daryl Rogers being allowed to coach into the 1988 season is egregious, for example.

My late uncle lived in the Detroit area, Lincoln Park. He was a big fan of all the Detroit sports teams. He said that as long as the Lions had a capacity crowd at every home game, the ownership, Bill Ford at that time, didn't care about winning a championship. This was in the 60s and 70s.