PART III: So Close I Can Taste It

The Lions played host to the Jets the next week, beating them 34-20, but saw that win countered by the Bears victory over the Packers. Detroit faced a crucial matchup the next week against the same Packers, but the implication were tremendous. Both the Lions and Bears had beaten the Packers and Vikings but the Lions had lost to the Buccaneers once where the Bears had not. They needed a win over the Packers and a Bears loss to the Bucs to keep a tie breaker alive. The Lions overcame the Packers but watched as the Bears devoured the Bucs in Chicago, shutting them out 27-0. It was a heated battled heading into the final weeks and the Lions were staring down the Bears waiting for them to blink.

More importantly the Bears needed to win out and let a Monday Night showdown between the Bears and 49ers determine their divisional fate. But who stood in the Lions way was the red-hot Buffalo Bills who boasted just 2 losses the entire season. It was a 35 degree Sunday that felt like 23 and didn’t see a score until the second quarter. Andre Reed scored for the Bills and put them up 7-0. It looked grim for the Lions as they didn’t score in the second or third quarters.  But after a big time drive, Barry Sanders punched in the tying score. The Lions caught another huge break when Sheldon White intercepted Bills quarterback Frank Reich and returned it for a touchdown putting the Lions up 14-7. But Buffalo had lost just twice all year and showed why when they fired back a score of their own to tie the game. It went into overtime, but the Lions overcame a season of low expectations to defeat the Bills in overtime. The next day Chicago fell to the Niners and Detroit had won their second NFC Central title. (more…)

Part II: Withstanding the Test

The Lions exited their Week 7 bye riding high. They had ravaged all who stood in their way with the notable exception of a 45-0 first week loss to the Washington Redskins. But since that loss the Lions had won every game leading up to the bye week. There was one chink in the Lions armor: of the teams Detroit had beaten, none had a winning record. When faced with a superior challenge, the Lions had failed to score a point. But nevertheless the Lions had shown grit and a will to win, after all a win was a win for the Lions who had found them to be elusive in the past years.  That grit and will was put on the front lines when Detroit headed to San Francisco in Week 8. Barry Sanders ran into a wall, rushing for just 26 yards while Rodney Peete threw for just 187 yards and threw an interception.The same couldn’t be said for the San Fransisco 49ers, who despite coming into the game just 2-4, forced Detroit to their knees as Jerry Rice and the Steve Young led 49ers powered to a 35-3 victory reminiscent of the Lions first week beating. Detroit’s defense allowed Steve Young to complete all but two passes on the afternoon, but managed to keep him at just 20 attempts. It was the under talented force of San Francisco’s ground attack that mauled the Lions. A total of four running backs, Keith Henderson, Dexter Carter, Harry Sydney and Tom Rathman combined for 188 yards and 3 touchdowns. Steve Young added 40 yards rushing of his own as the Lions tasted brutal defeat for the second time.

(more…)

Introduction

As we enter the (potential) 2011 NFL season, it marks the twenty year anniversary of the 1991 Detroit Lions team that came a game away from the Super Bowl. They were nothing more than a joke to those in the NFL, posting winning records in just 19 of their 47 seasons since becoming the Detroit Lions back in 1934. In their modern NFL years they had winning records just 5 times since the AFL-NFL merger.

Detroit came into 1991 in the middle of a drought. The 80’s had brought some success including the teams first playoff appearance since 1970. It also brought the arrival of a player who would not just become the greatest Lion to ever play the game, he became the Lions. Barry David Sanders was drafted with the third pick of the 1989 NFL Draft. 1991 was his third season as a back and already he was making his mark on Detroit. Sanders had already rushed for 2774 yards and 27 touchdowns entering 1991. He was the talk of the NFL for his on-field humility and flashy playing style. But it was clear the Lions needed to click more as a unit, rather than rely solely on the flashy young Sanders to win games.

In an effort to boost the offense, Detroit spent their first roundpick on a wide receiver from Virginia: Herman Moore. The Lions hoped the 6’4” receiver could boost the offense and serve as a weapon for quarterback Rodney Peete, in his third year out of USC, as well as add a dimension to make Sanders and his game more potent.

(more…)