3. The 1995 Detroit Lions
Record: 7
The first ten win team on this countdown, the ’95 Lions recovered from a 3-6 start, winning their final seven regular season games to snag a Wild Card spot against Philly (don’t ask how that one went)
Achievements: 7.5
- Ten wins and a playoff berth
- Seven game win streak leading into the playoffs
- Thanksgiving Day win over Minnesota
- Scott Mitchell sets the single season franchise record for touchdown passes
- 1,500 rushing yards from Barry Sanders, nearly 1,700 receiving yards from Herman Moore
- The 2nd ranked scoring offense in the NFL
Star Power: 8.5
- Prime Barry Sanders, first team All-Pro
- Peak Herman Moore, first team All-Pro with 1,686 yards and 14 receiving TDs
- Peak Scott Mitchell (you know, that one year where he was actually kind of good)
Entertainment Value: 8.5
- Another vintage, job-saving late season run from a Wayne Fontes-coached Lions team
- A lights out offense that finished second in the NFL in scoring
- Barry, Herman Moore, and Brett Perriman combined for over 5,100 yards of total offense
- Memories of the winning streak are dampened by an absolutely humiliating playoff performance (It was 51-7 early in the third quarter), but for a while everything came together and this was finally looking like “the year” around the Silverdome
Total Score: 31.5