1954 Detroit Lions season
NFL team season (lost NFL Championship
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The 1954 Detroit Lions season marked the franchise's 25th year in the National Football League (NFL), including four initial seasons as the Portsmouth Spartans. The team failed to improve on their previous season's output of 10–2, winning only nine games.[1] They qualified for the championship game for the third consecutive season.
| 1954 Detroit Lions season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Buddy Parker |
| Home stadium | Briggs Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 9–2–1 |
| Division place | 1st NFL Western |
| Playoffs | Lost NFL Championship (at Browns) 10–56 |
Offseason
NFL draft
The Lions drafted 32 players in the 1954 NFL draft. Their first-round pick was Dick Chapman, an All-American defensive tackle out of Rice. Chapman never played a snap for the Lions, electing to return to Rice and finish his degree in physics. Their second-round pick, Michigan State center Jim Neal, also never played a snap after "marrying a girl whose religion prohibited him to play football on Sundays."[2]
Preseason
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 13 | vs. College All-Stars | W 34–6 | 1–0 | Soldier Field | 93,740 |
| 2 | August 19 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 17–14 | 2–0 | Connie Mack Stadium | 45,600 |
| 3 | August 27 | Washington Redskins | W 27–7 | 3–0 | Briggs Stadium | 34,380 |
| 4 | September 4 | vs. New York Giants | W 28–13 | 4–0 | Oklahoma Memorial Stadium | 25,000 |
| 5 | September 10 | vs. Cleveland Browns | W 56–31 | 5–0 | Cotton Bowl | 43,000 |
| 6 | September 19 | vs. Pittsburgh Steelers | W 42–14 | 6–0 | War Memorial Stadium | 20,000 |
Regular season
According to the team, a total of 28,553 season tickets were sold by the Lions for the 1954 campaign.[3] The Lions played their home games in Briggs Stadium (Tiger Stadium), which had a regular listed seating capacity of 46,194, with an additional 7,000 bleacher seats for football to bring total capacity to 53,194.[3]
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap | Sources | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 26 | Chicago Bears | W 48–23 | 1–0 | Briggs Stadium | 52,343 | Recap | ||
| — | Postponement to December 19; (World Series) | ||||||||
| 2 | October 10 | Los Angeles Rams | W 21–3 | 2–0 | Briggs Stadium | 56,523 | Recap | ||
| 3 | October 16 | Baltimore Colts | W 35–0 | 3–0 | Briggs Stadium | 48,272 | Recap | ||
| 4 | October 24 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 31–37 | 3–1 | Kezar Stadium | 60,500 | Recap | ||
| 5 | October 31 | at Los Angeles Rams | W 27–24 | 4–1 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 74,342 | Recap | ||
| 6 | November 6 | at Baltimore Colts | W 27–3 | 5–1 | Memorial Stadium | 25,287 | Recap | ||
| 7 | November 14 | San Francisco 49ers | W 48–7 | 6–1 | Briggs Stadium | 58,431 | Recap | ||
| 8 | November 21 | at Green Bay Packers | W 21–17 | 7–1 | City Stadium | 20,767 | Recap | ||
| 9 | November 25 | Green Bay Packers | W 28–24 | 8–1 | Briggs Stadium | 55,532 | Recap | ||
| 10 | December 5 | Philadelphia Eagles | T 13–13 | 8–1–1 | Briggs Stadium | 54,939 | Recap | ||
| 11 | December 12 | at Chicago Bears | L 24–28 | 8–2–1 | Wrigley Field | 37,240 | Recap | ||
| 12 | December 19 | at Cleveland Browns | W 14–10 | 9–2–1 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 34,168 | Recap | ||
| Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text. • Saturday night: October 16, November 6. Thanksgiving: November 25. | |||||||||
Standings
| NFL Western Conference | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | CONF | PF | PA | STK | ||
| Detroit Lions | 9 | 2 | 1 | .818 | 8–2 | 337 | 189 | W1 | |
| Chicago Bears | 8 | 4 | 0 | .667 | 7–3 | 301 | 279 | W4 | |
| San Francisco 49ers | 7 | 4 | 1 | .636 | 5–4–1 | 313 | 251 | W2 | |
| Los Angeles Rams | 6 | 5 | 1 | .545 | 4–5–1 | 314 | 285 | W1 | |
| Green Bay Packers | 4 | 8 | 0 | .333 | 3–7 | 234 | 251 | L4 | |
| Baltimore Colts | 3 | 9 | 0 | .250 | 2–8 | 131 | 279 | L1 | |
- Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
Postseason
| Round | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NFL Championship | December 26 | at Cleveland Browns | L 10–56 | 0–1 | Cleveland Stadium | 43,827 |
