1988 Detroit Lions season

1988 Detroit Lions season
1988 Detroit Lions season
Owner	William Clay Ford Sr.
General manager	Russ Thomas
Head coach	Darryl Rogers (fired November 13, 2-9 record); Wayne Fontes (interim, 2-4 record)
Home stadium	Pontiac Silverdome
Results
Record	4–12
Division place	4th NFC Central
Playoffs	Did not qualify
All-Pros	P Jim Arnold (2nd team)
Pro Bowlers	LB Mike Cofer; P Jim Arnold
	← 1987; Lions seasons; 1989 →;

The 1988 Detroit Lions season was the 59th season in franchise history. The team fell a step further from their 4–11 record in the strike-affected 1987 season, losing 12 of 16 games and suffering their fifth successive losing record. Head coach Darryl Rogers, who had served since 1985, was fired after 11 games and replaced by defensive coordinator Wayne Fontes.^[1]

OwnerWilliam Clay Ford Sr.

General managerRuss Thomas

Head coachDarryl Rogers (fired November 13, 2-9 record)
Wayne Fontes (interim, 2-4 record)

Home stadiumPontiac Silverdome

Quick facts Detroit Lions season, Owner ...

Close

The 1988 Lions’ offense was historically inept; their 3,405 offensive yards gained is the second-lowest all-time in a 16-game season, and the lowest total of the 1980s.^[2] Their 220 points scored (13.75 per game) is the fifth-fewest of the 1980s.^[3] They scored 20 or more points only three times all season.

[1]

[2]

[3]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1988 Detroit Lions draft
1	3	Bennie Blades *	S	Miami (FL)
2	29	Chris Spielman *	LB	Ohio State
2	32	Pat Carter	TE	Florida State
3	58	Ray Roundtree	WR	Penn State
4	85	William White	S	Ohio State
5	111	Eric Andolsek	G	LSU
6	142	Carl Painter	RB	Hampton
7	169	Jeff James	WR	Stanford
8	196	Gary Hadd	DT	Minnesota
9	223	Kip Corrington	S	Texas A&M
9	234	Todd Irvin	OT	Mississippi
10	254	Paco Craig	WR	UCLA
11	281	Danny McCoin	QB	Cincinnati
Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Attendance
1	September 4	Atlanta Falcons	W 31–17	1–0	31,075
2	September 11	at Los Angeles Rams	L 10–17	1–1	46,262
3	September 18	New Orleans Saints	L 14–22	1–2	32,943
4	September 25	New York Jets	L 10–17	1–3	29,250
5	October 2	at San Francisco 49ers	L 13–20	1–4	58,285
6	October 9	Chicago Bears	L 7–24	1–5	64,526
7	October 16	at New York Giants	L 10–30	1–6	74,813
8	October 23	at Kansas City Chiefs	W 7–6	2–6	66,926
9	October 30	New York Giants	L 10–13 _OT	2–7	38,354
10	November 6	at Minnesota Vikings	L 17–44	2–8	55,573
11	November 13	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 20–23	2–9	25,956
12	November 20	at Green Bay Packers	W 19–9	3–9	44,327
13	November 24	Minnesota Vikings	L 0–23	3–10	46,379
14	December 4	Green Bay Packers	W 30–14	4–10	28,124
15	December 11	at Chicago Bears	L 12–13	4–11	55,010
16	December 18	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 10–21	4–12	37,778
Note: Intra-divisional opponents are in bold text.

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons	3	0	0	14	17
• Lions	0	10	14	7	31


1	ATL	Greg Davis 19 yard field goal	Falcons 3–0

2	DET	Pete Mandley 7 yard pass from Chuck Long (Eddie Murray kick)	Lions 7–3

2	DET	Eddie Murray 37 yard field goal	Lions 10–3

3	DET	Garry James 1 yard run (Eddie Murray kick)	Lions 17–3

3	DET	George Jamison 4 yard fumble return (Eddie Murray kick)	Lions 24–3

4	ATL	Alex Higdon 9 yard pass from Chris Miller (Greg Davis kick)	Lions 24–10

4	DET	Mark Lewis 1 yard pass from Chuck Long (Eddie Murray kick)	Lions 31–10

4	ATL	John Settle 2 yard run (Greg Davis kick)	Lions 31–17

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Lions	0	7	0	0	7
Chiefs	0	3	3	0	6

1988 Detroit Lions season

Offseason

NFL draft

Undrafted free agents

Personnel

Staff

Roster

Regular season

Schedule

Game summaries

Week 1

Week 8

Week 12

Week 14

Standings

References

External links

Related Articles

Timelines

Top Qs

Fact Checks


Q2	KC	Lowery 38 yard field goal	KC 3–0

Q2	DET	Chadwick 14 yard pass from Hilger (Murray kick)	DET 7–3

Q3	KC	Lowery 43 yard field goal	DET 7–6


Q1	DET	Murray 42 yard field goal	DET 3–0

Q2	DET	Murray 37 yard field goal	DET 6–0

Q2	DET	Murray 19 yard field goal	DET 9–0

Q3	GB	Dawson 32 yard field goal	DET 9–3

Q4	DET	Williams 1 yard run (Murray kick)	DET 16–3

Q4	DET	Murray 26 yard field goal	DET 19–3

Q4	GB	Matthews 3 yard pass from Majkowski (kick failed)	DET 19–9


Q1	DET	Murray 26 yard field goal	DET 3–0

Q1	DET	Mandley 21 yard run (Murray kick)	DET 10–0

Q2	DET	Murray 23 yard field goal	DET 13–0

Q2	DET	Mitchell 90 yard interception return (Murray kick)	DET 20–0

Q2	DET	James 2 yard run (Murray kick)	DET 27–0

Q4	GB	West 4 yard pass from Wright (Dorsey kick)	DET 27–7

Q4	DET	Murray 23 yard field goal	DET 30–7

Q4	GB	Sharpe 24 yard pass from Wright (Dorsey kick)	DET 30–14

NFC Central
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Chicago Bears⁽¹⁾	12	4	0	.750	6–2	9–3	312	215	L1
Minnesota Vikings⁽⁴⁾	11	5	0	.688	6–2	9–3	406	233	W1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	5	11	0	.313	4–4	4–8	261	350	W1
Detroit Lions	4	12	0	.250	2–6	3–11	220	315	L2
Green Bay Packers	4	12	0	.250	2–6	3–9	240	313	W2