Detroit Lions NFL playoff history: 5 most painful losses all-time
Detroit Lions NFL playoff history is a cornucopia of sadness.
The Lions' last playoff win of course came in the 1991 season — read our oral history of that epic win — in a shellacking of the Dallas Cowboys, the lasting image Barry Sanders popping free from a pile of defenders and racing past one who thought the play was over for the final touchdown.
Think about that for a second: People who are approaching 40 years old have no recollection of a Lions playoff win.
The Lions have since lost their past nine playoff games. They own the longest playoff victory drought in the NFL, after the Cincinnati Bengals ended their 31-year winless streak two seasons ago.
The Lions last won their division and hosted a home playoff game in the 1993 season, and are the lone NFC team to never appear in the Super Bowl.
Let's chronicle the Lions' history in the playoffs to find the five most heartbreaking games. This is ranked in reverse chronological order.
Detroit Lions most painful playoff losses
2014: Wild-card game at Dallas Cowboys, L 24-20
What happened: The Lions jumped to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter against the Cowboys in Dallas, led 20-7 late in the third quarter but saw it whittled to three early in the fourth. That's when one of the most controversial calls in recent NFL history took place: On third-and-1 from the Cowboys 46, Lions tight end Brandon Pettigrew, guarded by linebacker Anthony Hitchens, was interfered with as he tried to catch a pass. Referee Pete Morelli announced the penalty, but 17 seconds later, retracted it, leaving the Lions in a fourth-and-1. Lions coach Jim Caldwell elected to try to draw the defense offsides, and when that failed, took a delay of game penalty and sent the punt team out. Sam Martin shanked the punt 10 yards and the rest is history. The Lions' defense softened, committed penalties and could not get off the field as Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo found receiver Terrence Williams for an 8-yard touchdown and 24-20 lead with 2:32 remaining. That was plenty of time for Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford to fumble twice on the final drive to snuff the upset bid.
The league later admitted it missed a holding call on Hitchens on the game-changing third down, and also said a blatant Cowboys hold against Ndamukong Suh was missed on a critical fourth-and-6 conversion to Jason Witten that kept Dallas' winning drive alive. Those admissions only served to infuriate Lions fans more and further fuel "The Curse of Bobby Layne."
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1993: Wild-card game vs. Green Bay Packers, L 28-24
What happened: You've probably seen the video: Brett Favre scrambling left, looking back right and lasering a moon ball to the right corner of the end zone, where Sterling Sharpe ran under it to stun the 68,479 fans at the Pontiac Silverdome. The 40-yard touchdown with 55 seconds left was Sharpe's third score of the game. The Lions outgained the Packers, 410-293, with Sanders galloping for 169 yards over 27 carries, and won the time of possession battle by more than 10 minutes. But they squandered a 10-point lead in the third quarter, culminating in a game-changing 101-yard interception return touchdown by Packers rookie safety George Teague. The excruciating result was payback for the previous week in the same stadium, where the Lions knocked off the Packers, 30-20, to win the NFC Central Division. They haven't won a division title since nor hosted a playoff game, with this defeat remaining the lone home playoff loss in franchise history (5-1) — hey, you can't lose at home if you don't ever play at home!
The Lions lost again to the Packers the next postseason at Lambeau Field, when Sanders rushed 13 times for minus-1 yards in a 16-12 loss.
1991: NFC championship game vs. Washington Redskins, L 41-10
What happened: This wasn't a gut-wrenching fourth-quarter ending like the others on the list. But it remains the high-water mark for the franchise, painful in other ways. High off their rousing 38-6 victory over Dallas, the Lions traveled to the nation's capital to face another NFC East opponent: 15-2 Washington. The Lions were 14-point underdogs against coach Joe Gibbs' squad, expected fodder for the eventual Super Bowl champs, and there was good reason: Washington embarrassed them 45-0 in the season opener at RFK Stadium. The Lions this time hung in for a half, trailing 17-10 thanks to a touchdown catch from rookie Willie Green. Then they were run off the field in the second half, outscored 24-0. Washington's Mark Rypien threw for 228 yards on 12 completions, with touchdown passes to Art Monk and Gary Clark, and the Lions committed three turnovers, seven penalties and were sacked five times. It's the closest the Lions have ever come to a Super Bowl appearance, so the game has to make this sickening list.
1983: NFC Divisional game at San Francisco 49ers, L 24-23
What happened: The Lions were touchdown underdogs on New Year's Eve but outplayed the 49ers except for one key category: They lost the turnover battle, 5-2, with coach Bill Walsh's Niners intercepting Lions backup quarterback Gary Danielson five times — four coming in the first half. Still, the Lions had the chance to pull the upset over the 1981 Super Bowl champions in an epic fourth quarter. They turned to Pro Bowl running back Billy Sims, who scored touchdowns of 11 and 3 yards in the fourth for a shocking 23-17 lead with five minutes left. That's when 49ers quarterback Joe Montana did what he became famous for: He went 6-for-6 on the ensuing drive in just over three minutes, and found Freddie Solomon on a 14-yard post pattern to retake the lead at 1:23. The Lions responded by driving to the Niners' 25 with 11 seconds left, in position for their first playoff win in 26 years. The game instead became another pox on the Lions' ledger of painful losses. Kicker Eddie Murray had already made a playoff record (at the time) 54-yard field goal among three makes and one 43-yard miss. But with the season on the line, he pushed a 42-yard field goal wide to the right to the delight of the San Francisco faithful at Candlestick Park. "I lined myself up right, but I was trying to more or less finesse the ball through rather than just kick it like I normally do," Murray said in the locker room. "It's like golf, you gotta hook the ball and you leave it out and it doesn't come in, it's the same principle."
The contest in 1999 was named among the five best divisional playoff games ever by ESPN — no comfort to Lions fans.
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1970: NFC Divisional game at Dallas Cowboys, L 5-0
What happened: One of three NFL games to finish 5-0, the Lions entered as three-point favorites at the Cotton Bowl, according to Pro Football Reference, with both squads 10-4. Weather was not to blame for the inept offenses — 35 degrees with a little wind. Turnovers (you guessed it!) were a problem, the Lions losing the category, 3-1. However the Lions did not commit a penalty compared to the Cowboys flagged six times. Defense dominated, with the Lions offense stymied to 156 total yards and no points after finishing second in the NFL during the regular season averaging 24.8 points per game. Quarterbacks Greg Landry and Bill Munson were a combined 7-for-20 for 92 yards with a pick, and halfback Mel Farr took 12 carries 31 yards. First-Team All-Pro tight end Charlie Sanders was held without a catch. The Cowboys gained 231 yards, most on the ground with Duane Thomas (135 yards on 30 carries) and Walt Garrison (72 yards on 17 carries). Cowboys quarterback Craig Morton was an abysmal 4-for-18 passing for 38 yards and an interception. The Lions defense made a goal-line stand in the fourth quarter to keep the deficit 3-0, but Landry was immediately sacked in the end zone for a safety. Joe Schmidt, the former Hall of Fame linebacker and then-head coach, replaced Landry with Munson. Receiver Earl McCullouch made a leaping 39-yard grab on a fourth-down heave from Munson to get the Lions to the Dallas 29. But Munson's third-down pass was high, off the fingertips of McCullouch and hauled in by cornerback Mel Renfro with 35 seconds left. As Renfro returned the game-sealing interception, McCullouch threw his helmet to the turf in frustration, forecasting the start of decades of playoff heartbreak experienced by the franchise.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions NFL playoff history: 5 most painful losses ever
