1962 Detroit Lions season

1962 Detroit Lions season
Head coach	George Wilson
Home field	Tiger Stadium
Results
Record	11–3
Division place	2nd NFL Western
Playoff finish	Won Playoff Bowl (3rd place)

The 1962 Detroit Lions season was the 33rd season in franchise history. In one of the best regular seasons in their history, the Lions posted an 11–3 record (.786), but finished two games behind the eventual NFL champion Packers in the NFL Western Conference. It was third straight season the Lions finished as runner-up to the Packers in the West.

As conference runner-up, Detroit won their third consecutive Playoff Bowl game over the Pittsburgh Steelers, 17–10.^[1] The third place game was played at the Orange Bowl in Miami on January 6, three weeks after the end of the regular season.^[2]

The Lions never trailed by more than seven points at any point in any game during the season, a feat that was not repeated for 48 years. Their 26–14 win over the Packers on Thanksgiving Day in Week 11 denied defending champion Green Bay the NFL's first true perfect season.^[3] The Lions were up 26–0 in the fourth quarter before Green Bay scored two touchdowns;^[4] the Packers had won the first meeting 9–7 in the mud in Green Bay with a late field goal on October 7.^[5][6]

Offseason

NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School
1	10 [7]	John Hadl [8]	Back	Kansas

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 16, 1962	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 45–7	46,641
2	September 23, 1962	San Francisco 49ers	W 45–24	51,032
3	September 30, 1962	at Baltimore Colts	W 29–20	57,966
4	October 7, 1962	at Green Bay Packers	L 9–7	38,669
5	October 14, 1962	Los Angeles Rams	W 13–10	53,714
6	October 21, 1962	at New York Giants	L 17–14	62,856
7	October 28, 1962	Chicago Bears	W 11–3	53,342
8	November 4, 1962	at Los Angeles Rams	W 12–3	44,241
9	November 11, 1962	at San Francisco 49ers	W 38–24	43,449
10	November 18, 1962	at Minnesota Vikings	W 17–6	31,257
11	November 22, 1962	Green Bay Packers	W 26–14	57,598
12	December 2, 1962	Baltimore Colts	W 21–14	53,012
13	December 9, 1962	Minnesota Vikings	W 37–23	42,256
14	December 16, 1962	at Chicago Bears	L 3–0	44,948

Season summary

Week 11

1 2 3 4 Total Packers 0 0 0 14 14 • Lions 7 16 3 0 26 Date: November 22 Location: Tiger Stadium • Detroit, Michigan Game weather: 37°F, wind 15 mph

Scoring summary 1 DET Gail Cogdill 33-yard pass from Milt Plum (Wayne Walker kick) Lions 7–0 2 DET Gail Cogdill 27-yard pass from Milt Plum (Wayne Walker kick) Lions 14–0 2 DET Sam Williams 6-yard fumble return (Wayne Walker kick) Lions 21–0 2 DET Safety, Starr tackled by Brown in end zone Lions 23–0 3 DET Milt Plum 47-yard field goal Lions 26–0 4 GB Willie Davis recovered fumble in end zone (Jerry Kramer kick) Lions 26–7 4 GB Jim Taylor 4-yard run (Jerry Kramer kick) Lions 26–14

^[9]

Standings

NFL Western Conference
	W	L	T	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Green Bay Packers	13	1	0	.929	11–1	415	148	W3
Detroit Lions	11	3	0	.786	10–2	315	177	L1
Chicago Bears	9	5	0	.643	8–4	321	287	W2
Baltimore Colts	7	7	0	.500	5–7	293	288	W2
San Francisco 49ers	6	8	0	.429	5–7	282	331	L2
Minnesota Vikings	2	11	1	.154	1–10–1	254	410	L3
Los Angeles Rams	1	12	1	.077	1–10–1	220	334	L3

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Roster

Detroit Lions roster
Quarterbacks Running Backs Wide Receivers Tight Ends		Offensive Linemen Defensive Linemen		Linebackers Defensive Backs Special Teams		Reserve Lists Currently vacant Rookies in italics

Playoff Bowl

The game matched the conference runners-up for third place in the league and was played three weeks after the end of the regular season (and a week after the championship game). The ten editions of the Playoff Bowl, all held at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, are now considered exhibition games by the NFL, not post-season contests.

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Venue	Attendance
Playoff Bowl	January 6, 1963	vs. Pittsburgh Steelers	W 17–10	Orange Bowl	36,284

Source:^[10]

Awards and records

• The Lions were only the third NFL team since 1940 that never trailed by more than 7 points at any time during the season. This feat would not be repeated again until the Green Bay Packers did so in their Super Bowl-winning 2010 season.^[11][12]

References

1. "Plum, Webb host Lions to 17-10 win". Milwaukee Sentinel. UPI. January 7, 1963. p. 4, part 2.
2. "Lions turns back Pittsburgh in NFL Play-off Bowl, 17-10". Milwaukee Journal. press dispatches. January 7, 1963. p. 12, part 2.
3. Lea, Bud (November 23, 1962). "Lions shatter Packers' streak". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 4, part 2.
4. "Lions hand Packers first loss, 26 to 14". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. p. 24.
5. Lea, Bud. "Packers nip Lions at wire, 9-7". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 2, part 2.
6. Johnson, Chuck (October 8, 1962). "Lions dare Packers to intercept; they do". Milwaukee Journal. p. 10, part 2.
7. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 395
8. John Hadl Signed with the San Diego Chargers of the American Football League
9. Pro-Football-Reference.com
10. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 369
11. Stuart, Chase (January 26, 2011). "Super Bowl notes: Stat of the Year and Updated SRS Standings". Pro Football Reference Blog. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 6, 2011.
12. Associated Press (February 6, 2011). "Aaron Rodgers tosses 3 TD passes as Packers drop Steelers to win Super Bowl XLV". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on 25 February 2011. Retrieved February 6, 2011. See especially the "Scoring Summary" section, which shows that the Packers never trailed in the game.

External links

• Detroit Lions on Pro Football Reference
• Detroit Lions on jt-sw.com
• Detroit Lions on The Football Database