1999 Detroit Lions season

1999 Detroit Lions season
Head coach	Bobby Ross
General manager	Chuck Schmidt
Owner	William Clay Ford, Sr.
Home field	Pontiac Silverdome
Results
Record	8–8
Division place	3rd NFC Central
Playoff finish	Lost NFC Wild Card Game (Redskins) 27-13

The 1999 Detroit Lions season was their 70th in the league. The team improved upon their previous season's output of 5–11 and qualified for the playoffs, where they lost to the Washington Redskins in the Wild Card round.^[1] This was their last playoff appearance until the 2011 season.

In 2004, Football Outsiders' Mike Tanier named the 1999 Lions as one of the "worst playoff teams ever":^[2]

The Lions had just lost Barry Sanders and were starting second-year pro Charlie Batch at quarterback. They were coming off a 5–11 season. Hopes weren't high, but a 6–2 start made the Lions a surprise contender at the midway point in the season. Reality soon set in, however, and the Lions lost their last four straight. Two other NFC teams finished 8–8, but the Lions beat the Panthers during the season and held the tiebreaker over the Packers. The Redskins beat them 27–13 in the opening round of the playoffs.

Personnel

Staff

1999 Detroit Lions staff
	Front office Chairman and President – William Clay Ford, Sr. Vice Chairman – William Clay Ford, Jr. Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer – Chuck Schmidt Vice President of Player Personnel – Ron Hughes Vice President of Football Administration – Larry Lee Vice President of Stadium Development and Salary Cap – Tom Lewand Director of Pro Scouting – Kevin Colbert Head coaches Head Coach – Bobby Ross Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Sylvester Croom Quarterbacks – Jim Zorn Running Backs – Frank Falks Wide Receivers – Jerry Sullivan Tight Ends – Danny Smith Offensive Line – Jack Henry Offensive Assistant – Stan Kwan Quality Control–Offense/Administrative Assistant – John Misciagna			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Larry Peccatiello Defensive Line – Brian Baker Linebackers – Gary Moeller Defensive Backs – Richard Selcer Defensive Assistant – Don Clemons Quality Control–Defense – Dennis Murphy Special teams coaches Special Teams – Chuck Priefer Special Teams Assistant – Stan Kwan Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Bert Hill Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Rob Graf

Regular season

The season had an inauspicious beginning as future Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders suddenly retired on the eve of training camp. Undaunted, Coach Bobby Ross led the Lions to a fast start, highlighted by a Week 9 win over the then 6–1 St. Louis Rams. The following week, Coach Ross made a questionable decision to go for a failed two-point conversion after a touchdown against Arizona. The game ended with Detroit in the red zone trying to score a game-winning touchdown. After defeating the Redskins in Week 13 for the franchise's first win vs. Washington since 1965, the Lions had an 8–4 record and were the second seed in the NFC. Subsequently, the Lions lost their last four regular season games and backed into the 6th playoff seed.

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 12, 1999	at Seattle Seahawks	W 28–20	66,238
2	September 19, 1999	Green Bay Packers	W 23–15	76,202
3	September 26, 1999	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 31–21	78,384
4	Bye
5	October 10, 1999	San Diego Chargers	L 20–10	61,481
6	October 17, 1999	Minnesota Vikings	W 25–23	76,516
7	October 24, 1999	at Carolina Panthers	W 24–9	64,322
8	October 31, 1999	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 20–3	63,135
9	November 7, 1999	St. Louis Rams	W 31–27	73,224
10	November 14, 1999	at Arizona Cardinals	L 23–19	49,600
11	November 21, 1999	at Green Bay Packers	L 26–17	59,869
12	November 25, 1999	Chicago Bears	W 21–17	77,905
13	December 5, 1999	Washington Redskins	W 33–17	77,693
14	December 12, 1999	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 23–16	65,536
15	December 19, 1999	at Chicago Bears	L 28–10	50,256
16	December 25, 1999	Denver Broncos	L 17–7	73,158
17	January 2, 2000	at Minnesota Vikings	L 24–17	64,103

Standings

NFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
^(2) Tampa Bay Buccaneers	11	5	0	.688	270	235	W2
^(4) Minnesota Vikings	10	6	0	.625	399	335	W3
^(6) Detroit Lions	8	8	0	.500	322	323	L4
Green Bay Packers	8	8	0	.500	357	341	W1
Chicago Bears	6	10	0	.375	272	341	L2

Playoffs

Week	Date	Opponent	Result
Wild Card	January 8, 2000	at Washington Redskins	L 27–13

NFC Wild Card Game: At Washington Redskins

NFC Wild Card Game: Detroit Lions at Washington Redskins – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Lions	0	0	0	13	13
Redskins	14	13	0	0	27

at Jack Kent Cooke Stadium, Washington D.C

• Date: January 8, 2000
• Game time: 4:05 p.m. EST/3:05 p.m. CST
• Game weather: 45 Degrees, 48% humidity
• http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200001080was.htm

Game information

1st quarter WAS – Stephen Davis 1 yard rush (Brett Conway kick). Redskins 7–0 WAS – Stephen Davis 4 yard rush (Brett Conway kick). Redskins 14–0 2nd quarter WAS – Brett Conway 33 yard field goal. Redskins 17–0 WAS – Brett Conway 23 yard field goal. Redskins 20–0 WAS – Albert Connell 30 yard pass from Brad Johnson (Brett Conway kick). Redskins 27–0 3rd quarter no scoring 4th quarter DET – Ron Rice 94 yard blocked field goal return (2 point conversion failed) Redskins 27–6 DET – Ron Rivers 5 yard pass from Gus Frerotte (Jason Hanson kick). Redskins 27–13 Turnovers DET – 2 WAS – 0

References

1. 1999 Detroit Lions
2. Football Outsiders: Skin of the Teeth: The Worst Playoff Teams Ever

External links

• 1999 Detroit Lions at Pro-Football-Reference.com