1988 Detroit Lions season - Misplaced Pages

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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, 3-2 record)
Home field	Pontiac Silverdome
Results
Record	4–12
Division place	4th NFC Central
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	LB Mike Cofer P Jim Arnold
All-Pros	P Jim Arnold (2nd team)
← 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.

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. Their 220 points scored (13.75 per game) is the fifth-fewest of the 1980s. They scored 20 or more points only three times all season.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 1988 NFL draft

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

Undrafted free agents

1988 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player	Position	College
Douglas Beaty	Fullback	Appalachian State

Personnel

Staff

**1988 Detroit Lions staff**
	Front office Owner and president – William Clay Ford Sr. Executive vice president and general manager – Russ Thomas Treasurer – William Clay Ford Jr. Vice president for finance – Chuck Schmidt Vice president for player personnel – Jerry Vainisi Director of player personnel – Joe Bushofsky Director of pro scouting – Ron Hughes Head coaches Head coach and director of football operations – Darryl Rogers Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks – Bob Baker Running backs – Vic Rapp Receivers – Lew Carpenter Tight ends/staff administrative assistant – Don Doll Offensive line – Bill Muir			Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator/secondary – Wayne Fontes Defensive line – Dick Modzelewski Inside linebackers – Mike Murphy Outside linebackers – Willie Shaw Special teams coaches Special teams – Carl Battershell Strength and conditioning Strength and conditioning coordinator – Don Clemons

Roster

**1988 Detroit Lions roster**
Quarterbacks (QB) 12 Rusty Hilger 16 Chuck Long Running backs (RB) 32 Garry James 30 James Jones 42 Randall Morris 49 Tony Paige FB 26 Carl Painter KR 38 Scott Williams Wide receivers (WR) 80 Carl Bland KR 89 Jeff Chadwick 83 Gary Lee KR 82 Pete Mandley PR 81 Stephen Starring KR Tight ends (TE) 87 Pat Carter 84 Rob Rubick		Offensive linemen (OL) 65 Eric Andolsek G 61 Scott Barrows G 75 Lomas Brown T 53 Kevin Glover G 74 Joe Milinichik G 52 Steve Mott C 73 Harvey Salem T 64 Eric Sanders 72 Curt Singer T Defensive linemen (DL) 93 Jerry Ball NT 77 Keith Ferguson DE 71 Gary Hadd DE 97 Dan Saleaumua NT 94 Thomas Strauthers DE 76 Eric Williams DE		Linebackers (LB) 57 Dave Ahrens OLB 96 Paul Butcher OLB 55 Mike Cofer OLB 98 Dennis Gibson ILB 58 George Jamison OLB 50 Danny Lockett ILB 54 Chris Spielman ILB Defensive backs (DB) 36 Bennie Blades SS 45 Raphel Cherry FS 34 James Griffin S 43 Jerry Holmes CB 29 Bruce McNorton CB 31 Devon Mitchell FS 27 Bobby Watkins CB 35 William White CB Special teams 3 Eddie Murray K 6 Jim Arnold P		Practice squad 47 active, 11 inactive Reserve 68 Steve Baack NT (IR) 25 Karl Bernard RB (IR) 40 Duane Galloway CB (IR) 62 Curtis Green (IR) 17 Eric Hipple QB (IR) 14 Danny McCoin QB (IR) 56 Shelton Robinson LB (IR) 60 Reggie Rogers DE (IR) 86 Ray Roundtree WR (IR) 59 Jimmy Williams LB (IR) 21 Butch Woolfolk RB (IR) Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

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.

Game summaries

Week 1

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

Date: September 4
Location: Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, Michigan
Game start: 1:00 p.m.
Game weather: indoors (dome)

Scoring summary

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

Week 8

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

Date: October 23
Location: Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, MO
Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
Game weather: 58 °F or 14.4 °C; wind 20 miles per hour (32 km/h; 17 kn)

Scoring summary

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

Week 12

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Lions	3	6	0	10	19
Packers	0	0	3	6	9

Date: November 20
Location: Milwaukee County Stadium, Milwaukee, WI
Game start: 1:00 p.m.
Game weather: 38 °F or 3.3 °C; wind 13 miles per hour (21 km/h; 11 kn)

Scoring summary

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

Week 14

	1	2	3	4	Total
Packers	0	0	0	14	14
• Lions	10	17	0	3	30

Date: December 4
Location: Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, MI
Game start: 1:00 p.m.
Game weather: Indoors (dome)

Scoring summary

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

Standings

NFC Central
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Chicago Bears	12	4	0	.750	6–2	9–3	312	215	L1
Minnesota Vikings	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

References

NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 114
Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1978 to 2011, in the regular season, sorted by ascending Total Yds.
In a 16-game season, Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1980 to 1989, in the regular season, sorted by ascending Points For.
"1988 Detroit Lions Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Dec-28.
Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Nov-07.
Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Nov-07.

External links

1988 Detroit Lions at Pro-Football-Reference.com

v t e Detroit Lions
Founded in 1928 Formerly the Portsmouth Spartans (1928–1933) Based in Detroit, Michigan Headquartered in Allen Park, Michigan
Franchise	Ownership: William Clay Martha Firestone Ford Sheila Ford Hamp Franchise overview Team history in Portsmouth, Ohio
Records	All-time roster (A–Las, Lat–Z) Coaches Draft history First-round draft picks Picks from 1936 to 1969 Picks from 1970 to present Lists of players NFL All-Decade Team selections Pride of the Lions Pro Bowlers Pro Football Hall of Famers Retired numbers 7 20 20 20 22 37 56 85 Seasons Starting quarterbacks
Stadiums	Universal Stadium University of Detroit Stadium Tiger Stadium Pontiac Silverdome Ford Field
Culture	NFL on Thanksgiving Day Paper Lion (film) "What's Going On" (Marvin Gaye song) Home Improvement Beverly Hills Cop Axel Foley Cheerleaders
Lore	1932 NFL Playoff Game Curse of Bobby Layne 0–16 Miracle in Motown
Rivalries	Chicago Bears Green Bay Packers Minnesota Vikings
Division championships (10)	1935 1952 1953 1954 1957 1983 1991 1993 2023 2024
League championships (4)	1935 1952 1953 1957
Media	Broadcasters Radio: Radio network Dan Miller Lomas Brown WXYT-FM TV: Television network WJBK Bally Sports Detroit
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League (1930–present) Conference: National Football Conference (1970–present) Division: North Division (2002–present)

v t e Detroit Lions seasons
Formerly the Portsmouth Spartans (1930–1933)
1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Bold indicates NFL Championship (1920–69) or Super Bowl (1966–present) victory Italics indicates NFL Championship (1920–69) or Super Bowl (1966–present) appearance

1988 NFL season

East	Central	West	East	Central	West
Buffalo	Cincinnati	Denver	Dallas	Chicago	Atlanta
Indianapolis	Cleveland	Kansas City	NY Giants	Detroit	LA Rams
Miami	Houston	LA Raiders	Philadelphia	Green Bay	New Orleans
New England	Pittsburgh	San Diego	Phoenix	Minnesota	San Francisco
NY Jets		Seattle	Washington	Tampa Bay

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