# 1982 Detroit Lions season

The 1982 Detroit Lions season was the 53rd season in franchise history. An NFL players strike shortened the regular season to nine games.
The NFL changed the playoff format due to the strike to allow the top eight teams in each conference to qualify. Because of this, the Lions qualified for their first postseason appearance since 1970, becoming one of only four teams to ever qualify for the playoffs despite having a losing record. The Lions and the 1982 Cleveland Browns are the only two teams with a losing record to qualify as wildcards.
The Lions lost to the Washington Redskins at RFK Stadium in the first round of the playoffs.
It would not be until 2010 when the Seattle Seahawks became the third team with a losing record to qualify for the playoffs (7–9), the first to do so in a 16-game season and the first to win a division title with a losing record. The Carolina Panthers in 2014 (7–8–1) and Washington in 2020 (7–9) have subsequently won their divisions and made the postseason with losing records.

## Offseason
### NFL draft

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 15 | Jimmy Williams | LB | Nebraska |
| 2 | 42 | Bobby Watkins | CB | Southwest Texas State |
| 3 | 69 | Steve Doig | LB | New Hampshire |
| 4 | 96 | Bruce McNorton | CB | Georgetown (KY) |
| 5 | 127 | William Graham | S | Texas |
| 6 | 154 | Mike Machurek | QB | Idaho State |
| 7 | 175 | Phil Bates | RB | Nebraska |
| 7 | 187 | Victor Simmons | WR | Oregon State |
| 8 | 208 | Martin Moss | DE | UCLA |
| 9 | 231 | Dan Wagoner | DB | Kansas |
| 10 | 266 | Roosevelt Barnes | LB | Purdue |
| 11 | 292 | Edward Lee | WR | South Carolina State |
| 12 | 319 | Ricky Porter | RB | Slippery Rock |
| 12 | 326 | Rob Rubick | TE | Grand Valley State |

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 12 | Chicago Bears | W 17–10 | 1–0 | Pontiac Silverdome | 71,337 |
| 2 | September 19 | at Los Angeles Rams | W 19–14 | 2–0 | Anaheim Stadium | 59,470 |
| Player strike cancels seven games |||||||
| 3 | November 21 | at Chicago Bears | L 17–20 | 2–1 | Soldier Field | 71,337 |
| 4 | November 25 | New York Giants | L 6–13 | 2–2 | Pontiac Silverdome | 64,348 |
| 5 | December 6 | New York Jets | L 13–28 | 2–3 | Pontiac Silverdome | 79,361 |
| 6 | December 12 | at Green Bay Packers | W 30–10 | 3–3 | Lambeau Field | 51,875 |
| 7 | December 19 | Minnesota Vikings | L 31–34 | 3–4 | Pontiac Silverdome | 73,058 |
| 8 | December 26 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 21–23 | 3–5 | Tampa Stadium | 65,997 |
| 9 | January 2 | Green Bay Packers | W 27–24 | 4–5 | Pontiac Silverdome | 64,377 |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |||||||

## Standings

NFC Central :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Green Bay Packers$^{(3)}$ | 5 | 3 | 1 | .611 | 1–2 | 4–2 | 226 | 169 | L1 |
| Minnesota Vikings$^{(4)}$ | 5 | 4 | 0 | .556 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 158 | 178 | W3 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers$^{(7)}$ | 5 | 4 | 0 | .556 | 2–1 | 3–3 | 158 | 178 | W1 |
| Detroit Lions$^{(8)}$ | 4 | 5 | 0 | .444 | 3–3 | 4–4 | 181 | 176 | W1 |
| Chicago Bears | 3 | 6 | 0 | .333 | 1–3 | 2–5 | 141 | 174 | L1 |
NFCvte :
| # | Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK |
| Seeded postseason qualifiers |||||||||
| 1 | Washington Redskins | 8 | 1 | 0 | .889 | 190 | 128 | W4 |
| 2 | Dallas Cowboys | 6 | 3 | 0 | .667 | 226 | 145 | L2 |
| 3 | Green Bay Packers | 5 | 3 | 1 | .611 | 226 | 169 | L1 |
| 4 | Minnesota Vikings | 5 | 4 | 0 | .556 | 187 | 198 | W1 |
| 5 | Atlanta Falcons | 5 | 4 | 0 | .556 | 183 | 199 | L2 |
| 6 | St. Louis Cardinals | 5 | 4 | 0 | .556 | 135 | 170 | L1 |
| 7 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 5 | 4 | 0 | .556 | 158 | 178 | W3 |
| 8 | Detroit Lions | 4 | 5 | 0 | .444 | 181 | 176 | W1 |
| Did not qualify for the postseason |||||||||
| 9 | New Orleans Saints | 4 | 5 | 0 | .444 | 129 | 160 | W1 |
| 10 | New York Giants | 4 | 5 | 0 | .444 | 164 | 160 | W1 |
| 11 | San Francisco 49ers | 3 | 6 | 0 | .333 | 209 | 206 | L1 |
| 12 | Chicago Bears | 3 | 6 | 0 | .333 | 141 | 174 | L1 |
| 13 | Philadelphia Eagles | 3 | 6 | 0 | .333 | 191 | 195 | L1 |
| 14 | Los Angeles Rams | 2 | 7 | 0 | .222 | 200 | 250 | W1 |
| Tiebreakers |||||||||
| 1 2 3 4 Minnesota (4–1), Atlanta (4–3), St. Louis (5–4), Tampa Bay (3–3) seeds were determined by best won-lost record in conference games. 1 2 3 Detroit finished ahead of New Orleans and the N.Y. Giants based on best conference record (4–4 to Saints’ 3–5 to Giants’ 3–5). 1 2 3 San Francisco finished ahead of Chicago, and Chicago finished ahead of Philadelphia, based on conference record (49ers’ 2–3 to Bears’ 2–5 to Eagles’ 1–5). |||||||||

## Season summary
### Week 12

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Giants | 0 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 13 |
| Lions | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
at Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, Michigan
* Date: November 25, 1982
* Game time: 12:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: Indoors (dome)
* Referee: Tom Dooley
* TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and John Madden
* Pro-Football-Reference.com
Game information :
First quarter
DET – Eddie Murray 46-yard field goal. Lions 3–0. Drive:
Second quarter
DET – Eddie Murray 44-yard field goal. Lions 6–0. Drive:
Third quarter
NYG – Joe Danelo 34-yard field goal. Lions 6–3. Drive:
NYG – Joe Danelo 40-yard field goal. Tie 6–6. Drive:
Fourth quarter
NYG – Lawrence Taylor 97-yard interception return (Joe Danelo kick). Giants 13–7.
Top passers
NYG – Scott Brunner – 12/28, 136 yards, 2 INT
DET – Gary Danielson – 12/19, 125 yards, 3 INT
Top rushers
NYG – Butch Woolfolk – 21 rushes, 87 yards
DET – Billy Sims – 26 rushes, 114 yards
Top receivers
NYG – Johnny Perkins – 5 receptions, 80 yards
DET – Mark Nichols – 3 receptions, 49 yards :

## Playoffs

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Lions | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Redskins | 10 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 31 |
at RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.
* Game time: 12:30 p.m. EST
* Game weather: 46 °F or 7.8 °C, cloudy
* Game attendance: 55,045
* Referee: Tom Dooley
* TV announcers (CBS): Dick Stockton and Roger Staubach
The Redskins jumped to a 24–0 lead en route to a 31–7 victory over the Lions.

## Records

Regular-season record
* First team with a losing record (4–5, .444) to qualify for the playoffs. Shared with Cleveland Browns
* Worst regular-season record (4–5, .444) to qualify for the playoffs. Shared with Cleveland Browns. Broken by the 2010 Seattle Seahawks and later matched by the 2020 Washington Football Team (7–9, .438).