# 1951 Detroit Lions season

The 1951 Detroit Lions season was their 22nd in the league. It was the first season under Buddy Parker as head coach. They were 7–4–1, tied for second in the National Conference, a half game behind the Los Angeles Rams. A loss at San Francisco in the regular season finale cost the Lions the conference title, and they failed to qualify for the playoffs for a sixteenth consecutive season. The team improved on their previous season's output of 6–6.
In their 52–35 win over the Green Bay Packers on Thanksgiving, Detroit became the first team in NFL history to score three touchdowns of 70 yards or more in one quarter (a run and two punt returns in the third period). It was the first of thirteen consecutive appearances for the Packers in Detroit on Thanksgiving, through 1963.

## Regular season

According to the team, a total of 10,094 season tickets were sold by the Lions for the 1951 campaign. The Lions played their home games in Briggs Stadium (Tiger Stadium), which had a regular listed seating capacity of 46,194, with an additional 7,000 bleacher seats for football to bring total capacity to 53,194.

### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 30 | Washington Redskins | W 35–17 | 1–0 | Briggs Stadium | 27,831 |
| 2 | October 8 | New York Yanks | W 37–10 | 2–0 | Briggs Stadium | 24,194 |
| 3 | October 14 | Los Angeles Rams | L 21–27 | 2–1 | Briggs Stadium | 50,567 |
| 4 | October 21 | New York Yanks | T 24–24 | 2–1–1 | Briggs Stadium | 21,807 |
| 5 | October 28 | Chicago Bears | L 23–28 | 2–2–1 | Briggs Stadium | 34,778 |
| 6 | November 4 | at Green Bay Packers | W 24–17 | 3–2–1 | City Stadium | 18,165 |
| 7 | November 11 | at Chicago Bears | W 41–28 | 4–2–1 | Wrigley Field | 43,709 |
| 8 | November 18 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 28–10 | 5–2–1 | Shibe Park | 25,098 |
| 9 | November 22 | Green Bay Packers | W 52–35 | 6–2–1 | Briggs Stadium | 32,247 |
| 10 | December 2 | San Francisco 49ers | L 10–20 | 6–3–1 | Briggs Stadium | 45,757 |
| 11 | December 9 | at Los Angeles Rams | W 24–22 | 7–3–1 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 52,937 |
| 12 | December 16 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 17–21 | 7–4–1 | Kezar Stadium | 26,465 |
| Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text |||||||
* Monday night (October 8), Thursday (November 22: Thanksgiving)

## Standings

NFL National Conference :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Los Angeles Rams | 8 | 4 | 0 | .667 | 7–2 | 392 | 261 | W1 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 7 | 4 | 1 | .636 | 5–2–1 | 255 | 205 | W3 |
| Detroit Lions | 7 | 4 | 1 | .636 | 5–4–1 | 336 | 259 | L1 |
| Chicago Bears | 7 | 5 | 0 | .583 | 6–2 | 286 | 282 | L1 |
| Green Bay Packers | 3 | 9 | 0 | .250 | 1–8 | 254 | 375 | L7 |
| New York Yanks | 1 | 9 | 2 | .100 | 1–7–2 | 241 | 382 | L2 |
    Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
NFL American Conference :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Cleveland Browns | 11 | 1 | 0 | .917 | 9–0 | 331 | 152 | W11 |
| New York Giants | 9 | 2 | 1 | .818 | 7–2–1 | 254 | 161 | W4 |
| Washington Redskins | 5 | 7 | 0 | .417 | 4–5 | 183 | 296 | L1 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 4 | 7 | 1 | .364 | 3–5–1 | 183 | 235 | W1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 4 | 8 | 0 | .333 | 3–6 | 234 | 264 | L2 |
| Chicago Cardinals | 3 | 9 | 0 | .250 | 0–8 | 210 | 287 | W1 |
    Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.