# 1999 Detroit Lions season

The 1999 season was the Detroit Lions' 70th in the National Football League (NFL). They finished the season with an 8–8 record, an improvement on their 5–11 record from the previous season, and qualified for the playoffs as the third-placed team in the NFC Central. It was their sixth playoff appearance of the decade, capping one of the most successful 10-year stretches in franchise history.
In 2004, Football Outsiders' Mike Tanier named the 1999 Lions as one of the "worst playoff teams ever".
The Lions had just lost Barry Sanders to an abrupt retirement and started the season with second-year pro Charlie Batch at quarterback before he was lost to an injury and replaced by Gus Frerotte.
The team won six of their first eight games, including a victory over the eventual Super Bowl champion St. Louis Rams, which made the Lions a surprise contender at the midway point of the season; however, they managed only two more wins in the second half of the season and lost their final four games.

## Offseason
### NFL Draft

1999 Detroit Lions draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
| 1 | 9 | Chris Claiborne | LB | USC | |
| 1 | 27 | Aaron Gibson | OT | Wisconsin | from Miami |
| 3 | 70 | Jared DeVries | DE | Iowa | from Miami |
| 4 | 103 | Sedrick Irvin | RB | Michigan State | |
| 5 | 137 | Tyree Talton | S | Northern Iowa | from Philadelphia |
| 6 | 177 | Clint Kriewaldt | LB | Wisconsin-Stevens Point | |
| 7 | 215 | Mike Pringley | DE | North Carolina | |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||
Notes
* Detroit traded up from its second-round selection (39th) with Miami, receiving Miami's first-round selection (27th), which they had received from San Francisco, in return for Detroit's third- and fifth-round selections (70th and 142nd).
* Detroit traded up from a third-round selection (72nd) received from Baltimore as part of the trade of QB Scott Mitchell with Miami to the 70th pick, giving up a seventh-round selection (232nd) in return. Detroit had received the 232nd pick from Green Bay in exchange for RB Glyn Milburn.
* Detroit traded its fourth-round selection in 2000 to Philadelphia in exchange for the Eagles' fifth-round selection (137th).

### Undrafted Free Agents

1999 Undrafted Free Agents of note :
| Player | Position | College |
| Nikia Codie | Safety | Baylor |
| Darryl Daniel | Wide receiver | Syracuse |
| Charles Dorsey | Defensive tackle | Auburn |
| Henry Douglas | Wide receiver | North Carolina A&T |
| Brian Gowins | Kicker | Northwestern |
| Joey Hall | Linebacker | Appalachian State |
| Donnie Hart | Wide receiver | Texas Tech |
| Demetrius Johnson | Cornerback | Eastern Michigan |
| Sorie Kanu | Safety | Michigan State |
| Phil Nash | Cornerback | Syracuse |
| Jeremy Offutt | Center | Oklahoma State |
| Daniel Pope | Punter | Alabama |
| Marek Rubin | Tackle | Yale |
| Joe Tuipala | Linebacker | San Diego State |

## 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, Ross made a questionable decision to go for a failed two-point conversion after a touchdown against Arizona. The game ended with Detroit trailing by four points in the red zone trying to score a game-winning touchdown. The Lions would lose at Green Bay the following week, but defeat Chicago at home to get back on track.
The following week, the Lions picked up the franchise's first win vs. Washington since 1965 and snapped an 18 game losing streak, putting the team at an 8–4 and in sole possession of the second seed in the NFC. However, the Lions collapsed down the stretch and lost their last four regular season games to finish 8–8.
Two other NFC teams—the Packers and Carolina Panthers—finished 8–8, but the Lions beat the Panthers 24–9 in Week 7 and they held the conference record tiebreaker over the Packers, thus allowing Detroit to make the playoffs as the sixth seed despite losing their final four games.
This would be the Lions' last playoff appearance until the 2011 season.

### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Attendance |
| 1 | September 12 | at Seattle Seahawks | W 28–20 | 1–0 | 66,238 |
| 2 | September 19 | Green Bay Packers | W 23–15 | 2–0 | 76,202 |
| 3 | September 26 | at Kansas City Chiefs | L 21–31 | 2–1 | 78,384 |
| 4 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 5 | October 10 | San Diego Chargers | L 10–20 | 2–2 | 61,481 |
| 6 | October 17 | Minnesota Vikings | W 25–23 | 3–2 | 76,516 |
| 7 | October 24 | at Carolina Panthers | W 24–9 | 4–2 | 64,322 |
| 8 | October 31 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 20–3 | 5–2 | 63,135 |
| 9 | November 7 | St. Louis Rams | W 31–27 | 6–2 | 73,224 |
| 10 | November 14 | at Arizona Cardinals | L 19–23 | 6–3 | 49,600 |
| 11 | November 21 | at Green Bay Packers | L 17–26 | 6–4 | 59,869 |
| 12 | November 25 | Chicago Bears | W 21–17 | 7–4 | 77,905 |
| 13 | December 5 | Washington Redskins | W 33–17 | 8–4 | 77,693 |
| 14 | December 12 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 16–23 | 8–5 | 65,536 |
| 15 | December 19 | at Chicago Bears | L 10–28 | 8–6 | 50,256 |
| 16 | December 25 | Denver Broncos | L 7–17 | 8–7 | 73,158 |
| 17 | January 2 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 17–24 | 8–8 | 64,103 |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. ||||||

### Standings

NFC Central :
| viewtalkedit | 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 |

## Postseason
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| Wild Card | January 8 | at Washington Redskins | L 13–27 | 0–1 | Jack Kent Cooke Stadium | 79,411 |

### Game summaries
#### NFC Wild Card Game: at (#3) Washington Redskins

| Quarter | 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
* Game time: 4:05 p.m. EST/3:05 p.m. CST
* Game weather: Partly cloudy, 45 °F or 7.2 °C
* Game attendance: 79,411
* Game Book
Game information :
First quarter
WAS – Stephen Davis 1-yard run (Brett Conway kick), 9:09. Redskins 7–0. Drive: 9 plays, 69 yards, 3:38.
WAS – Stephen Davis 4-yard run (Brett Conway kick), 2:28. Redskins 14–0. Drive: 8 plays, 87 yards, 3:36.
Second quarter
WAS – Brett Conway 33-yard field goal, 13:50. Redskins 17–0. Drive: 4 plays, 24 yards, 1:55.
WAS – Brett Conway 23-yard field goal, 9:50. Redskins 20–0. Drive: 6 plays, 45 yards, 2:53.
WAS – Albert Connell 30-yard pass from Brad Johnson (Brett Conway kick), 1:19. Redskins 27–0. Drive: 8 plays, 82 yards, 3:36.
Third quarter
No scoring plays.
Fourth quarter
DET – Ron Rice 94-yard return of blocked field goal (pass failed), 9:23. Redskins 27–6.
DET – Ron Rivers 5-yard pass from Gus Frerotte (Jason Hanson kick), 0:00. Redskins 27–13. Drive: 12 plays, 90 yards, 2:35.
Top passers
DET – Gus Frerotte – 21/46, 251 yards, TD, 2 INT
WAS – Brad Johnson – 15/31, 174 yards, TD, 2 INT
Top rushers
DET – Cory Schlesinger – 7 rushes, 23 yards
WAS – Stephen Davis – 15 rushes, 119 yards, 2 TD
Top receivers
DET – Herman Moore – 3 receptions, 69 yards
WAS – Larry Centers – 7 receptions, 61 yards :