# 1977 Detroit Lions season

The 1977 Detroit Lions season was their 48th in the National Football League (NFL). The team matched their previous season's output of 6–8, and missed the playoffs for the seventh straight season. The Lions struggled offensively, scoring a mere 183 points while finishing in third place with a 6–8 record for the second consecutive season.
The 1977 coaching staff included 25-year-old assistant special teams and offensive assistant coach Bill Belichick. Belichick would later win two Super Bowls in the 1986 and 1990 seasons as defensive coordinator with the New York Giants, and six as head coach of the New England Patriots.
This would be the final season for head coach Tommy Hudspeth before he and his entire staff were fired. This would also be the final season for future Hall-of-Fame tight end Charlie Sanders before his retirement.

## NFL draft

1977 Detroit Lions draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
| 2 | 42 | Walt Williams | CB | New Mexico State | |
| 3 | 69 | Rick Kane | RB | San Jose State | |
| 4 | 96 | Luther Blue | WR | Iowa State | |
| 5 | 114 | Ron Crosby | LB | Penn State | from Seattle |
| 6 | 166 | Reggie Pinkney | DB | East Carolina | from New England |
| 7 | 179 | Tim Black | LB | Baylor | |
| 8 | 209 | Mark Griffin | OT | North Carolina | |
| 9 | 236 | Steve Mathieson | QB | Florida State | |
| 10 | 236 | Gary Anderson | G | Stanford | |
| 11 | 293 | Tony Daykin | LB | Georgia Tech | |
| 12 | 320 | Dave Greenwood | G | Iowa State | |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||
Notes
* Detroit traded its first-round pick (12th) to Buffalo in exchange for WR J.D. Hill.
* Detroit traded QB Bill Munson to Seattle in exchange for Seattle's fifth-round pick (114th).
* Detroit traded its fifth-round pick (125th) to Pittsburgh in exchange for TE John McMakin.
* Detroit traded its sixth-round pick (320th) and G Guy Dennis to San Diego in exchange for G Mark Markovich.
* Detroit traded WR Marlin Briscoe to New England in exchange for a sixth-round pick (166th).

## Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Attendance |
| 1 | September 18 | at Chicago Bears | L 30–20 | 0–1 | 51,530 |
| 2 | September 25 | New Orleans Saints | W 23–19 | 1–1 | 51,458 |
| 3 | October 2 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 17–13 | 2–1 | 57,236 |
| 4 | October 9 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 14–7 | 2–2 | 45,860 |
| 5 | October 16 | Green Bay Packers | W 10–6 | 3–2 | 78,452 |
| 6 | October 23 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 28–7 | 3–3 | 39,392 |
| 7 | October 30 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 37–0 | 3–4 | 63,160 |
| 8 | November 6 | San Diego Chargers | W 20–0 | 4–4 | 72,559 |
| 9 | November 13 | at Atlanta Falcons | L 17–6 | 4–5 | 47,461 |
| 10 | November 20 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 16–7 | 5–5 | 49,751 |
| 11 | November 24 | Chicago Bears | L 31–14 | 5–6 | 71,373 |
| 12 | December 4 | at Green Bay Packers | L 10–9 | 5–7 | 56,267 |
| 13 | December 11 | at Baltimore Colts | W 13–10 | 6–7 | 45,124 |
| 14 | December 17 | Minnesota Vikings | L 30–21 | 6–8 | 78,572 |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. ||||||

## Standings

NFC Central :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Minnesota Vikings$^{(3)}$ | 9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 6–1 | 8–4 | 231 | 227 | W1 |
| Chicago Bears$^{(4)}$ | 9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 6–1 | 8–4 | 255 | 253 | W6 |
| Detroit Lions | 6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 2–5 | 4–8 | 183 | 252 | L1 |
| Green Bay Packers | 4 | 10 | 0 | .286 | 2–5 | 4–7 | 134 | 219 | W1 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 2 | 12 | 0 | .143 | 0–4 | 2–11 | 103 | 223 | W2 |