# 1998 Detroit Lions season

The 1998 Detroit Lions season was their 69th in the National Football League (NFL). The team failed to improve upon their previous season's output of 9–7 and did not make a repeat playoff appearance, instead posting their third 5–11 mark in seven seasons. This was the last season Barry Sanders would play in the NFL.

## Offseason

| Additions | Subtractions |
| C Jim Pyne (Buccaneers) | WR/KR Glyn Milburn (Bears) |
| LB Allen Aldridge (Broncos) | DT Shane Bonham (49ers) |
| LB Rob Fredrickson (Raiders) | TE Pete Metzelaars (retirement) |
| | DT Mike Wells (Lions) |

### NFL Draft

1998 Detroit Lions draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 20 | Terry Fair | Defensive back | Tennessee |
| 2 | 50 | Germane Crowell | Wide receiver | Virginia |
| 2 | 60 | Charlie Batch | Quarterback | Eastern Michigan |
| 6 | 185 | Jamaal Alexander | Defensive back | Southern Miss |
| 7 | 207 | Chris Liwienski | Tackle | Indiana |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

### Undrafted Free Agents

1998 Undrafted Free Agents of note :
| Player | Position | College |
| Tutu Atwell | Wide receiver | Minnesota |
| Kerlin Blaise | Guard | Miami (FL) |
| Lamar Campbell | Cornerback | Wisconsin |
| Kywin Supernaw | Defensive back | Indiana |
| Travis Reece | Running back | Michigan State |
| Corey Thomas | Wide Receiver | Duke |

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 6 | at Green Bay Packers | L 19–38 | 0–1 | Lambeau Field | 60,102 |
| 2 | September 13 | Cincinnati Bengals | L 28–34 (OT) | 0–2 | Pontiac Silverdome | 66,354 |
| 3 | September 20 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 6–29 | 0–3 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 63,107 |
| 4 | September 28 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 27–6 | 1–3 | Pontiac Silverdome | 74,724 |
| 5 | October 4 | at Chicago Bears | L 27–31 | 1–4 | Soldier Field | 66,944 |
| 6 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 7 | October 15 | Green Bay Packers | W 27–20 | 2–4 | Pontiac Silverdome | 77,932 |
| 8 | October 25 | Minnesota Vikings | L 13–34 | 2–5 | Pontiac Silverdome | 77,885 |
| 9 | November 1 | Arizona Cardinals | L 15–17 | 2–6 | Pontiac Silverdome | 66,087 |
| 10 | November 8 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 9–10 | 2–7 | Veterans Stadium | 66,785 |
| 11 | November 15 | Chicago Bears | W 26–3 | 3–7 | Pontiac Silverdome | 63,152 |
| 12 | November 22 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 28–25 | 4–7 | Raymond James Stadium | 64,265 |
| 13 | November 26 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 19–16 (OT) | 5–7 | Pontiac Silverdome | 78,139 |
| 14 | December 6 | at Jacksonville Jaguars | L 22–37 | 5–8 | Alltel Stadium | 70,717 |
| 15 | December 14 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 13–35 | 5–9 | 3Com Park | 68,585 |
| 16 | December 20 | Atlanta Falcons | L 17–24 | 5–10 | Pontiac Silverdome | 67,143 |
| 17 | December 27 | at Baltimore Ravens | L 10–19 | 5–11 | Raven Stadium | 68,045 |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |||||||

### Standings

NFC Central :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK |
| $^{(1)}$ Minnesota Vikings | 15 | 1 | 0 | .938 | 556 | 296 | W8 |
| $^{(5)}$ Green Bay Packers | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 408 | 319 | W3 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 314 | 295 | W1 |
| Detroit Lions | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 306 | 378 | L4 |
| Chicago Bears | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 276 | 368 | L1 |

### Season summary
#### Week 1

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Lions | 3 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 19 |
| Packers | 10 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 38 |
at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin
* Date: September 6, 1998
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: 74 °F or 23.3 °C
* Game attendance: 60,102
* TV announcers (Fox): Dick Stockton and Matt Millen
* Pro-Football-Reference.com, The Football Database
Game information :
First quarter
GB – Ryan Longwell 32-yard field goal, 9:19. Packers 3–0. Drive: 11 plays, 58 yards, 5:41.
GB – LeRoy Butler 32-yard interception return (Ryan Longwell kick), 6:23. Packers 10–0.
DET – Jason Hanson 47-yard field goal, 1:10. Packers 10–3. Drive: 10 plays, 51 yards, 5:13.
Second quarter
GB – Dorsey Levens 4-yard run (Ryan Longwell kick), 9:40. Packers 17–3. Drive: 13 plays, 80 yards, 6:30.
DET – Jason Hanson 43-yard field goal. Packers 17–6. Drive: 11 plays, 63 yards, 2:11.
Third quarter
DET – Herman Moore 25-yard pass from Scott Mitchell (pass failed), 12:39. Packers 17–12. Drive: 7 plays, 50 yards, 2:21.
GB – Antonio Freeman 6-yard pass from Brett Favre (Ryan Longwell kick), 0:17. Packers 24–12. Drive: 18 plays, 85 yards, 9:34.
DET – Terry Fair 101-yard kickoff return (Jason Hanson kick), 0:00. Packers 24–19.
Fourth quarter
GB – Roell Preston 100-yard kickoff return (Ryan Longwell kick), 14:38. Packers 31–19.
GB – Antonio Freeman 84-yard pass from Brett Favre (Ryan Longwell kick), 1:53. Packers 38–19. Drive: 3 plays, 86 yards, 0:29.
Top passers
DET – Scott Mitchell – 23/44, 248 yards, TD, INT
GB – Brett Favre – 24/32, 277 yards, 2 TD
Top rushers
DET – Barry Sanders – 17 rushes, 70 yards
GB – Dorsey Levens – 25 rushes, 59 yards, TD
Top receivers
DET – Herman Moore – 9 receptions, 100 yards, TD
GB – Antonio Freeman – 4 receptions, 110 yards, 2 TD :

#### Week 13 (Thanksgiving)

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| Steelers | 0 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 16 |
| Lions | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 3 | 19 |
at Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, Michigan
* Date: November 26, 1998
* Game time: 12:30 p.m. EST
* Game weather: Dome
* Game attendance: 78,139
* Referee: Phil Luckett
* TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel (play by play), Phil Simms (color commentator), Armen Keteyian (Sideline Reporter)
* , The Football Database

## Awards and Records

Barry Sanders retired as the second leading rusher in NFL history.
* 15,269 yards.
* 109 touchdowns
* 5.0 average per rush attempt