2008 Detroit Lions season

The 2008 Detroit Lions season was the 79th football season of the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). It was their third year under head coach Rod Marinelli. In 2008, the Lions had one of the worst seasons of any major American pro sports team. They lost all 16 of their regular season games. They were the first NFL team to finish a season with no wins and 16 losses after their loss to the Green Bay Packers. They were the second team with no wins after the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Matt Millen was fired during the bye week of the season and the rest of the staff were fired after the season was over.

In 2017, the Cleveland Browns became the second team to lose all 16 regular season games.

 Roster 
Detroit Lions 2008 final roster Quarterbacks
 11 Daunte Culpepper
 12 Drew Henson
  6 Dan Orlovsky
  5 Drew Stanton

Running Backs
 36 Aveion Cason
 45 Jerome Felton FB
 32 Rudi Johnson
 44 Moran Norris FB
 34 Kevin Smith

Wide Receivers
 19 Keary Colbert
 10 Chris Hannon
 80 Adam Jennings
 81 Calvin Johnson
 16 John Standeford
 17 Travis Taylor

Tight Ends
 82 Casey FitzSimmons FB
 86 Michael Gaines
 83 John Owens  Offensive Linemen
 76 Jeff Backus T
 77 Gosder Cherilus T
 74 Damion Cook G/T
 71 Junius Coston G
 72 George Foster T
 67 Andy McCollum C
 66 Stephen Peterman G
 51 Dominic Raiola C
 63 Manny Ramirez G

Defensive Linemen
 97 Ikaika Alama-Francis DE
 92 Cliff Avril DE
 75 Shaun Cody DT
 98 Landon Cohen DT
 91 Chuck Darby DT
 96 Andre Fluellen DT
 79 Langston Moore DT
 93 Corey Smith DE
 99 Dewayne White DE Linebackers
 46 Darnell Bing OLB
 52 Anthony Cannon OLB
 53 Paris Lenon ILB
 55 Ryan Nece OLB
 50 Ernie Sims OLB

Defensive Backs
 28 Leigh Bodden CB
 27 Daniel Bullocks SS
 21 Travis Fisher CB
 35 LaMarcus Hicks SS
 24 Kalvin Pearson FS
 33 Chris Roberson CB
 38 Ramzee Robinson CB
 39 Stuart Schweigert FS
 30 Dexter Wynn CB

Special Teams
  4 Jason Hanson K
  2 Nick Harris P
 48 Don Muhlbach LS  Reserve Lists
 42 Gerald Alexander FS (IR) 7px
 13 Reggie Ball WR (IR) 7px
 40 Jon Bradley FB (IR) 7px
 29 Brian Calhoun RB (IR) 7px
 89 Dan Campbell TE (IR) 7px
 95 Jared DeVries DE (IR) 7px
 57 Jordon Dizon ILB (IR) 7px
 74 Jon Dunn OT (IR) 7px
 87 Mike Furrey WR (IR) 7px
  8 Jon Kitna QB (IR) 7px
 60 Shemiah LeGrande DT (IR) 7px
 59 Alex Lewis OLB (IR) 7px
 84 Shaun McDonald WR (IR) 7px
 64 Edwin Mulitalo G (IR) 7px
 78 Cory Redding DT (IR) 7px
 26 Dwight Smith SS (IR) 7px
 23 Keith Smith CB (IR) 7px
 31 Stanley Wilson CB (IR) 7px

Practice Squad
 62 Ben Claxton C/G
 25 Dowayne Davis S
 39 Allen Ervin RB
 18 Eric Fowler WR
 54 Chris Graham ILB
 94 Rudolph Hardie DE
 85 Jake Nordin TE
 49 Jeff Shoate CB

Unsigned Draft Picks
 47 Caleb Campbell OLB/S

Rookies in italics

 Schedule 
Preseason
 Week Date Kickoff Opponent Results Game Site TV NFL Recap Final score Team record 1 August 7, 2008 7:00 PM EDT New York Giants W 13–10 1–0 Ford Field Lions TV Network Recap  2 August 17, 2008  7:30 PM EDT at Cincinnati Bengals W 27–10 2–0 Paul Brown Stadium Lions TV Network Recap  3 August 23, 2008 4:00 PM Cleveland Browns W 26–6 3–0 Ford Field Lions TV Network Recap  4 August 28, 2008  6:30 PM EDT at Buffalo Bills W 14–6 4–0 Ralph Wilson Stadium Lions TV Network Recap 

Regular season
 Week Date Kickoff Opponent Results Game Site TV NFL Recap Final score Team record 1 September 7, 2008 1:00 PM EDT at Atlanta Falcons L 34–21 0–1 Georgia Dome FOX Recap  2 September 14, 2008 1:00 PM EDT Green Bay Packers L 48–25 0–2 Ford Field FOX Recap  3 September 21, 2008 4:05 PM EDT at San Francisco 49ers L 31–13 0–3 Candlestick Park FOX Recap  4 Bye 5 October 5, 2008 1:00 PM EDT Chicago Bears L 34–7 0–4 Ford Field FOX Recap  6 October 12, 2008 1:00 PM EDT at Minnesota Vikings L 12–10 0–5 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome FOX Recap  7 October 19, 2008 4:05 PM EDT at Houston Texans L 28–21 0–6 Reliant Stadium FOX Recap  8 October 26, 2008 1:00 PM EDT Washington Redskins L 25–17 0–7 Ford Field  FOX  x Recap  9 November 2, 2008 1:00 PM EST at Chicago Bears L 27–23 0–8 Soldier Field FOX Recap  10 November 9, 2008 1:00 PM EST Jacksonville Jaguars L 38–14 0–9 Ford Field CBS  x Recap  11 November 16, 2008 1:00 PM EST at Carolina Panthers L 31–22 0–10 Bank of America Stadium FOX Recap  12 November 23, 2008 1:00 PM EST Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 38–20 0–11 Ford Field FOX  x Recap  13 November 27, 2008 12:30 PM EST Tennessee Titans L 47–10 0–12 Ford Field CBS  #  Recap  14 December 7, 2008 1:00 PM EST Minnesota Vikings L 20–16 0–13 Ford Field FOX  x Recap  15 December 14, 2008 1:00 PM EST at Indianapolis Colts L 31–21 0–14 Lucas Oil Stadium FOX Recap  16 December 21, 2008 1:00 PM EST New Orleans Saints L 42–7 0–15 Ford Field FOX  x Recap  17 December 28, 2008 1:00 PM EST at Green Bay Packers L 31–21 0–16 Lambeau Field FOX Recap

COLOR KEY AND NOTES:

 x Means game was blacked out locally
 #  Means the game was nationally televised

 Season facts 
 Three people who were on the 2008 Lions played in Super Bowl 48. They were Manny Ramirez and Paris Lenon of the Denver Broncos and Cliff Avril for the Seattle Seahawks, who won the Super Bowl.
 First 0-16 team in NFL history after loss to the Green Bay Packers
 The team won all 4 preseason games.
 After losing to the New Orleans Saints in week 16 (7-42), they became the first 0-15 team. They also became the first team to lose 15 straight games since the 2001 Panthers
 Gave up 517 points during the season
 Third team to lose 14 games, after the 1980 Saints and the 1976 Buccaneers
 In week 6 against the Minnesota Vikings in Minnesota, it was the first game where the Lions lost by 2.
 In week 13 against the Tennessee Titans, the team gave up 47 points as the team lost 10-47. They fell to 0-12. It would also be the 2nd straight season a NFL team has started 0-12 after the 2007 Miami Dolphins, who finished the year 1-15.

References

Category:Detroit Lions seasons
Category:2008 in sports
Category:2008 in the United States
Category:2000s in Detroit