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1974 Detroit Lions season

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1974 Detroit Lions season
OwnerWilliam Clay Ford Sr.
Head coachRick Forzano
Home fieldTiger Stadium
Results
Record7–7
Division place2nd NFC Central
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers
2
AP All-ProsNone

The 1974 Detroit Lions season was the 45th season in franchise history. It was the Lions' final season playing at Detroit's Tiger Stadium; the team moved to the Pontiac Silverdome[1] the following season and played home games there until the end of the 2001 season.

Prior to the start of training camp, tragedy would strike the Lions, as head coach Don McCafferty died of a heart attack at age 53. He was replaced by Lions assistant Rick Forzano, who guided the Lions to a 7–7 record in their final season at Tiger Stadium.

This would also be the last season until 2011 when Monday Night Football aired in the City of Detroit, as a result of the Lions playing in Pontiac from 1975 to 2001 followed by poor seasons while playing at Ford Field during that stadium's first eight seasons.

NFL draft

[edit]
Main article: 1974 NFL draft
1974 Detroit Lions draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 8 Ed O'Neil  LB Penn State from New Orleans
2 39 Billy Howard  DT Alcorn A&M
3 65 Dexter Bussey  RB Texas-Arlington
5 117 Carl Capria  DB Purdue
6 139 Willie Burden  RB North Carolina State from New Orleans
6 143 Jim Davis  G Alcorn A&M
7 169 Efrén Herrera *  K UCLA
8 195 Mike Denimarck  LB Emporia State
10 247 David Wooley  RB Central State (OK)
11 273 T. C. Blair  TE Tulsa
12 299 Mark Wakefield  WR Tampa
13 325 Fred Rothwell  C Kansas State
14 351 David Jones  DB Howard Payne
15 377 John Wells  G Kansas State
16 403 Myron Wilson  DB Bowling Green
17 429 Collis Temple  DE LSU
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Notes

  • Detroit traded TE Dave Thompson and its first-round pick (13th) to New Orleans in exchange for the Saints' first-round pick (8th) and sixth-round pick in 1975.
  • Detroit traded DT Joe Schmiesing to Baltimore in exchange for the Colts' fourth-round pick (84th), and then traded this pick back to the Colts a few weeks later in exchange for K (and occasional WR) Jim O'Brien.
  • Detroit traded its fourth-round pick (91st) to St. Louis in exchange for CB Miller Farr.
  • Detroit traded LB Ed Mooney to Baltimore in exchange for the Colts' fifth-round pick (109th), and then traded this pick to Atlanta in exchange for DB Willie Germany.
  • Detroit traded LB Adrian Young to New Orleans in exchange for the Saints' sixth-round pick (139th).
  • Detroit traded its ninth-round selection (221st) to Los Angeles in exchange for G Brian Goodman.

Roster

[edit]
Detroit Lions roster
Quarterbacks


Running backs


Wide receivers


Tight ends


Offensive linemen


Defensive linemen


Linebackers


Defensive backs


Special teams


Reserve lists


rookies in italics

Regular season

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Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
1 September 15 at Chicago Bears L 9–17 0–1 Soldier Field 48,134 Recap
2 September 22 Minnesota Vikings L 6–7 0–2 Tiger Stadium 49,703 Recap
3 September 29 at Green Bay Packers L 19–21 0–3 Milwaukee County Stadium 47,292 Recap
4 October 6 at Los Angeles Rams L 13–16 0–4 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 64,987 Recap
5 October 14 San Francisco 49ers W 17–13 1–4 Tiger Stadium 45,199 Recap
6 October 20 at Minnesota Vikings W 20–16 2–4 Metropolitan Stadium 47,807 Recap
7 October 27 Green Bay Packers W 19–17 3–4 Tiger Stadium 51,775 Recap
8 November 3 New Orleans Saints W 19–14 4–4 Tiger Stadium 43,256 Recap
9 November 10 at Oakland Raiders L 13–35 4–5 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 51,973 Recap
10 November 17 New York Giants W 20–19 5–5 Tiger Stadium 40,431 Recap
11 November 24 Chicago Bears W 34–17 6–5 Tiger Stadium 40,930 Recap
12 November 28 Denver Broncos L 27–31 6–6 Tiger Stadium 51,157 Recap
13 December 8 at Cincinnati Bengals W 23–19 7–6 Riverfront Stadium 45,159 Recap
14 December 15 at Philadelphia Eagles L 17–28 7–7 Veterans Stadium 57,157 Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

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Week 7

[edit]
1 234Total
Packers 0 737 17
• Lions 3 673 19
  • Date: October 27
  • Location: Tiger Stadium • Detroit, Michigan
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: 48 °F or 8.9 °C • wind 10 miles per hour (16 km/h; 8.7 kn)
Scoring summary
1DETErrol Mann 34 yard field goalLions 3–0
2DETCharlie Sanders 11 yard pass from Bill Munson (kick failed)Lions 9–0
2GBJohn Brockington 1 yard run (Chester Marcol kick)Lions 9–7
3GBChester Marcol 49 yard field goalPackers 10–9
3DETLarry Walton 39 yard pass from Bill Munson (Errol Mann kick)Lions 16–10
4GBJack Concannon 1 yard run (Chester Marcol kick)Packers 17–16
4DETErrol Mann 41 yard field goalLions 19–16

[2]

Week 8

[edit]
1 234Total
Saints 0 1400 14
• Lions 10 603 19
  • Date: November 3
  • Location: Tiger Stadium, Detroit, Michigan
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: 56 °F or 13.3 °C, wind 10 miles per hour (16 km/h; 8.7 kn)
Scoring summary
1DETErrol Mann 37 yard field goalLions 3–0
1DETRon Jessie 5 yard pass from Bill Munson (Errol Mann kick)Lions 10–0
2DETLevi Johnson 78 yard blocked field goal return (kick failed)Lions 16–0
2NOJoel Parker 30 yard pass from Archie Manning (Bill McClard kick)Lions 16–7
2NOHoward Stevens 5 yard run (Bill McClard kick)Lions 16–14
4DETErrol Mann 35 yard field goalLions 19–14

[3]

Standings

[edit]
NFC Central
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Minnesota Vikings 10 4 0 .714 4–2 8–3 310 195 W3
Detroit Lions 7 7 0 .500 3–3 6–5 256 270 L1
Green Bay Packers 6 8 0 .429 3–3 4–7 210 206 L3
Chicago Bears 4 10 0 .286 2–4 4–7 152 279 L2

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "The Argus-Press - Google News Archive Search".
  2. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
  3. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
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