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1962 Detroit Lions season
Head Coach George Wilson
Home Field Tiger Stadium
Results
Record 11–3
Place 2nd NFL Western
Playoff Finish Won NFL Playoff Bowl (3rd place) (vs. Steelers) 17-10
Timeline
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1961 1963

The 1962 Detroit Lions season was the 33rd season in franchise history. In one of the best regular seasons in their history, the Lions posted an 11–3 record (.786), but finished two games behind the eventual NFL champion Packers in the NFL Western Conference. It was third straight season the Lions finished as runner-up to the Packers in the West.

As conference runner-up, Detroit won their third consecutive Playoff Bowl game over the Pittsburgh Steelers, 17–10.[1] The third place game was played at the Orange Bowl in Miami on January 6, three weeks after the end of the regular season.[2]

The Lions never trailed by more than seven points at any point in any game during the season, a feat that was not repeated for 48 years. Their 26–14 win over the Packers on Thanksgiving Day in Week 11 denied defending champion Green Bay the NFL's first true perfect season.[3] The Lions were up 26–0 in the fourth quarter before Green Bay scored two touchdowns;[4] the Packers had won the first meeting 9–7 in the mud in Green Bay with a late field goal on October 7.[5][6]

Offseason[]

NFL Draft[]

Round Pick Player Position School
1 10 [7] John Hadl [8] Back Kansas

Regular season[]

Schedule[]

Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
1 September 16, 1962 Pittsburgh Steelers W 45–7
46,641
2 September 23, 1962 San Francisco 49ers W 45–24
51,032
3 September 30, 1962 at Baltimore Colts W 29–20
57,966
4 October 7, 1962 at Green Bay Packers L 9–7
38,669
5 October 14, 1962 Los Angeles Rams W 13–10
53,714
6 October 21, 1962 at New York Giants L 17–14
62,856
7 October 28, 1962 Chicago Bears W 11–3
53,342
8 November 4, 1962 at Los Angeles Rams W 12–3
44,241
9 November 11, 1962 at San Francisco 49ers W 38–24
43,449
10 November 18, 1962 at Minnesota Vikings W 17–6
31,257
11 November 22, 1962 Green Bay Packers W 26–14
57,598
12 December 2, 1962 Baltimore Colts W 21–14
53,012
13 December 9, 1962 Minnesota Vikings W 37–23
42,256
14 December 16, 1962 at Chicago Bears L 3–0
44,948

Season summary[]

Week 4 at Packers[]

Detroit Lions (3–0) at Green Bay Packers (3–0)
1 2 3 4 Total
Lions 0 7 0 0

7

Packers 3 0 3 3

9

at City StadiumGreen Bay, Wisconsin

Game information
Lions
Packers

Alex Karras reportedly threw a helmet at Milt Plum in the locker after the game for throwing the late interception that led to the Lions' defeat.

Week 11 vs. Packers[]

Green Bay Packers (10–0) at Detroit Lions (8–2)
1 2 3 4 Total
Packers 0 0 0 14

14

Lions 7 16 3 0

26

at Tiger StadiumDetroit, Michigan

Thanksgiving Day game

Standings[]

Template:1962 NFL Western standings

Roster[]

Detroit Lions roster
Quarterbacks

Running Backs

Wide Receivers

Tight Ends

Offensive Linemen

Defensive Linemen

Linebackers

Defensive Backs

Special Teams

Reserve Lists
  • None - vacant

Practice/Taxi Squad

  • None - vacant

'Note: Rookies in italics

Playoff Bowl[]

The game matched the conference runners-up for third place in the league and was played three weeks after the end of the regular season (and a week after the championship game). The ten editions of the Playoff Bowl, all held at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, are now considered exhibition games by the NFL, not post-season contests.

Week Date Opponent Result Venue Attendance
Playoff Bowl January 6, 1963 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers W 17–10 Orange Bowl
36,284

Source:[9]

Awards and records[]

  • The Lions were only the third NFL team since 1940 that never trailed by more than 7 points at any time during the season. This feat would not be repeated again until the Green Bay Packers did so in their Super Bowl-winning 2010 season.[10][11]

See also[]

  • 1962 in Michigan

References[]

  1. "Plum, Webb host Lions to 17-10 win". Milwaukee Sentinel. UPI: p. 4, part 2. January 7, 1963. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=D3BIAAAAIBAJ&sjid=tBAEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5092%2C1540341.
  2. "Lions turns back Pittsburgh in NFL Play-off Bowl, 17-10". Milwaukee Journal. press dispatches: p. 12, part 2. January 7, 1963. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=mxQoAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ziYEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4172%2C2653868.
  3. Lea, Bud (November 23, 1962). "Lions shatter Packers' streak". Milwaukee Sentinel: p. 4, part 2. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=bPsjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OxEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7426%2C1854609.
  4. "Lions hand Packers first loss, 26 to 14". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press: p. 24. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=C9daAAAAIBAJ&sjid=YWwDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7323%2C3936259.
  5. Lea, Bud. "Packers nip Lions at wire, 9-7". Milwaukee Sentinel: p. 2, part 2. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=IVAaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=JBEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7026%2C1809480.
  6. Johnson, Chuck (October 8, 1962). "Lions dare Packers to intercept; they do". Milwaukee Journal: p. 10, part 2. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Wd8jAAAAIBAJ&sjid=NicEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5099%2C4090644.
  7. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 395
  8. John Hadl Signed with the San Diego Chargers of the American Football League
  9. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 369
  10. Stuart, Chase (January 26, 2011). "Super Bowl notes: Stat of the Year and Updated SRS Standings". Pro Football Reference Blog. Pro-Football-Reference.com. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/blog/?p=8534. Retrieved February 6, 2011.
  11. Associated Press (February 6, 2011). "Aaron Rodgers tosses 3 TD passes as Packers drop Steelers to win Super Bowl XLV". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on 25 February 2011. http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/recap?gameId=310206009. Retrieved February 6, 2011. See especially the "Scoring Summary" section, which shows that the Packers never trailed in the game.

External links[]

Eastern Conference Western Conference
Cleveland Baltimore
Dallas Chicago
NY Giants Detroit
Philadelphia Green Bay
Pittsburgh Los Angeles
St. Louis Minnesota
Washington San Francisco
1962 NFL DraftNFL ChampionshipPro Bowl
Related: 1962 AFL Season
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