1998 Detroit Lions season

1998 Detroit Lions season
Head Coach	Bobby Ross
General Manager	Chuck Schmidt
Home Field	Pontiac Silverdome
Results
Record	5–11
Place	4th NFC Central
Playoff Finish	did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	3 RB Barry Sanders DT Luther Elliss DE Robert Porcher
Uniform
Timeline
Previous season	Next season
1997	1999

The 1998 Detroit Lions season was their 69th in the league. 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

NFL Draft

Main article: 1998 NFL Draft

1998 Detroit Lions draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
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
Lamar Campbell	Cornerback	Wisconsin
Brock Olivo	Fullback	Missouri
Kywin Supernaw	Defensive back	Indiana
Corey Thomas	Wide Receiver	Duke

Personnel

Staff

1998 Detroit Lions staff
Front Office Owner and Chairman – William Clay Ford, Sr. Vice Chairman – William Clay Ford, Jr. Executive Vice President and COO – Chuck Schmidt Vice President of Football Operations – Larry Lee Vice President of Player Personnel – Ron Hughes Director of Pro Scouting – Kevin Colbert Head Coaches Head Coach – Bobby Ross Offensive Coaches Offensive Coordinator – Sylvester Croom Quarterbacks – Jim Zorn Running Backs – Frank Falks Wide Receivers – Jerry Sullivan Tight Ends – Bob Palcic Offensive Line – Jack Henry Offensive Assistant – Stan Kwan Quality Control/Offense – John Misciagna			Defensive Coaches Defensive Coordinator – Larry Peccatiello Defensive Line – Brian Baker Linebackers – Gary Moeller Defensive Backs – Richard Selcer Defensive Assistant – Don Clemons Quality Control/Defense – Dennis Murphy Special Teams Coaches Special Teams – Chuck Priefer Special Teams Assistant – Stan Kwan Strength and Conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Bert Hill

Roster

1998 Detroit Lions roster
	Quarterbacks 10 Charlie Batch 19 Scott Mitchell 14 Frank Reich Running backs 26 Brock Olivo FB 34 Ron Rivers 20 Barry Sanders 30 Cory Schlesinger FB 44 Tommy Vardell FB Wide receivers 80 Tommie Boyd 82 Germane Crowell 84 Herman Moore 87 Johnnie Morton 83 Brian Stablein 15 Corey Thomas Tight ends 81 Pete Chryplewicz 46 Kevin Hickman 89 Walter Rasby 86 David Sloan		Offensive linemen 79 Eric Beverly C 77 Mike Compton G 64 Jeff Hartings G 66 Hessley Hempstead G 70 Andre Johnson T 61 Jim Pyne C 72 Ray Roberts T 75 Tony Ramirez T 73 Juan Roque T 62 Tony Semple G 71 Larry Tharpe T Defensive linemen 95 Mike Chalenski DE 94 Luther Elliss DT 90 Dan Owens DT 91 Robert Porcher DE 97 Tracy Scroggins DE 92 Marc Spindler DE 96 Henry Taylor DT 93 Kerwin Waldroup DE		Linebackers 55 Allen Aldridge OLB 57 Stephen Boyd MLB 53 Rob Fredrickson OLB 58 George Jamison MLB 99 Richard Jordan MLB 52 Scott Kowalkowski OLB 59 Kevin O'Neill 54 Matt Russell OLB Defensive backs 35 Robert Bailey CB 39 Lamar Campbell CB 27 Mark Carrier FS 23 Terry Fair CB/RS 25 Greg Jeffries CB 28 Ron Rice SS 42 Ryan Stewart CB 29 Kywin Supernaw SS 32 Bryant Westbrook CB Special teams  4 Jason Hanson K 18 John Jett P		Reserve lists Practice squad -- Chris Dittoe QB Rookies in italics Active, Inactive, Practice squad

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 6, 1998	at Green Bay Packers	L 38–19	60,102
2	September 13, 1998	Cincinnati Bengals	L 34–28 OT	66,354
3	September 20, 1998	at Minnesota Vikings	L 29–6	63,107
4	September 28, 1998	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 27–6	74,724
5	October 4, 1998	at Chicago Bears	L 31–27	66,944
6	Bye
7	October 15, 1998	Green Bay Packers	W 27–20	77,932
8	October 25, 1998	Minnesota Vikings	L 34–13	77,885
9	November 1, 1998	Arizona Cardinals	L 17–15	66,087
10	November 8, 1998	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 10–9	66,785
11	November 15, 1998	Chicago Bears	W 26–3	63,152
12	November 22, 1998	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 28–25	64,265
13	November 26, 1998	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 19–16 OT	78,139
14	December 6, 1998	at Jacksonville Jaguars	L 37–22	70,717
15	December 14, 1998	at San Francisco 49ers	L 35–13	68,585
16	December 20, 1998	Atlanta Falcons	L 24–17	67,143
17	December 27, 1998	at Baltimore Ravens	L 19–10	68,045

Standings

NFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
Minnesota Vikings	15	1	0	.938	556	296
Green Bay Packers	11	5	0	.688	408	319
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	8	8	0	.500	314	295
Detroit Lions	5	11	0	.313	306	378
Chicago Bears	4	12	0	.250	276	368

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