The 2002Detroit Lions season was the 73rd season in franchise history. It was the Lions’ inaugural season at the new Ford Field in Downtown Detroit and their first in the city since the team left Tiger Stadium after the 1974 season. Following the season, Marty Mornhinweg was fired and Steve Mariucci was hired as the Lions' head coach. The Lions entered the 2002 season looking to improve on their 2–14 record from 2001 and make the playoffs for the first time since 1999. They improved on their record, winning 3 games, but continued to disappoint, as the Lions began the season 0–3. By week 9, the Lions had a 3–5 record after a win over the Dallas Cowboys. However, after that win, the Lions lost their remaining 8 games to finish the season 3–13 and failed to reach the playoffs. The Lions also went 0–8 on the road for the second straight season. As a result, Marty Mornhinweg was fired after the season. In his 2 seasons as head coach, the Lions went 5–27 for a winning percentage of .156.
Rookies in italics
Active, Inactive, Practice squad
Regular season[]
In addition to their regular games against NFC North rivals, the Lions under the NFL’s new scheduling formula played games against teams from the new NFC South and from the AFC East. They also played against the Cowboys and the Cardinals, who were the lowest-ranked teams from 2001 in the remaining NFC divisions.