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Best records and seasons in Detroit Lions history: Where 2024 ranks
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- Best records and seasons in Detroit Lions history: Where 2024 ranks
What are the best Detroit Lions seasons and records in franchise history?
The Lions have rewritten plenty of franchise records in 2024 but the biggest goal of the season remains on the table in Week 18.
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The Lions (14-2) have set the franchise record for wins in a historic season , but have not won the NFC North Division or clinched the NFC No. 1 seed. The reason is the Minnesota Vikings are also putting together a season for the ages and enter the Week 18 matchup at Detroit at 14-2 with nine straight wins.
Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta (87) celebrates a touchdown against San Francisco 49ers during the second half at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. on Monday, Dec. 30, 2024.
So how do the 2024 Lions stack up in franchise history?
Here's a look at the best seasons in Lions team history, by regular-season record.
Best seasons and records in Lions history
The Lions have one season with 14 wins in the regular season (with one game still to play), two seasons with 12 wins and three seasons with 11 wins. Here they are by chronological order.
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1931: 11-3
The Portsmouth Spartans — the name of the franchise before moving to Detroit in 1934 — finished behind the 12-2 Packers .
1962: 11-3
The Lions went 11-3 but missed out on the two-team playoffs thanks to a 13-1 Packers team.
1991: 12-4
The 1991 season stood as the peak during the Super Bowl era for more than three decades as the franchise wallowed in a drought. Led by a young Barry Sanders, the Lions broke through for a 12-4 year to win the NFC Central Division. It earned the No. 2 seed and crushed the Dallas Cowboys in the Divisional round 38-6 for the franchise's first playoff win since 1957 at a frenzied Silverdome. The run was silenced a week later by the Washington Redskins in the NFC championship game in a 41-10 shellacking and Washington then won Super Bowl 26 over Buffalo.
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2014: 11-5
The Lions went 11-5 led by a great defense to earn a wild-card spot but lost at the Cowboys. They were not helped when referees reversed a pass interference to help fuel a fourth-quarter collapse in a 24-20 loss.
2023: 12-5
The Lions made the playoffs for the first time since 2016 and tied the 1991 team for the franchise record of 12 wins, albeit in one extra game. They then won two playoff games, doubling their total from 1958-2022. The Free Press wrote a whole book about the epic season, titled "From Grit to Glory" !
2024: 14-2*
The 2024 Lions have already blown past the franchise record for wins in the regular season, and one more victory would make it tough to beat. A victory would give the Lions the No. 1 seed in the NFC for the first time ever, homefield advantage at Ford Field up until the Super Bowl and an automatic first-round bye to the Divisional round.
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The Lions set the franchise record for wins in a season in Week 16 by beating the Chicago Bears for a second time. The Lions had two cracks at the record after dropping the first attempt to the Buffalo Bills in a shootout loss, but handled Chicago for their 13th win.
The Lions used a similar formula in 2024 as in 2023, but added stability in the secondary to elevate the defense and turned up the the offense even more. This was helped by retaining the coaching staff , led by the return of coordinator and play-caller Ben Johnson .
Lions 10-win seasons
Barry Sanders was masterful when it came to eluding opposing defenses, as he did during a first-quarter touchdown run against the Cleveland Browns at the Pontiac Silverdome, as captured by a Detroit Free Press photograph on Oct. 8, 1995. But when it came to his relationship with former Detroit Lions' Director of Security Allen "Jocko" Hughes, Sanders had no problem slowing down to talk to a gentleman, who was respected throughout the organization. Sanders' relationship with Hughes became known nationally during the summer of 1999.
The Lions have six 10-win seasons, an impressive feat when the NFL schedule was between 12-14 games per season.
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1934: 10-3 — lost final three games to miss playoffs.
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1953: 10-2 — won NFL championship game over Cleveland , 17-16.
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1970: 10-4 — lost in divisional round at Dallas, 5-0.
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1993: 10-6 — lost in wild-card round vs. Green Bay, 28-24.
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1995: 10-6 — lost in wild-card round at Philadelphia , 58-37.
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2011: 10-6 — lost in wild-card round at New Orleans , 45-28.
Lions NFL championship seasons
Detroit Lions Left to right: Tobin Rote, Bobby Layne, and head coach George Wilson.
The Lions have won the NFL championship four times, all before the Super Bowl era. They are 4-1 in NFL title games, the only loss coming in 1954 by the 9-2-1 Lions who lost their three-peat bid at Cleveland, 56-10. Here's their record in the four title-winning regular seasons.
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1935: 7-3-2, won NFL title game over New York Giants , 26-7.
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1952: 9-3, won NFL title game at Cleveland, 17-7.
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1953: 10-2, won NFL title game vs. Cleveland, 17-16.
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1957: 8-4, en route to their most recent championship vs. Cleveland, 59-14.
The Lions are the only NFC team to never appear in the Super Bowl in its 58-year history, which began with the 1966 season.
Find information on every Lions season on Pro Football Reference .
Jared Ramsey is a sports reporter for the Detroit Free Press . Follow Jared on X @jared_ramsey22 , and email him at jramsey@freepress.com .
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Stay tuned for the best Lions coverage throughout the playoffs and all year long at freep.com/sports/lions .
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions best seasons and records in team history
