Detroit Lions playoff history in the NFL is full of trophies.
That is, of course, if you squint and look way back generations.
The Lions were the beasts of the West in the 1950s, winning four division championships. They played for the NFL championship each time, all against the Cleveland Browns , winning three titles and producing a plethora of Pro Football Hall of Famers.
Since then, the Lions are 1-12 in postseason play, with one win since 1957 and none from 1992 onward, the longest drought in the NFL . The Lions are also the only NFC team still lacking a Super Bowl appearance.
But enough Same Old Lions .
Let's celebrate the best of the franchise by looking at the Lions' five greatest postseason wins (there are seven total and four championships) in reverse chronological order.
What happened:The revved up Lions, in front of a raucous white towel-waving crowd of 78,290, played the best game in franchise history during the Super Bowl era to secure their lone playoff win since 1957. The hated Cowboys, in their third season and emerging from a rebuild under coach Jimmy Johnson, had gone 11-5 in the regular season and won 17-13 at Chicago in the wild-card round. They had a powerful offense led by NFL rushing leader Emmitt Smith and NFL receiving leader Michael Irvin , with quarterback Steve Beuerlein starting the previous five games, all wins, in relief of injured third-year starter Troy Aikman. The resilient Lions went 12-4 in the regular season , but playing in their first playoff game in eight years, the Vegas line was a pick-em .
Rookie receivers Willie Green and Herman Moore combined to catch three scores from quarterback Erik Kramer ( 29-for-38, 341 yards ), Barry Sanders had his iconic run weaving through a stunned Dallas defense and the Lions forced four turnovers, including a 41-yard pick-six from Melvin Jenkins in the second quarter. The Lions led 17-6 at the half, and in the second half snuffed any hopes of a Dallas comeback despite a QB change to Aikman, earning a dominant win and trip to the NFC championship game in Washington .
THE EPIC GAME: 1991 Lions recall last playoff win at raucous Silverdome
What happened:The Lions' most recent NFL championship season began with one of the oddest moments in team history. " Uncoachable " is what head coach Buddy Parker called the Lions when he stunned all at a team banquet by quitting less than 48 hours before their exhibition opener. "I've had enough," he said. Parker missed out on the final act of the golden era of Lions football, replaced by longtime assistant George Wilson. Wilson helped steer the Lions through waves of adversity to an 8-4 record during the 1957 season and two playoff wins, culminating in one final shellacking of the rival Browns to win the title.
The Lions, coming off an improbable comeback the week before in San Francisco (more on that later), roared from the start by scoring the game's first 17 points and took a 31-7 lead into halftime at Briggs Stadium (which became Tiger Stadium).
The Browns scored the first touchdown of the second half, but the Lions silenced any thoughts of a rally by scoring the next four touchdowns. The defense, led by Joe Schmidt at linebacker, held rookie and league MVP Jim Brown to 69 rushing yards on 20 carries , picked off five passes and recovered two fumbles.
Meanwhile Lions quarterback Tobin Rote, filling in for the injured Bobby Layne, carved the Cleveland defense for 280 passing yards and four touchdowns. Brown was upstaged by Lions rookie end Steve Junker, who caught touchdowns of 26 and 23 yards among five catches for 109 yards.
There were seven Hall of Famers on the Lions' championship squad: QB Bobby Layne, FB John Henry Johnson, LT Lou Creekmur, C Frank Gatski, DB/P Yale Lary, DB Jack Christiansen, LB Joe Schmidt.
THE GOLDEN ERA: A revealing look at the 1957 Lions in Joe Schmidt's basement
What happened:Did you know the Lions authored one of the greatest comebacks in NFL playoff history? The Lions were the powerhouse team in the Western Conference at the time, with two NFL titles and a runner-up finish in the 1950s to that point. But without Layne, their Pro Bowl quarterback, trailed 24-7 at halftime in San Francisco, as 49ers quarterback Y.A. Tittle tossed three touchdown passes.
The Lions were in need of inspiration. They got it from the opponents' locker room , separated from their own room by only a 2-by-4 wall with drywall on either side and air duct vents carrying chirping from the home team . "They're beating on the wall and '(expletive) you,' and all of this and everything," defensive end Gene Cronin said in 2017. "And Coach Wilson got up and said, 'I was going to say something, but that's what they think of you,' and he sat down."
The half didn't start well when San Francisco's Hugh McElhenny ran 71 yards to the Lions' 9-yard line, but the defense stiffened and forced a field goal to trail 27-7. The Lions scored the next 24 points, led by backup halfback Tom Tracy , who hadn't carried the ball in the previous four games. Tracy scored on a 1-yard plunge midway through the third quarter, then a minute later scored on a 58-yard sprint off right tackle by dodging defenders as he cutback left to open field, trimming the deficit to 27-21.
In the fourth quarter, Rote found a slanting Junker for 36 yards to the Niners 15 to set up Gene Gedman's 2-yard score, and Jim Martin's extra point gave the Lions the lead. The defense forced four turnovers in the fourth quarter and Martin added a late field goal to send the Lions to their fourth NFL championship game in six years.
The 20-point comeback remains among the top 10 greatest turnarounds in NFL postseason history.
What happened:The Lions were attempting to become the third team to win back-to-back NFL championships, after securing a spot in the title game a week earlier with a goal-line stand of the New York Giants ' Frank Gifford.
Standing-room only tickets sold on gameday for $3 to see a rematch of the 1952 title game, with the home Lions 4½-point underdogs in front of 54,577 fans at Briggs Stadium, according to the Free Press.
The Lions trailed, 16-10, thanks to two Lou Groza field goals in the fourth quarter. That's when Layne guided the offense 80 yards, culminating in a 33-yard touchdown heave to a wide open Jim Doran down the right side — Doran's only touchdown of the season after being named the team's most valuable player in 1952 — with two minutes remaining. Do-it-all Hall of Famer Doak Walker's extra point gave the Lions the lead, and on the Browns' first offensive play of the ensuing possession, Carl Karilivacz picked off Otto Graham's pass to seal a second consecutive title.
Graham, a future Hall of Famer, completed just 2 of 15 pass attempts for 20 yards and two interceptions, "his darkest day in eight years of pro ball," the Free Press wrote postgame. His counterpart, Layne, was 12-for-25 for 179 yards with the winning TD pass and two interceptions.
What happened:After defeating the L.A. Rams in a one-game playoff at Briggs, 31-21, to make the championship game, the Lions faced the Browns as 3½-point favorites at Cleveland Municipal Stadium for what would be the first of four championship meetings in the 1950s.
Layne took the Lions to the NFL title game in his third season, where they captured their first championship since 1935 (when Parker, then a Lions player, had an interception and 70 yards rushing with a score in a 26-7 victory). Layne was an efficient 7-for-9 passing for 68 yards and rushed nine times for 47 yards and the game's first score on a quarterback sneak from 2 yards out.
Walker provided the game's top highlight with a tackle-breaking 67-yard touchdown in the third quarter, and Pat Harder's 36-yard field goal with 8:43 in the fourth wrapped up the victory. Walker finished with 10 rushes for 97 yards.
The defense held strong against coach Paul Brown's offense, despite Graham passing for 191 yards on 20-for-35 attempts and Chick Jagade running for 104 yards on just 15 carries. The Browns had first-and-goal at the Lions' 5 early in the fourth with the score 14-7, but then went backwards and turned the ball over on downs.
The Browns had 22 first downs to the Lions' 10 and outgained them 384-258, but the Lions played mistake-free ball. Lions DB Jim David had an INT and they recovered a muffed punt to set up Harder's insurance field goal.
Each Lions player received $2,274 for the win.
HEARTBREAKERS: Lions 5 most painful playoff losses all-time
The 1935 Lions won the NFL's third-ever championship game. This was their second season following four years as the Portsmouth Spartans. They went 7-3-2 under head coach Potsy Clark and crushed the New York Giants, 26-7, for the championship . The "Flying Dutchman" Dutch Clark was named the league's best player that year, doing a bit of everything from running, catching, passing, kicking and playing defensive back. He scored on a 40-yard "sensational dash" in the second quarter weaving through the rain and sleet at Titan Stadium in Detroit.
The Lions joined the Tigers and later, the Red Wings, as champions in their respective sports at that time, giving Detroit the claim as "City of Champions." No other city has ever held championships in three of the four major U.S. sports at the same time.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions NFL playoff history: 5 greatest wins all-time
