The 1999 season was the Detroit Lions' 70th in the National Football League (NFL). They finished the season with an 8–8 record, an improvement on their 5–11 record from the previous season, and qualified for the playoffs as the third-placed team in the NFC Central. It was their sixth playoff appearance of the decade, capping one of the most successful 10-year stretches in franchise history.
In 2004, Football Outsiders Mike Tanier named the 1999 Lions as one of the "worst playoff teams ever".
The Lions had just lost Barry Sanders to an abrupt retirement and started the season with second-year pro Charlie Batch at quarterback before he was lost to an injury and replaced by Gus Frerotte.
The team won six of their first eight games, including a victory over the eventual Super Bowl champion St. Louis Rams, which made the Lions a surprise contender at the midway point of the season; however, they managed only two more wins in the second half of the season and lost their final four games.
Offseason
1999 expansion draft
+ Lions selected during the expansion draft Pick Name Position Expansion team1 Jim Pyne Center Cleveland Browns36 Jerris McPhail Running back
NFL draft
Notes Detroit traded up from its second-round selection (39th) with Miami, receiving Miami's first-round selection (27th), which they had received from San Francisco, in return for Detroit's third- and fifth-round selections (70th and 142nd). Detroit traded up from a third-round selection (72nd) received from Baltimore as part of the trade of QB Scott Mitchell with Miami to the 70th pick, giving up a seventh-round selection (232nd) in return. Detroit had received the 232nd pick from Green Bay in exchange for RB Glyn Milburn. Detroit traded its fourth-round selection in 2000 to Philadelphia in exchange for the Eagles' fifth-round selection (137th).
Undrafted free agents + 1999 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeNikia CodieSafetyBaylorDarryl DanielWide receiverSyracuseCharles DorseyDefensive tackleAuburnHenry DouglasWide receiverNorth Carolina A&TBrian GowinsKickerNorthwesternJoey HallLinebackerAppalachian StateDonnie HartWide receiverTexas TechDemetrius JohnsonCornerbackEastern MichiganSorie KanuSafetyMichigan StatePhil NashCornerbackSyracuseJeremy OffuttCenterOklahoma StateDaniel PopePunterAlabamaMarek RubinTackleYaleJoe TuipalaLinebackerSan Diego State
Personnel Staff
Roster
Regular season
The season had an inauspicious beginning as future Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders suddenly retired on the eve of training camp. Undaunted, coach Bobby Ross led the Lions to a fast start, highlighted by a Week 9 win over the then 6–1 St. Louis Rams.
The following week, Ross made a questionable decision to go for a failed two-point conversion after a touchdown against Arizona. The game ended with Detroit trailing by four points in the red zone trying to score a game-winning touchdown. The Lions would lose at Green Bay the following week, but defeat Chicago at home to get back on track.
The following week, the Lions picked up the franchise's first win vs. Washington since 1965 and snapped an 18 game losing streak, putting the team at an 8–4 and in sole possession of the second seed in the NFC. However, the Lions collapsed down the stretch and lost their last four regular season games to finish 8–8.
Two other NFC teams—the Packers and Carolina Panthers—finished 8–8, but the Lions beat the Panthers 24–9 in Week 7 and they held the conference record tiebreaker over the Packers, thus allowing Detroit to make the playoffs as the sixth seed despite losing their final four games.
This would be the Lions' last playoff appearance until the 2011 season.
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 12 at Seattle Seahawks W 28–20 1–0 Kingdome 66,238 2 September 19 Green Bay Packers W 23–15 2–0 Pontiac Silverdome 76,202 3 September 26 at Kansas City Chiefs L 21–31 2–1 Arrowhead Stadium 78,384 4 Bye 5 October 10 San Diego Chargers L 10–20 2–2 Pontiac Silverdome 61,481 6 October 17 Minnesota Vikings W 25–23 3–2 Pontiac Silverdome 76,516 7 October 24 at Carolina Panthers W 24–9 4–2 Ericsson Stadium 64,322 8 October 31 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 20–3 5–2 Pontiac Silverdome 63,135 9 November 7 St. Louis Rams W 31–27 6–2 Pontiac Silverdome 73,224 10 November 14 at Arizona Cardinals L 19–23 6–3 Sun Devil Stadium 49,600 11 November 21 at Green Bay Packers L 17–26 6–4 Lambeau Field 59,869 12 November 25 Chicago Bears W 21–17 7–4 Pontiac Silverdome 77,905 13 December 5 Washington Redskins W 33–17 8–4 Pontiac Silverdome 77,693 14 December 12 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 16–23 8–5 Raymond James Stadium 65,536 15 December 19 at Chicago Bears L 10–28 8–6 Soldier Field 50,256 16 December 25 Denver Broncos L 7–17 8–7 Pontiac Silverdome 73,158 17 January 2 at Minnesota Vikings L 17–24 8–8 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 64,103 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Standings
Postseason Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Wild Card January 8 at Washington Redskins L 13–27 0–1 Jack Kent Cooke Stadium 79,411
Game summaries NFC Wild Card Game: at (#3) Washington Redskins
References
External links 1999 Detroit Lions at Pro-Football-Reference.com