1954 Detroit Lions season
Head coachBuddy Parker
Home fieldBriggs Stadium
Results
Record9–2–1
Division place1st NFL Western
Playoff finishLost NFL Championship
(at Browns) 10–56

The 1954 Detroit Lions season was their 25th in the league. The team failed to improve on their previous season's output of 10–2, winning only nine games.[1] They qualified for the championship game for the third consecutive season.

Offseason

NFL Draft

The Lions drafted 32 players in the 1954 NFL Draft. Their first-round pick was Dick Chapman, an All-American defensive tackle out of Rice. Chapman never played a snap for the Lions, electing to return to Rice and finish his degree in physics. Their second-round pick, Michigan State center Jim Neal, also never played a snap after "marrying a girl whose religion prohibited him to play football on Sundays."[2]

Preseason

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 August 13 vs. College All-Stars W 34–6 1–0 Soldier Field 93,740
2 August 19 at Philadelphia Eagles W 17–14 2–0 Connie Mack Stadium 45,600
3 August 27 Washington Redskins W 27–7 3–0 Briggs Stadium 34,380
4 September 4 vs. New York Giants W 28–13 4–0 Oklahoma Memorial Stadium 25,000
5 September 10 vs. Cleveland Browns W 56–31 5–0 Cotton Bowl 43,000
6 September 19 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers W 42–14 6–0 War Memorial Stadium 20,000

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 26 Chicago Bears W 48–23 1–0 Briggs Stadium 52,343
2 Postponement to December 19; (World Series)
3 October 10 Los Angeles Rams W 21–3 2–0 Briggs Stadium 56,523
4 October 16 Baltimore Colts W 35–0 3–0 Briggs Stadium 48,272
5 October 24 at San Francisco 49ers L 31–37 3–1 Kezar Stadium 60,500
6 October 31 at Los Angeles Rams W 27–24 4–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 74,342
7 November 6 at Baltimore Colts W 27–3 5–1 Memorial Stadium 25,287
8 November 14 San Francisco 49ers W 48–7 6–1 Briggs Stadium 58,431
9 November 21 at Green Bay Packers W 21–17 7–1 City Stadium 20,767
10 November 25 Green Bay Packers W 28–24 8–1 Briggs Stadium 55,532
11 December 5 Philadelphia Eagles T 13–13 8–1–1 Briggs Stadium 54,939
12 December 12 at Chicago Bears L 24–28 8–2–1 Wrigley Field 37,240
13 December 19 at Cleveland Browns W 14–10 9–2–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 34,168
Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text.

Standings

NFL Western Conference
W L T PCT CONF PF PA STK
Detroit Lions 9 2 1 .818 8–2 337 189 W1
Chicago Bears 8 4 0 .667 7–3 301 279 W4
San Francisco 49ers 7 4 1 .636 5–4–1 313 251 W2
Los Angeles Rams 6 5 1 .545 4–5–1 314 285 W1
Green Bay Packers 4 8 0 .333 3–7 234 251 L4
Baltimore Colts 3 9 0 .250 2–8 131 279 L1

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Postseason

Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
NFL Championship December 26 at Cleveland Browns L 10–56
43,827

Roster

1954 Detroit Lions final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends


 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Rookies in italics

References

  1. ↑ 1954 Detroit Lions
  2. ↑ Falls, Joe (October 20, 1955). "Low Draft Choices Hurt Detroit Lions This Year". The Clarion-Ledger. Jackson, Mississippi. p. 21. Retrieved September 28, 2020 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
  3. ↑ "Layne passes Lions to win". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. October 17, 1954. p. 1C.
  4. ↑ Lea, Bud (November 25, 1954). "Layne-propelled Lions solid choice over Packers". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 3, part 4.
  5. ↑ Lea, Bud (November 26, 1954). "Packers outgain Lions but lose another heartbreaker, 28 to 24". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 2, part 2.
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