| 1969 Detroit Lions season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Joe Schmidt |
| Home field | Tiger Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 9–4–1 |
| Division place | 2nd NFL Central |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
The 1969 Detroit Lions season was the 40th season in franchise history. The Lions enjoyed their best season in seven years, and their first winning campaign since 1964 by finishing in second place in the NFL Central Division with a solid 9–4–1 record led by a stingy defense that only allowed 188 total points on the season. However, the Lions still failed to qualify for the postseason for the 12th straight season.[1] The Lions were the only team to lose to the Pittsburgh Steelers, doing so in week 1 of the season. Pittsburgh lost their remaining 13 games. The loss to the Steelers proved costly to the Lions as it served as a big blow to their playoff hopes.
Offseason
NFL Draft
| 1969 Detroit Lions draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 34 | Altie Taylor | RB | Utah State | |
| 2 | 47 | Jim Yarbrough | TE | Florida | from Los Angeles |
| 3 | 59 | Larry Walton | WR | Arizona State | from New Orleans |
| 8 | 190 | Jim Carr | OT | Jackson State | |
| 9 | 216 | Rocky Rasley | G | Oregon State | |
| 10 | 242 | Bob Bergum | DE | Wisconsin-Platteville | |
| 11 | 268 | Ron Walker | DE | Morris Brown | |
| 12 | 294 | Bob Hadlock | DT | George Fox (Ore.) | |
| 13 | 320 | Wilson Bowie | RB | USC | |
| 14 | 346 | George Hoey | WR | Michigan | |
| 15 | 372 | Fred Gough | LB | Texas-Arlington | |
| 16 | 398 | Ken Spain | DE | Houston | |
| 16 | 407 | John Stahl | G | Fresno State | |
| 17 | 424 | Gary Steele | TE | Army | |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
Notes
- Detroit traded its first-round selection (8th) and QB Milt Plum, P/WR Pat Studstill and RB Tommy Watkins to Los Angeles in exchange for QB Bill Munson and the Rams' third-round selection (73rd).
- Detroit traded DT Roger Brown to Los Angeles in exchange for the Rams' second-round selection (47th) and first- and third-round selections in 1968.
- Detroit traded QB Karl Sweetan to New Orleans in exchange for the Saints' third-round selection (59th).
- Detroit traded its third-round selection (60th), fourth-round selection in 1970 and S Bruce Maher to N.Y. Giants in exchange for RB Bill Triplett and LB Bill Swain.
- Detroit traded the third-round selection received from the Rams (73rd) to St. Louis in exchange for WR Billy Gambrell.
- Detroit traded its fourth-round selection (86th) and third-round selection (65th) in 1968 to San Francisco in exchange for RB David Kopay.
- Detroit traded its sixth- and seventh-round selections (138th) and (164th) to Atlanta in exchange for DT Chuck Sieminski and LB Andy Bowling.
Roster
| 1969 Detroit Lions roster | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
|
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
|
Reserve lists
Practice squad
rookies in italics | |||
Regular season
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 21 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 13–16 | 0–1 | Pitt Stadium | 51,360 | |
| 2 | September 28 | New York Giants | W 24–0 | 1–1 | Tiger Stadium | 54,358 | |
| 3 | October 5 | at Cleveland Browns | W 28–21 | 2–1 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 82,833 | |
| 4 | October 12 | Green Bay Packers | L 17–28 | 2–2 | Tiger Stadium | 58,384 | |
| 5 | October 19 | Chicago Bears | W 13–7 | 3–2 | Tiger Stadium | 54,732 | |
| 6 | October 26 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 10–24 | 3–3 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,900 | |
| 7 | November 2 | at San Francisco 49ers | W 26–14 | 4–3 | Kezar Stadium | 35,100 | |
| 8 | November 9 | Atlanta Falcons | W 27–21 | 5–3 | Tiger Stadium | 53,242 | |
| 9 | November 16 | St. Louis Cardinals | W 20–0 | 6–3 | Tiger Stadium | 51,749 | |
| 10 | November 23 | at Green Bay Packers | W 16–10 | 7–3 | Lambeau Field | 50,861 | |
| 11 | November 27 | Minnesota Vikings | L 0–27 | 7–4 | Tiger Stadium | 57,906 | |
| 12 | December 7 | at Baltimore Colts | T 17–17 | 7–4–1 | Memorial Stadium | 60,238 | |
| 13 | December 14 | Los Angeles Rams | W 28–0 | 8–4–1 | Tiger Stadium | 53,256 | |
| 14 | December 21 | at Chicago Bears | W 20–3 | 9–4–1 | Wrigley Field | 41,879 | |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | |||||||
Season summary
Week 11 vs Vikings
Week Eleven: Minnesota Vikings (9–1) at Detroit Lions (7–3)
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vikings | 7 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 27 |
| Lions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at Tiger Stadium, Detroit, Michigan
- Date: November 27
- Game weather: Snow, 36 °F (2 °C)
- Game attendance: 57,906
- Box Score
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
- Muddy field
- Largest crowd for Thanksgiving game in Detroit history
Standings
| NFL Central | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Minnesota Vikings | 12 | 2 | 0 | .857 | 6–0 | 9–1 | 379 | 133 | L1 |
| Detroit Lions | 9 | 4 | 1 | .692 | 3–3 | 6–3–1 | 259 | 188 | W2 |
| Green Bay Packers | 8 | 6 | 0 | .571 | 3–3 | 5–5 | 269 | 221 | W2 |
| Chicago Bears | 1 | 13 | 0 | .071 | 0–6 | 0–10 | 210 | 339 | L6 |
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
Awards and records
References
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