The 1974 Detroit Lions season was the 45th season in franchise history. It was the Lions' final season playing at Detroit's Tiger Stadium; the team moved to the Pontiac Silverdome[1] the following season and played home games there until the end of the 2001 season.
| 1974 Detroit Lions season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | William Clay Ford Sr. |
| Head coach | Rick Forzano |
| Home field | Tiger Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 7–7 |
| Division place | 2nd NFC Central |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers | 2
|
| AP All-Pros | None |
Prior to the start of training camp, tragedy would strike the Lions, as head coach Don McCafferty died of a heart attack at age 53. He was replaced by Lions assistant Rick Forzano, who guided the Lions to a 7–7 record in their final season at Tiger Stadium.
This would also be the last season until 2011 when Monday Night Football aired in the City of Detroit, as a result of the Lions playing in Pontiac from 1975 to 2001 followed by subpar seasons while playing at Ford Field during that stadium's first eight seasons.
NFL draft edit
| 1974 Detroit Lions draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | Ed O'Neil | LB | Penn State | from New Orleans |
| 2 | 39 | Billy Howard | DT | Alcorn A&M | |
| 3 | 65 | Dexter Bussey | RB | Texas-Arlington | |
| 5 | 117 | Carl Capria | DB | Purdue | |
| 6 | 139 | Willie Burden | RB | North Carolina State | from New Orleans |
| 6 | 143 | Jim Davis | G | Alcorn A&M | |
| 7 | 169 | Efrén Herrera * | K | UCLA | |
| 8 | 195 | Mike Denimarck | LB | Emporia State | |
| 10 | 247 | David Wooley | RB | Central State (OK) | |
| 11 | 273 | T. C. Blair | TE | Tulsa | |
| 12 | 299 | Mark Wakefield | WR | Tampa | |
| 13 | 325 | Fred Rothwell | C | Kansas State | |
| 14 | 351 | David Jones | DB | Howard Payne | |
| 15 | 377 | John Wells | G | Kansas State | |
| 16 | 403 | Myron Wilson | DB | Bowling Green | |
| 17 | 429 | Collis Temple | DE | LSU | |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
Notes
- Detroit traded TE Dave Thompson and its first-round pick (13th) to New Orleans in exchange for the Saints' first-round pick (8th) and sixth-round pick in 1975.
- Detroit traded DT Joe Schmiesing to Baltimore in exchange for the Colts' fourth-round pick (84th), and then traded this pick back to the Colts a few weeks later in exchange for K (and occasional WR) Jim O'Brien.
- Detroit traded its fourth-round pick (91st) to St. Louis in exchange for CB Miller Farr.
- Detroit traded LB Ed Mooney to Baltimore in exchange for the Colts' fifth-round pick (109th), and then traded this pick to Atlanta in exchange for DB Willie Germany.
- Detroit traded LB Adrian Young to New Orleans in exchange for the Saints' sixth-round pick (139th).
- Detroit traded its ninth-round selection (221st) to Los Angeles in exchange for G Brian Goodman.
Roster edit
| Detroit Lions roster | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
|
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
|
Reserve lists
rookies in italics | |||
Regular season edit
Schedule edit
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 15 | at Chicago Bears | L 9–17 | 0–1 | Soldier Field | 48,134 | Recap |
| 2 | September 22 | Minnesota Vikings | L 6–7 | 0–2 | Tiger Stadium | 49,703 | Recap |
| 3 | September 29 | at Green Bay Packers | L 19–21 | 0–3 | Milwaukee County Stadium | 47,292 | Recap |
| 4 | October 6 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 13–16 | 0–4 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 64,987 | Recap |
| 5 | October 14 | San Francisco 49ers | W 17–13 | 1–4 | Tiger Stadium | 45,199 | Recap |
| 6 | October 20 | at Minnesota Vikings | W 20–16 | 2–4 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,807 | Recap |
| 7 | October 27 | Green Bay Packers | W 19–17 | 3–4 | Tiger Stadium | 51,775 | Recap |
| 8 | November 3 | New Orleans Saints | W 19–14 | 4–4 | Tiger Stadium | 43,256 | Recap |
| 9 | November 10 | at Oakland Raiders | L 13–35 | 4–5 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 51,973 | Recap |
| 10 | November 17 | New York Giants | W 20–19 | 5–5 | Tiger Stadium | 40,431 | Recap |
| 11 | November 24 | Chicago Bears | W 34–17 | 6–5 | Tiger Stadium | 40,930 | Recap |
| 12 | November 28 | Denver Broncos | L 27–31 | 6–6 | Tiger Stadium | 51,157 | Recap |
| 13 | December 8 | at Cincinnati Bengals | W 23–19 | 7–6 | Riverfront Stadium | 45,159 | Recap |
| 14 | December 15 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 17–28 | 7–7 | Veterans Stadium | 57,157 | Recap |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries edit
Week 7 edit
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Week 8 edit
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Standings edit
| NFC Central | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Minnesota Vikings | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 4–2 | 8–3 | 310 | 195 | W3 |
| Detroit Lions | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 3–3 | 6–5 | 256 | 270 | L1 |
| Green Bay Packers | 6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 3–3 | 4–7 | 210 | 206 | L3 |
| Chicago Bears | 4 | 10 | 0 | .286 | 2–4 | 4–7 | 152 | 279 | L2 |