The 1986 Detroit Lions season was their 57th in the league. The team failed to improve[1] upon their previous season's output of 7–9 and missed the playoffs for the third straight year with a 5–11 record. The highlight of the season was first round draft choice Chuck Long’s first pass for a TD.
This season would provide the last occasion the Lions defeated the Eagles until 2012,[2] although the teams did not meet again until the 1995 playoffs and not again in the regular season until 1996.[2] The reason for this long gap is that before the admission of the Texans in 2002, NFL scheduling formulas for games outside a team’s division were much more influenced by table position during the previous season.[3]
Schedule
Week |
Date |
Opponent |
Result |
Attendance |
1 |
September 7, 1986 |
at Minnesota Vikings |
W 13–10 |
54,851
|
2 |
September 14, 1986 |
Dallas Cowboys |
L 31–7 |
73,812
|
3 |
September 21, 1986 |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
L 24–20 |
38,453
|
4 |
September 28, 1986 |
at Cleveland Browns |
L 24–21 |
72,029
|
5 |
October 5, 1986 |
Houston Oilers |
W 24–13 |
41,960
|
6 |
October 12, 1986 |
at Green Bay Packers |
W 21–14 |
52,290
|
7 |
October 19, 1986 |
at Los Angeles Rams |
L 14–10 |
50,992
|
8 |
October 26, 1986 |
at Chicago Bears |
L 13–7 |
62,064
|
9 |
November 2, 1986 |
Cincinnati Bengals |
L 24–17 |
52,423
|
10 |
November 9, 1986 |
Minnesota Vikings |
L 24–10 |
53,725
|
11 |
November 16, 1986 |
at Philadelphia Eagles |
W 13–11 |
54,568
|
12 |
November 23, 1986 |
at Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
W 38–17 |
30,029
|
13 |
November 27, 1986 |
Green Bay Packers |
L 44–40 |
61,199
|
14 |
December 7, 1986 |
at Pittsburgh Steelers |
L 27–17 |
45,042
|
15 |
December 15, 1986 |
Chicago Bears |
L 16–13 |
75,602
|
16 |
December 21, 1986 |
Atlanta Falcons |
L 20–6 |
35,255
|
Season summary
Week 6
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
• Lions |
0 |
14 |
0 |
7 |
21 |
Packers |
0 |
7 |
0 |
7 |
14 |
|
|
|
Standings
References
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Franchise |
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Stadiums |
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Notable people |
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Rivalries |
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Lore |
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Culture |
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Division championships (9) |
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League championships (4) |
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Retired numbers |
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Media |
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Current league affiliations |
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