1977 Detroit Lions season

NFL team season August 2023 March 2026 Detroit Lions 1977 6–8 3rd NFC Central Tommy Hudspeth Russ Thomas William Clay Ford Sr. Pontiac Silverdome Did not qualify None None Lions seasons The 1977 Detroit Lions season was their 48th in the National Football League (NFL). The team matched their previous season's output of 6–8,1977 Detroit Lions and missed the playoffs for the seventh straight season. The Lions struggled offensively, scoring a mere 183 points while finishing in third place with a 6–8 record for the second consecutive season. The 1977 coaching staff included 25-year-old assistant special teams and offensive assistant coach Bill Belichick. Belichick would later win two Super Bowls in the 1986 and 1990 seasons as defensive coordinator with the New York Giants, and six as head coach of the New England Patriots. This would be the final season for head coach Tommy Hudspeth before he and his entire staff were fired. This would also be the final season for future Hall-of-Fame tight end Charlie Sanders before his retirement. NFL draft 1977 NFL draft 1977 Detroit Lions 2 42 Walt Williams CB New Mexico State yes 3 69 Rick Kane RB San Jose State yes 4 96 Luther Blue WR Iowa State yes 5 114 Ron Crosby LB Penn State from Seattle no 6 166 Reggie Pinkney DB East Carolina from New England yes 7 179 Tim Black LB Baylor no 8 209 Mark Griffin OT North Carolina no 9 236 Steve Mathieson QB Florida State no 10 236 Gary Anderson G Stanford yes 11 293 Tony Daykin LB Georgia Tech yes 12 320 Dave Greenwood G Iowa State no no Notes Detroit traded its first-round pick (12th) to Buffalo in exchange for WR J.D. Hill. Detroit traded QB Bill Munson to Seattle in exchange for Seattle's fifth-round pick (114th). Detroit traded its fifth-round pick (125th) to Pittsburgh in exchange for TE John McMakin. Detroit traded its sixth-round pick (320th) and G Guy Dennis to San Diego in exchange for G Mark Markovich. Detroit traded WR Marlin Briscoe to New England in exchange for a sixth-round pick (166th). Undrafted free agents + 1977 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeJoe HarveyDefensive tackleNorthern MichiganKevin McClainDefensive backWyomingJohn StufllebeemPunterNavyBob WoodKickerMichigan Personnel Staff / Coaches 1977 Detroit Lions President – William Clay Ford Sr. Executive Vice President and General Manager – Russ Thomas Vice President and Assistant General Manager – Roger Lehew Head coach – Tommy Hudspeth Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks/receivers – Ed Hughes Offensive backfield – Wally English Offensive line – John Payne Offensive assistant – Bill Belichick Defensive coordinator/defensive line – Fritz Shurmur Linebackers – Rollie Dotsch Defensive backfield – Burnie Miller Special teams – Floyd Reese Assistant special teams – Bill Belichick Strength and Conditioning – Floyd Reese 1977 Detroit Lions Media Guide 3–10 Executive and coaching staff profiles Roster 1977 Detroit Lions 45 8 0 16 Gary Danielson 11 Greg Landry 14 Joe Reed quarterback 43 Andy Bolton American football 24 Dexter Bussey 31 Glenn Capriola y 44 Marv Hubbard 32 Rick Kane y 25 Horace King American football 34 Eddie Payton 89 Luther Blue y 86 J. D. Hill 45 Ray Jarvis American football 39 Leonard Thompson American football 81 David Hill tight end 87 Bill Larson tight end 60 Gary Anderson offensive lineman y G 62 Lynn Boden G 73 Russ Bolinger G 71 Craig Hertwig T 64 Melvin Mitchell C 63 Jon Morris C 79 Dave Simonson T 75 Jim Yarbrough T offensive lineman 78 Doug English DT 74 Larry Hand DT 83 Jim Mitchell defensive lineman DE 88 Herb Orvis DT 72 Ernie Price DE 82 Ken Sanders American football DE 77 John Woodcock American football DE 58 Tony Daykin y OLB 52 Jim Laslavic MLB 50 Paul Naumoff OLB 55 Ed O'Neil MLB 57 Garth TenNapel OLB 59 Charlie Weaver OLB 20 Lem Barney CB/FS 28 James Hunter American football CB 26 Dick Jauron FS 42 Reggie Pinkney y SS 40 Charlie West SS American football 21 Walt Williams cornerback y CB 10 Steve Mike-Mayer K 11 Wilbur Summers y P 53 Ron Crosby y LB IR 76 Rocky Freitas T IR 38 Lawrence Gaines FB IR 23 Levi Johnson S IR 65 Ken Long G IR 68 Mark Markovich G IR  1 Benny Ricardo K IR 88 Charlie Sanders TE IR Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Attendance 1 September 18 at Chicago Bears L 30–200–1 51,530 2 September 25 New Orleans Saints W 23–191–1 51,458 3 October 2 Philadelphia Eagles W 17–132–1 57,236 4 October 9 at Minnesota Vikings L 14–72–2 45,860 5 October 16 Green Bay Packers W 10–63–2 78,452 6 October 23 at San Francisco 49ers L 28–73–3 39,392 7 October 30 at Dallas Cowboys L 37–03–4 63,160 8 November 6 San Diego Chargers W 20–04–4 72,559 9 November 13 at Atlanta Falcons L 17–64–5 47,461 10 November 20 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 16–75–5 49,751 11 November 24, 1977 Chicago Bears L 31–145–6 71,373 12 December 4 at Green Bay Packers L 10–95–7 56,267 13 December 11 at Baltimore Colts W 13–106–7 45,124 14 December 17, 1977 Minnesota Vikings L 30–216–8 78,572Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Game summaries Week 3 vs Philadelphia Eagles Detroit Lions 1977 2; text-align:center collapsed Week 3: Philadelphia Eagles at Detroit Lions October 2, 1977 2:00 p.m. EST Eagles 0 7 6 0 Lions 7 3 7 0 Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, Michigan CBS Bob Costas and Nick Buoniconti First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter Top passers PHI – Ron Jaworski – 13/24, 207 yards, 2 TD, INT DET – Greg Landry – 13/18, 125 yards, 1 TD Top rushers PHI – Mike Hogan – 20 rushes, 67 yards DET – Horace King – 20 rushes, 68 yards Top receivers PHI – Harold Carmichael – 4 receptions, 67 yards, TD DET – Horace King – 7 receptions, 60 yards Week 8: vs San Diego Chargers Detroit Lions 1977 2;text-align:center; autocollapse Week Eight: San Diego Chargers at Detroit Lions – Game summary November 6 4:00 p.m. EST Chargers 0 0 0 0 Lions 0 0 7 13 Pontiac Silverdome, Detroit, Michigan 72,559 N/A (game played indoors) Jerry Markbreit NBC Dick Stockton and Paul Maguire Box score First quarter No scoring plays. Second quarter No scoring plays. Third quarter DET – Rick Kane 2-yard run (Steve Mike-Mayer kick), 5:08. Lions 7–0. Drive: 13 plays, 59 yards, 7:10. Fourth quarter DET – Rick Kane 1-yard run (Steve Mike-Mayer kick), 9:56. Lions 14–0. Drive: 9 plays, 70 yards, 4:09. DET – Marv Hubbard 1-yard run (kick failed), 4:57. Lions 20–0. Drive: 5 plays, 40 yards, 2:55. Top passers SDG – Bill Munson – 9/16, 90 yards DET – Greg Landry – 5/7, 67 yards Top rushers SDG – Joe Washington – 9 rushes, 54 yards DET – Rick Kane – 24 rushes, 105 yards, 2 TD Top receivers SDG – Rickey Young – 4 receptions, 48 yards DET – Horace King – 3 receptions, 49 yards Week 9 at Atlanta Falcons Detroit Lions 1977 2; text-align:center collapsed Week 9: Detroit Lions at Atlanta Falcons November 13, 1977 1:00 p.m. EST Lions 6 0 0 0 Falcons 0 0 0 17 Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, Atlanta, Michigan Overcast, 39 F C CBS Bob Costas and Nick Buoniconti First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter Top passers DET – Greg Landry – 5/19, 59 yards, 2 INT ATL – Steve Bartkowski – 6/16, 81 yards, 3 INT Top rushers DET – Rick Kane – 30 rushes, 81 yards, TD ATL – Haskel Stanback – 17 rushes, 59 yards Top receivers DET – J. D. Hill – 3 receptions, 28 yards ATL – Alfred Jenkins – 2 receptions, 30 yards Week 10: vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers Detroit Lions 1977 2;text-align:center; autocollapse Week Ten: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Detroit Lions – Game summary November 20 2:00 p.m. EST Buccaneers 0 7 0 0 Lions 0 0 3 13 Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, Michigan 49,751 None (played indoors) Cal Lepore Box score First quarter No scoring plays Second quarter TB – Rickey Bell 4-yard run (Allan Leavitt kick). Buccaneers 7–0. Third quarter DET – Steve Mike-Mayer 47-yard field goal. Buccaneers 7–3. Fourth quarter DET – Rick Kane 1-yard run (kick failed). Lions 9–7. DET – Reggie Pinkney 48-yard interception return (Steve Mike-Mayer kick). Lions 16–7. Top passers TB – Jeb Blount – 4/12, 56 yards, INT DET – Gary Danielson – 7/17, 80 yards, INT Top rushers TB – Rickey Bell – 16 rushes, 59 yards, TD DET – Rick Kane – 18 rushes, 57 yards, TD Top receivers TB – Isaac Hagins – 2 receptions, 57 yards DET – J. D. Hill – 3 receptions, 32 yards Standings References External links 1977 Detroit Lions at Pro-Football-Reference.com 1977 Detroit Lions at JT-SW.com 1977 Detroit Lions at The Football Database (FootballDB.com) Category:Detroit Lions seasons Detroit Lions Detroit Lions