1986 Detroit Lions season

NFL team season August 2023 March 2026 Detroit Lions 1986 5–11 3rd NFC Central Darryl Rogers William Clay Ford Sr. Pontiac Silverdome Did not qualify None None Lions seasons The 1986 Detroit Lions season was their 57th in the league. The team failed to improve1986 Detroit Lions upon their previous season's output of 7–9 and missed the playoffs for the third straight season with a 5–11 record. The highlight of the season was first round draft choice Chuck Long’s first pass for a TD against Tampa Bay. Long would start in a Monday Night game against the Chicago Bears. Offseason NFL draft 1986 NFL draft Round Pick Player Position College 1 12 Chuck Long QB Iowa 2 29 Garry James RB LSU 3 69 Joe Milinichik OT North Carolina State 4 92 Devon Mitchell S Iowa 5 119 Oscar Smith RB Nicholls State 8 205 Allyn Griffin WR Wyoming 9 231 Lyle Pickens DB Colorado 10 258 Tracy Johnson LB Morningside 11 290 Leland Melvin WR Richmond 12 317 Allan Durden DB Arizona Roster 1986 Detroit Lions 12 Joe Ferguson 17 Eric Hipple 16 Chuck Long y 36 Herman Hunter 32 Garry James y 30 James Jones running back, born 1961 38 Scott Williams running back 80 Carl Bland 88 Tim Kearse 82 Pete Mandley 39 Leonard Thompson American football 81 Jimmie Giles 87 David Lewis American football 84 Rob Rubick 61 Scott Barrows C/G 75 Lomas Brown T 70 Keith Dorney G 53 Kevin Glover G 52 Steve Mott C 73 Harvey Salem G 64 Eric Sanders American football player T 71 Rich Strenger T 68 Steve Baack NT 66 Leon Evans DE 77 Keith Ferguson American football DE 79 William Gay defensive lineman DE 62 Curtis Green DE 76 Eric Williams defensive lineman NT 96 Paul Butcher American football y ILB 55 Mike Cofer linebacker OLB 58 James Harrell American football ILB 54 James Johnson linebacker OLB 92 Angelo King OLB 57 Vernon Maxwell American football ILB 51 Shelton Robinson ILB 43 Donnie Elder CB 40 Duane Galloway CB 33 William Graham American football SS 34 James Griffin defensive back FS 47 Rod Hill CB 21 Demetrious Johnson American football SS 29 Bruce McNorton CB 31 Devon Mitchell y FS  6 Jim Arnold American football P  3 Eddie Murray American football K 42 John Bostic CB IR 23 Arnold Brown CB IR American football 89 Jeff Chadwick WR IR 50 August Curley LB IR 72 Chris Dieterich G IR -- Allen Hughes defensive end DE IR 95 George Jamison LB IR 63 Steve Kenney G IR 74 Joe Milinichik y G IR 24 Alvin Moore American football RB IR 86 Mark Nichols American football WR IR 25 Oscar Smith American football y RB IR 27 Bobby Watkins cornerback CB IR 59 Jimmy Williams linebacker LB IR Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Attendance 1 September 7 at Minnesota Vikings W 13–101–0 54,851 2 September 14 Dallas Cowboys L 31–71–1 73,812 3 September 21 Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 24–201–2 38,453 4 September 28 at Cleveland Browns L 24–211–3 72,029 5 October 5 Houston Oilers W 24–132–3 41,960 6 October 12 at Green Bay Packers W 21–143–3 52,290 7 October 19 at Los Angeles Rams L 14–103–4 50,992 8 October 26 at Chicago Bears L 13–73–5 62,064 9 November 2 Cincinnati Bengals L 24–173–6 52,423 10 November 9 Minnesota Vikings L 24–103–7 53,725 11 November 16 at Philadelphia Eagles W 13–114–7 54,568 12 November 23 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 38–175–7 30,029 13 November 27 Green Bay Packers L 44–405–8 61,199 14 December 7 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 27–175–9 45,042 15 December 15, 1986 Chicago Bears L 16–135–10 75,602 16 December 21 Atlanta Falcons L 20–65–11 35,255Note: Intra-divisional opponents are in bold text. Season summary Week 1 at Vikings Detroit Lions 1986 2; text-align:center collapsed Week One: Detroit Lions (0–0) at Minnesota Vikings (0–0) September 7, 1986 1:00 p.m. Lions 0 7 3 3 Vikings 3 0 0 7 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota 54,851 Indoors (dome) Red Cashion Box Score, Box Score First quarter MIN – Chuck Nelson 35-yard field goal, 3:38. Vikings 3–0. Second quarter DET – James Jones 2-yard run (Eddie Murray kick), 1:56. Lions 7–3. Third quarter DET – Eddie Murray 33-yard field goal, 2:01. Lions 10–3. Fourth quarter DET – Eddie Murray 44-yard field goal, 9:05. Lions 13–3. MIN – Jim Gustafson 5-yard pass from Tommy Kramer (Chuck Nelson kick), 0:03. Lions 13–10. Top passers DET – Eric Hipple – 8/15, 95 yards, INT MIN – Tommy Kramer – 21/38, 223 yards, TD, INT Top rushers DET – James Jones – 36 rushes, 174 yards, TD MIN – Darrin Nelson – 11 rushes, 58 yards Top receivers DET – Leonard Thompson – 3 receptions, 40 yards MIN – Darrin Nelson – 6 receptions, 74 yards Week 6 Lions 0 14 0 7 Packers 0 7 0 7 October 12 Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin 12:00 p.m. CST 55 °F °C 1 or, wind 13 mph km/h knots Pat Haggerty Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com yes 2 DET Garry James 41 yard run (Eddie Murray kick) Lions 7–0 2 DET Scott Williams 1 yard run (Eddie Murray kick) Lions 14–0 2 GB James Lofton 5 yard pass from Randy Wright (Al Del Greco kick) Lions 14–7 4 DET David Lewis 2 yard pass from Eric Hipple (Eddie Murray kick) Lions 21–7 4 GB Dan Ross 6 yard pass from Randy Wright (Al Del Greco kick) Lions 21–14 yes Standings References Category:Detroit Lions seasons Detroit Lions Detroit Lions