1968 Detroit Lions season

NFL team season August 2023 March 2026 Detroit Lions 1968 4–8–2 4th NFL Central Joe Schmidt Tiger Stadium Did not qualify Lions seasons The 1968 Detroit Lions season was their 39th in the league. The team failed to improve on their previous season's output of 5–7–2, winning only four games.1968 Detroit Lions They missed the playoffs for the eleventh straight season. NFL draft 1968 NFL/AFL draft 1968 Detroit Lions 1 11 Greg Landry QB Massachusetts yes yes 1 24 Earl McCullouch WR USC from Los Angeles yes 2 37 Jerry DePoyster K Wyoming yes 3 74 Charlie Sanders TE Minnesota from Los Angeles yes yes yes 4 93 Ed Mooney LB Texas Tech yes 5 120 Phil Odle WR BYU yes 6 148 Mike Spitzer DE San Jose State no 8 202 Terry Miller LB Illinois yes 9 229 Greg Barton QB Tulsa yes 10 256 Granville Liggins LB Oklahoma no 11 283 Dwight Little G Kentucky no 12 310 Ed Caruthers DB Arizona no 13 337 Chuck Bailey OT Cal State-Humboldt no 14 364 Richie Davis WR Upsala no 15 391 Jim Oliver RB Colorado State no 16 418 Bob Rokita DE Arizona State no yes Notes Detroit traded DT Roger Brown to Los Angeles in exchange for the Rams' first- and third-round selections (24th and 74th) and second-round selection in 1969. Detroit traded its third-round selection (65th) and fourth-round selection in 1969 to San Francisco in exchange for RB David Kopay. Detroit traded its seventeenth-round selection (445th) to Minnesota in exchange for Minnesota's sixteenth-round selection in 1969. Personnel Staff / Coaches 1968 Detroit Lions Owner - William Clay Ford, Sr. Vice President / General manager - Russ Thomas Executive Vice President - Edwin J. Anderson Treasurer - Newton S. Peters Publicity Director / Business Manager - Lyall Smith Assistant Publicity Director - Elliott Trumbull Equipment manager - Roy Marklem Assistant equipment manager - Charles "Rip" Collins Head coach – Joe Schmidt Offensive Coordinator / Backs - Bill McPeak Offensive Line - Chuck Knox Wide Receivers - Johnny North Defensive Coordinator / Secondary - Jim David Defensive Line / Linebackers - Jim Martin Trainer - Kent Falb Assistant Trainer - Dave Smith https://www.profootballarchives.com/1968nfldet.html#gsc.tab=0 1968 Detroit Lions ProFootballArchives.com July 23, 2026 Final roster 1968 Detroit Lions roster Quarterbacks 14 Greg Barton American football y 19 Bill Munson Running backs 21 Mike Campbell running back 40 Nick Eddy 43 Dave Kopay 35 Tom Nowatzke 38 Bill Triplett Wide receivers  3 Billy Gambrell 81 Bill Malinchak 25 Earl McCullouch y 23 Phil Odle y Tight ends 80 Jim Gibbons American football 88 Charlie Sanders y Offensive linemen 52 Bill Cottrell C 79 Charlie Bradshaw offensive tackle T 54 Ed Flanagan American football C 76 Rocky Freitas T 68 Frank Gallagher American football G 66 Bob Kowalkowski G 73 Roger Shoals T 63 Chuck Walton G Defensive linemen 78 John Baker DE 85 Lew Kamanu DE 71 Alex Karras DT 85 Greg Kent DT 70 Denis Moore American football DE 82 Jerry Rush DT Linebackers 53 Mike Lucci MLB 62 Ed Mooney y OLB 50 Paul Naumoff OLB 55 Wayne Walker linebacker OLB 51 Bill Swain MLB Defensive backs 20 Lem Barney CB 44 Dick LeBeau CB 47 Wayne Rasmussen FS 27 Bobby Thompson defensive back CB 48 Tom Vaughn American football FS 28 Mike Weger SS 46 Jim Welch SS Special teams 15 Jerry DePoyster y K/P Reserve lists 24 Mel Farr RB IR 75 John Gordy T IR 74 Larry Hand DE IR 57 Terry Miller linebacker y LB Left Squad 84 Joe Robb DE IR 61 Chuck Sieminski DT IR Taxi squad 72 Chuck Bailey y no T 26 Mike Bass CB 29 Henry Carr S 11 Greg Landry y QB 45 Bobby Williams defensive back CB  1 Garo Yepremian K Note: rookies in italics Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 15 at Dallas Cowboys L 13–59 0–1 Cotton Bowl 61,382 2 September 22 Chicago Bears W 42–0 1–1 Tiger Stadium 50,688 3 September 29 at Green Bay Packers W 23–17 2–1 Lambeau Field 50,681 4 October 6 at Minnesota Vikings L 10–24 2–2 Metropolitan Stadium 44,289 5 October 13 at Chicago Bears W 28–10 3–2 Wrigley Field 46,996 6 October 20 Green Bay Packers T 14–14 3–2–1 Tiger Stadium 57,302 7 October 27 San Francisco 49ers L 7–14 3–3–1 Tiger Stadium 53,555 8 November 3 at Los Angeles Rams L 7–10 3–4–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 77,982 9 November 10 Baltimore Colts L 10–27 3–5–1 Tiger Stadium 55,170 10 November 17 Minnesota Vikings L 6–13 3–6–1 Tiger Stadium 46,654 11 November 24 New Orleans Saints T 20–20 3–6–2 Tiger Stadium 46,152 12 November 28 Philadelphia Eagles L 0–12 3–7–2 Tiger Stadium 47,909 13 December 8 at Atlanta Falcons W 24–7 4–7–2 Atlanta Stadium 49,437 14 December 15 at Washington Redskins L 3–14 4–8–2 D.C. Stadium 50,123 Note: The October 6 game against Minnesota was originally scheduled to be played in Detroit. The game was switched with the November 17 game due to game 4 of the World Series. Season summary Week 5 Lions 7 7 7 7 Bears 7 3 0 0 October 13 Wrigley Field, Chicago 67 F, wind 9 mph yes 1 DET Mel Farr 32 yard pass from Bill Munson (Jerry DePoyster kick) Lions 7–0 1 CHI Cecil Turner 80 yard pass from Larry Rakestraw (Mac Percival kick) Tie 7–7 2 DET Mel Farr 9 yard run (Jerry DePoyster kick) Lions 14–7 2 CHI Mac Percival 33 yard field goal Lions 14–10 3 DET Mel Farr 1 yard run (Jerry DePoyster kick) Lions 21–10 4 DET Tom Nowatzke 1 yard run (Jerry DePoyster kick) Lions 28–10 yes Pro-Football-Reference.com Standings References External links 1968 Detroit Lions at Pro-Football-Reference.com 1968 Detroit Lions at jt-sw.com 1968 Detroit Lions at The Football Database (FootballDB.com) Category:Detroit Lions seasons Detroit Lions Detroit Lions Category:1968 in Detroit Category:Long stubs with short prose