It’s no secret to Michigan sports fans that the Detroit Lions have not had much success in the NFL playoffs, as they have only won one postseason game since 1957.
Could this year’s team halt the streak of 30+ years without a playoff win? That remains to be seen, and Lions fans are too wise (and too traumatized from prior disappointment) to think it’s a certainty.
But, there are many Detroit fans still walking around in Honolulu Blue who remember tha last time their favorite team was victorious in the postseason.
The game was played on January 5, 1992, when the Lions hosted the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Divisional Round at the Pontiac Silverdome. The Lions dominated the Cowboys that day, 38-6, in front of a raucous crowd of 80,311 fans, and advanced to their only NFC Championship Game in franchise history.
The 1991-92 Lions were led by unlikely quarterback hero Erik Kramer, who passed for 341 yards and three touchdowns, setting a franchise record for passing yards in a playoff game. He completed 29 of 38 passes, and connected with receivers Willie Green (twice), and Herman Moore, for scores.
“I had been working with a sports psychologist, D. Kevin Wildenhaus, who got me through visualization and painting mental work pictures and scenes,” Kramer told ESPN later.
“It was kind of that little mental guided imagery that allowed me to really relax my way through a game. So, that’s what I remember is waking up very calm and treating that game like any other practice, really, and the fever pitch of that day in the Silverdome, I didn’t really notice it honestly.”
The Lions also had one of the greatest running backs of all time, Barry Sanders, who produced one of the most iconic touchdown runs of his Hall of Fame career. In the fourth quarter, Sanders took a handoff from Kramer, and ran to the left side of the field. He eluded several Cowboys defenders with his speed, agility, and vision, and then cut back to the right, leaving them in the dust. He sprinted to the end zone, completing a 47-yard touchdown run that electrified the crowd and put the Lions up 38-6.
Head coach Wayne Fontes remembers how it happened:
“[Dallas] won’t stop putting eight guys in the box, and now we’re up 31-6. Then I go up to my offensive coordinator, and I say, ‘Look, Barry has only touched the ball about five or six times. Let’s just give him the ball.’ So … we gave the ball to Barry, and he made the greatest run in the history of football. One guy on the defense missed him three times, and another guy, he spun around like a top. Then he went almost 50 yards for a touchdown, and as he comes off the field, I’m laughing. I go to my offensive coordinator and I say, ‘I told you just give the ball to Barry.’ “
“It was just one of those things to where I happened to finally just catch a little daylight and really deliver to the Silverdome fans a lot of what they had been waiting for,” Sanders remembers.
The Lions’ defense was equally impressive, as they shut down the Cowboys’ offense, which featured future Hall of Famers Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, and Michael Irvin. The Lions held the Cowboys to just six points, the lowest scoring output for the Cowboys in a playoff game. The Lions also forced four turnovers, including three interceptions by Aikman. The Lions’ defensive line, led by Jerry Ball, Robert Porcher, and Tracy Scroggins, pressured Aikman all game, and sacked him four times. The Lions’ secondary, led by Bennie Blades, Ray Crockett, and Melvin Jenkins, blanketed the Cowboys’ receivers, and prevented any big plays.
The Lions’ victory over the Cowboys was a historic and memorable moment for the franchise and its fans, as it was the first and only playoff win for the Lions in the Super Bowl era. The Lions celebrated with their fans, who stormed the field and lifted some of the players on their shoulders. The Lions also received the George Halas Trophy, which was presented to them by NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue. The Lions were one win away from reaching the Super Bowl, but they fell short in the NFC Championship Game, losing to the Washington Redskins, 41-10.
The Lions have not won a playoff game since then, and they have the longest active playoff drought in the NFL. They have made the playoffs nine times since 1992, but they have lost in the wild card round each time. The Lions have not hosted a playoff game since 1993, and they have not won a division title since 1993. The Lions have had just one a winning season since 2017, and they have not had a 10-win season since 2014. The Lions are still hoping to end their playoff woes, and to relive the glory of their 1992 victory over the Cowboys.
Former linebacker Chris Spielman, now an advisor for the team, was in uniform in 1992 at the Silverdome for that historic game, and he’ll never forget what it felt like to be a winner on that big stage.
“It was so cool to be on a team that everybody was playing for each other and not themselves. It was fun,” Spielman says.
