| 1998 Detroit Lions season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | William Clay Ford Sr. |
| General manager | Chuck Schmidt |
| Head coach | Bobby Ross |
| Home stadium | Pontiac Silverdome |
| Results | |
| Record | 5–11 |
| Division place | 4thNFC Central |
| Playoffs | Did not qualify |
| All-Pros | 1
|
| Pro Bowlers | |
| Uniform | |
The1998Detroit Lions season was their 69th in theNational Football League (NFL). The team failed to improve upon theirprevious season's output of 9–7 and did not make a repeat playoff appearance, instead posting their third 5–11 mark in seven seasons.[1] This was the last seasonBarry Sanders would play in the NFL.
| Additions | Subtractions |
|---|---|
| CJim Pyne (Buccaneers) | WR/KRGlyn Milburn (Bears) |
| LBAllen Aldridge (Broncos) | DTShane Bonham (49ers) |
| LBRob Fredrickson (Raiders) | TEPete Metzelaars (retirement) |
| DTMike Wells (Lions) |
| 1998 Detroit Lions draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | Terry Fair | Defensive back | Tennessee | |
| 2 | 50 | Germane Crowell | Wide receiver | Virginia | |
| 2 | 60 | Charlie Batch | Quarterback | Eastern Michigan | |
| 6 | 185 | Jamaal Alexander | Defensive back | Southern Miss | |
| 7 | 207 | Chris Liwienski | Tackle | Indiana | |
| Made roster * Made at least onePro Bowl during career | |||||
| Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|
| Tutu Atwell | Wide receiver | Minnesota |
| Kerlin Blaise | Guard | Miami (FL) |
| Lamar Campbell | Cornerback | Wisconsin |
| Kywin Supernaw | Defensive back | Indiana |
| Travis Reece | Running back | Michigan State |
| Corey Thomas | Wide Receiver | Duke |
| 1998 Detroit Lions staff | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
| |||||
| Quarterbacks(QB) Running backs(RB) Wide receivers(WR) Tight ends(TE) | Offensive linemen(OL) | Linebackers(LB)
Defensive backs(DB)
Special teams(ST) | Practice squad 53 active, 11 inactive, 3 practice squadReserve
Rookies in italics |
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 6 | atGreen Bay Packers | L 19–38 | 0–1 | Lambeau Field | 60,102 |
| 2 | September 13 | Cincinnati Bengals | L 28–34 (OT) | 0–2 | Pontiac Silverdome | 66,354 |
| 3 | September 20 | atMinnesota Vikings | L 6–29 | 0–3 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 63,107 |
| 4 | September 28 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 27–6 | 1–3 | Pontiac Silverdome | 74,724 |
| 5 | October 4 | atChicago Bears | L 27–31 | 1–4 | Soldier Field | 66,944 |
| 6 | Bye | |||||
| 7 | October 15 | Green Bay Packers | W 27–20 | 2–4 | Pontiac Silverdome | 77,932 |
| 8 | October 25 | Minnesota Vikings | L 13–34 | 2–5 | Pontiac Silverdome | 77,885 |
| 9 | November 1 | Arizona Cardinals | L 15–17 | 2–6 | Pontiac Silverdome | 66,087 |
| 10 | November 8 | atPhiladelphia Eagles | L 9–10 | 2–7 | Veterans Stadium | 66,785 |
| 11 | November 15 | Chicago Bears | W 26–3 | 3–7 | Pontiac Silverdome | 63,152 |
| 12 | November 22 | atTampa Bay Buccaneers | W 28–25 | 4–7 | Raymond James Stadium | 64,265 |
| 13 | November 26 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 19–16 (OT) | 5–7 | Pontiac Silverdome | 78,139 |
| 14 | December 6 | atJacksonville Jaguars | L 22–37 | 5–8 | Alltel Stadium | 70,717 |
| 15 | December 14 | atSan Francisco 49ers | L 13–35 | 5–9 | 3Com Park | 68,585 |
| 16 | December 20 | Atlanta Falcons | L 17–24 | 5–10 | Pontiac Silverdome | 67,143 |
| 17 | December 27 | atBaltimore Ravens | L 10–19 | 5–11 | Raven Stadium | 68,045 |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are inbold text. | ||||||
| NFC Central | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK | |
| (1)Minnesota Vikings | 15 | 1 | 0 | .938 | 556 | 296 | W8 |
| (5)Green Bay Packers | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 408 | 319 | W3 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 314 | 295 | W1 |
| Detroit Lions | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 306 | 378 | L4 |
| Chicago Bears | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 276 | 368 | L1 |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lions | 3 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 19 |
| Packers | 10 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 38 |
atLambeau Field,Green Bay, Wisconsin
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steelers | 0 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 16 |
| Lions | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 3 | 19 |
atPontiac Silverdome,Pontiac, Michigan
| Game information |
|---|
First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Overtime
|
Barry Sanders retired as the second leading rusher in NFL history.