The 1989 season was the Detroit Lions' 60th season in the National Football League (NFL), their 56th as the Detroit Lions, and their first full season under head coach Wayne Fontes. The team improved upon their 4–12 record from the previous season, falling to 2–9 before winning out to finish at 7–9. It was the Lions' sixth consecutive losing season, failing to reach the postseason for each of those seasons.
This was the first season with Heisman Trophy winner and future Pro Football Hall of Fame member Barry Sanders. Sanders would post 1,470 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns, winning the NFL Rookie of the Year award. In the passing game, Bob Gagliano and Rodney Peete split time as quarterback, starting eight and seven games respectively. Neither the offense nor defense were above average, with the offense moving 4,992 yards and the defensive allowing 5,537 yards; both ranked 19th in the league. Special teams were the only highlight of the Lions, with kicker Eddie Murray receiving his second and last Pro Bowl nod making 20 of 21 field goals and all 36 extra points, and punt returner Walter Stanley leading the league in yards per punt return with 13.8.
Offseason NFL draft
Barry Sanders, the Lions' ultimate first round selection, wouldn't have been eligible for the draft under normal circumstances. At the time of the 1989 draft, juniors in college were not allowed to declare for the draft. However, Sanders' college, Oklahoma State, were under investigation by the NCAA and were ultimately found in violation of the NCAA's recruiting rules. Thus, Oklahoma State were unable to appear on television and were ineligible for bowl games. Under these conditions, NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle allowed Sanders to declare for the draft. The Lions selected Sanders with their third overall pick, the highest they took a running back since Billy Sims went first overall in 1980.
On offense, only two of the Lions' wide receiver selections, John Ford and Jason Phillips, recorded any statistics, not only for the Detroit Lions, but in their career. Phillips recorded 578 receiving yards and caught 2 touchdowns with most of his yards coming in his rookie campaign, and Ford played one game and recorded 58 receiving yards. The Lions also took quarterback Rodney Peete in the sixth round, who would go on to start several seasons for the Lions, including their 1991 season where he started 8 games before being sidelined with an injury. On defense, the only player who made any splash was cornerback Ray Crockett. Crockett would be awarded two Defensive Player of the Week awards with the Lions, and finished second in the league in interceptions in 1991.
Undrafted free agents
+ 1989 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeBruce AlexanderCornerbackStephen F. AustinJames DixonWide receiverHoustonMike McCrayLinebackerOhio StateJohn MillerSafetyMichigan StateMark MurphyDefensive tackleBoston CollegeRick SutkiewickKickerMichigan
Free agency In a season deemed "Year of the Holdout", eight draft selections held out in search for more favorable contracts along with five defensive starters and two special teams players. Barry Sanders wasn't signed until September 8, two days before the Week 1 opener. In June, Sanders' father William said they would look for offers from the Canadian Football League if negotiations fell through. Rodney Peete, who was drafted in the 13th round of the 1989 MLB draft, had intentions to play baseball unless he received "a satisfactory offer" faxed from the Lions office. Peete would eventually sign a two-year deal with the Lions. Two-time All-Pro and Pro Bowler Jim Arnold, Pro Bowler Mike Cofer, full-time starters Dennis Gibson and Jerry Holmes, and veteran kicker Eddie Murray did not report to training camp on July 19. Jimmy Williams requested a trade and did not report to training camp. The Indianapolis Colts and the Seattle Seahawks expressed interest in Williams, with the Colts hosting a workout for him. The Lions were able to re-sign Murray, Arnold, and Cofer, with Williams reporting back to training camp. They also re-signed running back Tony Paige, signed Walter Stanley, and traded for Terry Taylor.
After substandard performances in his two first seasons, former seventh overall pick Reggie Rogers was waived by the Lions. Rogers had his 1988 season cut short after being involved in a car accident which killed three teenagers and broke multiple of Rogers' vertebrae. The Lions' reason for waiving Rogers would be due to the injuries he suffered.
Personnel Staff
Roster
Preseason
Beginning their preseason off hosting the Cleveland Browns, rookie quarterback Rodney Peete was slated to start the first half. He threw an interception that was brought back 73 yards for a touchdown. He also tacked on a passing touchdown before Bob Gagliano took over in the second half. The game was back-and-forth, with the Lions down 7–15, then going up 17–15, before eventually falling 24–25. In the second game against defending AFC champions Cincinnati Bengals, Fontes would start veteran Rusty Hilger and play Eric Hipple at quarterback, showing limited time to fan favorite Peete. At halftime, the score stood at 3–7, with Hilger having thrown three interceptions. In the second half, Hipple took over for Hilger. However, on just the first play of the second half, Hipple threw an interception which was brought back for a touchdown. The Lions let up 28 straight points en route to a 3–35 beating in which the Lions' quarterbacks threw 8 total interceptions.
In the third preseason game, the Lions traveled to Seattle to play the Seattle Seahawks. The Lions allowed Peete to start the first half and some of the third quarter, while handing the reins of the rest of the game off to Gagliano. The first half began much similarly to the game against the Bengals, with the Seahawks offense being held to 6 points and the score going into the half standing at 0–6 Lions. Late into the second quarter, a Jimmy Williams interception set the Lions at Seattle's 20-yard line. The Lions settled for a 36-yard attempt from Eddie Murray, but it was missed. The Lions wouldn't score until down 0–13 in the fourth quarter on a Carl Painter 1-yard rushing touchdown to settle the final score at 7–13. At risk of going 0–4 in the preseason for the second consecutive season, the Lions traveled to Los Angeles to face off against the Los Angeles Rams. With Peete opening the half, the Lions answered a Los Angeles touchdown by constructing a "unique drive". The Lions worked their way down with help from wide receiver Tony Paige, getting down to the Rams' 34-yard line. On the ensuing play, Peete completed a 13-yard pass to wide receiver Richard Johnson who fumbled it 11 yards upfield where it was picked up by Troy Johnson who carried it into the endzone to tie it at 7 apiece. However, the Lions stalled for the rest of the half, including an interception by Peete. On that same play, Peete went down with a knee injury and didn't return. The Rams dominated the rest of the game, allowing only one more touchdown by the Lions while scoring 2 of their own to win 24–14 and clinching the Lions' second consecutive 0–4 preseason record.
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue1August 12Cleveland BrownsL 24–250–1Pontiac Silverdome2August 19Cincinnati BengalsL 3–350–2Pontiac Silverdome3August 25at Seattle SeahawksL 7–130–3Kingdome4September 2at Los Angeles RamsL 14–240–4Anaheim Stadium
Regular season Overview The Lions started their regular season falling to 0–5. After their fifth consecutive loss, backup quarterback Chuck Long said starting multiple quarterbacks was "tearing the team apart". After losing the Week 11 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals to fall to 2–9, the Lions rallied to win the last 5 games of the season to end with a 7–9 record, winning 5 in a row for the first time since 1970.
The Lions started three different quarterbacks in the season: Bob Gagliano, Eric Hipple, and Rodney Peete. Peete, a sixth-round pick who was the Heisman Trophy runner-up behind Barry Sanders in 1988, started eight games, missing eight due to injury. Gagliano was the Week 1 starter due to a knee injury Peete suffered in training camp, coming back in the Week 4 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. When Peete went down with an injury in the Steelers game, he was ruled out for the Week 5 game against the Minnesota Vikings. Hipple, who led the Lions' last winning season, was slated to start the Week 5 matchup. Peete returned to start for weeks 6–11, but reinjured his knee during the Week 11 game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Peete was ruled out for one week before making his return against the New Orleans Saints, but again reinjured his left knee, keeping him out for the season. Gagliano threw for 1,671 yards, 6 touchdowns to 12 interceptions while Peete threw for 1,479 yards, 5 touchdowns to 9 interceptions. In his rookie campaign, Barry Sanders rushed for 1,470 yards, good for 2nd in the league, just 10 yards behind the league leader. Sanders also had 14 rushing touchdowns, also good for 2nd in the league.
Cornerback Jerry Holmes led the team in interceptions with 6, followed closely by Jimmy Williams with 5. Both Jerry Ball and Mike Cofer led the team with 9.0 sacks each, and Chris Spielman led the team in tackles with 125. Both Spielman and Ball earned Pro Bowl nods. On special teams, punter Jim Arnold was 2nd in the league for punting yardage with 3,538, earning the 3rd most yards per punt with 43.1. Kicker Eddie Murray led the league in field goal percentage with 95.2%, nearly 10% more than the 2nd best. Murray was named to the Pro Bowl for his efforts.
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 10 Phoenix Cardinals L 13–160–1 Pontiac Silverdome36,735 2 September 17 at New York Giants L 14–240–2 Giants Stadium76,021 3 September 24 Chicago Bears L 27–470–3 Pontiac Silverdome71,418 4 October 1 Pittsburgh Steelers L 3–230–4 Pontiac Silverdome43,804 5 October 8 at Minnesota Vikings L 17–240–5 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome55,380 6 October 15 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 17–161–5 Tampa Stadium46,225 7 October 22 Minnesota Vikings L 7–201–6 Pontiac Silverdome51,579 8 October 29 at Green Bay Packers L 20–23(OT)1–7 Milwaukee County Stadium53,731 9 November 5 at Houston Oilers L 31–351–8 Astrodome48,056 10 November 12 Green Bay Packers W 31–222–8 Pontiac Silverdome44,324 11 November 19 at Cincinnati Bengals L 7–422–9 Riverfront Stadium55,720 12 Cleveland Browns W 13–103–9 Pontiac Silverdome65,624 13 December 3 New Orleans Saints W 21–144–9 Pontiac Silverdome38,550 14 December 10 at Chicago Bears W 27–175–9 Soldier Field52,650 15 December 17 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 33–76–9 Pontiac Silverdome40,362 16 December 24 at Atlanta Falcons W 31–247–9 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium7,792Note: Intra-divisional opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries All game reports use the Pro Football Researchers' gamebook archive as a source.
Week 1: vs. Phoenix Cardinals
Receiving the kickoff at the home and season opener, the Lions' instantly marched down the field to score on an Eddie Murray 30-yard field goal to bring the score to 3–0. The first quarter ended without any more scoring, but the Lions dominated the time of possession by holding the ball for 11:09. After a Lions punt, the Cardinals began their third drive of the game. They moved into Lions territory and settled for a Al Del Greco 29-yard field goal to tie it at 3–3. The Lions went three-and-out and punted. Starting with good field position, the Cardinals punted. However, a 15-yard penalty gave the Cardinals a first down. With a second chance, the Cardinals kicked a 23-yard field goal to settle the score at 3–6 going into halftime.