number20 Posted June 8 Posted June 8 As much as that Commanders loss still stings, it's yesterday's news. New season on the way. Got me wondering though… what’s the most disappointing, maddening, or heartbreaking Lions loss in memory? Quick scan over the last 45 years produced my list below. Don’t believe I missed anything. Personal top three: 2023 NFC championship, 1983 playoff loss to 49ers, and a tie: Rodgers Hail Mary in 2015, and 1980 Thanksgiving loss to Bears. (Wanted to do a poll, but there’s a limit on choices) 1980 Thanksgiving OT loss to Chicago (Bears return overtime kickoff for TD) 1981 home loss to Bucs (Lions blow winning division, out of playoffs) 1983 playoff loss to 49ers (Eddie Murray misses game-winning FG) 1991 NFC championship blowout loss to Redskins (humiliating end to Thumbs Up season) 1993 home playoff loss to Packers (Farve-to-Sharp TD with 55 seconds left) 1994 playoff loss to Packers (-1 yards rushing for Barry) 1995 blowout playoff loss to Eagles (Lomas Brown guarantees win, Eagles open game with 51-7 run) 2002 OT loss to Bears (Mornhinweg wins coin toss, awards Bears the ball anyway, “takes the wind”) 2004 embarrassing Thanksgiving blowout loss to Colts (game over by 2nd quarter) 2008 embarrassing Thanksgiving blowout loss to Titans (worst in Lions history) 2008 week 16 loss to Packers (officially making it 0-16) 2010 loss to Bears (Calvin catch not a catch, didn't "complete the process") 2012 Thanksgiving loss to Texans (Forsett tackled, gets up, runs 81 yards for TD, replay shows down by contact, not reviewable) 2014 playoff loss to Dallas (Pettigrew pass interference flag picked up, Dez no flag for removing helmet on field) 2015 home loss to Packers with 00:00 on clock (Rodgers Hail Mary after gift face mask call) 2016 SNF home loss to Packers (Lions blow NFC North crown and home field) 2017 loss to Falcons (Tate’s game winning TD ruled short, 8 seconds left, 10 second runoff, game over) 2017 loss to Seahawks (ball illegally batted out of end zone) 2019 loss to Packers (two phony illegal hands to face calls on Trey Flowers, GB is gifted the win) 2021 MNF home loss to Ravens (delay of game no call sets up Tucker’s absurd 66 yd game-winner) 2023 loss to Dallas (Decker reports, Skipper doesn't, confused official gets it backwards) 2023 NFC Championship loss to 49ers (one half away from first Super Bowl, blew 17 point lead) 2024 #1 seed Lions lose at home to #6 seed Commanders (SB favorite 15-2 Lions are one-and-done in playoffs) Honorable mention: 1984 at Vikings (not a loss, but Billy Sims’ knee injury ends career) Quote
Motown Bombers Posted June 8 Posted June 8 NFC Championship game against the 49ers. If the Lions don't make a Super Bowl, that is going to be a huge what if. It was there for the taking. They had a lead in the second half and looked the better team. A couple drops and a botched handoff did them in. A lot of those regular season losses don't really alter the franchise like losing that NFC Championship. Even beating Dallas in the playoffs in 2014, they likely lose to Seattle the next round but it at least gets the monkey off their back. Quote
MichiganCardinal Posted June 8 Posted June 8 17 minutes ago, Motown Bombers said: NFC Championship game against the 49ers. If the Lions don't make a Super Bowl, that is going to be a huge what if. It was there for the taking. They had a lead in the second half and looked the better team. A couple drops and a botched handoff did them in. A lot of those regular season losses don't really alter the franchise like losing that NFC Championship. Even beating Dallas in the playoffs in 2014, they likely lose to Seattle the next round but it at least gets the monkey off their back. Yep. The NFCCG pissed me off because the win was there on the tee for the taking. The Commanders game was fluky in how poorly the offense performed, but I take sad solace in knowing the Eagles would have put 55+ on our depleted defense in the NFCCG. The reality is it just wasn’t going to happen last year. We should have been to the Super Bowl in 2024, and would have gone punch for punch with the Chiefs. Quote
number20 Posted June 8 Author Posted June 8 I should swap my 1980 OT loss to Bears with 2023 loss to Dallas. That was just... bad. Ripping that game-winning 2pt conversion away from Decker was infuriating enough. The loss led to the Lions playing the 49ers on the road due to playoff seeding... even worse. But the NFL doubling down the next day and basically accusing the Lions of lying was obscenely grotesque. This list reminded me of just how many time the Lions got screwed over by bad officiating. Pretty shocking Quote
lordstanley Posted June 8 Posted June 8 Two plays that will haunt me until a championship is won are the Ortiz grand slam in the '13 ALCS and the Reynolds 4th down drop in the NFC Championship. Beautiful 1st half and there were no complaints with how the 3rd quarter was unfolding. Held the Niners to a FG after the kickoff to open the half, offense moved the ball smartly downfield in response, and if Josh Reynolds makes the catch he had been making all year the Lions would have snapped on 1st down from the SF 20 with 6 1/2 minutes to go. Worse case a FG would have restored the 17 pt lead and they'd have reduced a 30 minute half to around 18 or 19 minutes. Everything just snowballed and an hour later I'm waiting in a long transit lineup outside the Santa Clara stadium wondering what hit me. 1 Quote
Motown Bombers Posted June 8 Posted June 8 6 minutes ago, number20 said: I should swap my 1980 OT loss to Bears with 2023 loss to Dallas. That was just... bad. Ripping that game-winning 2pt conversion away from Decker was infuriating enough. The loss led to the Lions playing the 49ers on the road due to playoff seeding... even worse. But the NFL doubling down the next day and basically accusing the Lions of lying was obscenely grotesque. This list reminded me of just how many time the Lions got screwed over by bad officiating. Pretty shocking The 49ers rested their starters the final game against a Rams team that also rested their starters. If the #1 seed is on the line, the 49ers don't rest their starters and likely win that game. It was an unlikely scenario the Lions get home field advantage. Quote
number20 Posted June 8 Author Posted June 8 (edited) Yeah probably right, MB But still... that Dallas loss was BAD Edited June 8 by number20 Quote
MichiganCardinal Posted June 8 Posted June 8 The 2023 Dallas “loss” remains our last regular season road loss. Quote
Motown Bombers Posted June 8 Posted June 8 I think the 2000 loss to the Bears at the Silverdome on a last second FG that knocked the Lions out of the playoffs should be up there. That ushered in the Matt Millen era. I would say that loss ranks second. 1 Quote
GalagaGuy Posted June 9 Posted June 9 It's certainly not the 91 loss to the Redskins in the NFC Championship. Nobody expected them to win that game. The Redskins had dismantled the Lions 45-0 in the first game of the season and there was no reason to have even the slightest hope that things would be any different the second time around. Quote
Mr.TaterSalad Posted June 9 Posted June 9 The NFC Championship game is #1 for me. They blew a 17 point lead and the 49'ers got every single unbelievable break imaginable in that game to win it. I had people over at my house and it was a party atmosphere with lots of high fives and smiles in the first half. It was a complete 180 in-terms of our mood in the second half. High fives and smiles turned to arguments, frowns, and lots of yelling at each other. Not a fun experience. Quote
romad1 Posted Monday at 12:12 PM Posted Monday at 12:12 PM 13 hours ago, Motown Bombers said: I think the 2000 loss to the Bears at the Silverdome on a last second FG that knocked the Lions out of the playoffs should be up there. That ushered in the Matt Millen era. I would say that loss ranks second. seconded Quote
CMRivdogs Posted Monday at 01:22 PM Posted Monday at 01:22 PM (edited) 14 hours ago, Motown Bombers said: I think the 2000 loss to the Bears at the Silverdome on a last second FG that knocked the Lions out of the playoffs should be up there. That ushered in the Matt Millen era. I would say that loss ranks second. That was right after we moved to Detroit. Part of my wife's job was supervising the Lions radio network. We came from Chicago where the Bears Network was part of the job. We had the Bears radio team over for dinner the night before. I was basically a "neutral" observer at the time. My first time at the SilverDome Once again to all of Michigan, I apologize for the beginning of the Millen era Edited Monday at 01:24 PM by CMRivdogs Quote
Motor City Sonics Posted yesterday at 01:14 AM Posted yesterday at 01:14 AM NFC Championship game was the most devastating. If they had a Jake Bates, they win that game. I think Campbell gambled so much because he did not believe in his kicker at all. But they had that game, they had it and just a handful of plays blew it all up The most embarrassing loss was the Matt Flynn game. Matt Patricia's first game against the Jets was pretty bad too. The most infuriating loss that really wasn't their fault was the picked-up flag game in Dallas. What a heap of bull**** that was. The most infuriating loss that was their fault. October 16, 2005. Lions were beating the Panthers 20-14 at home. Knocked Jake Delhomme out of the game, then Chris Weinke comes into a game for the first time in 3 years. Weinke to Proehl Weinke to Proehl Weinke to Proehl Weinke to Proehl Here is is in gory detail 4 3:07 1 10 CAR 32 14 20 Jake Delhomme up the middle for 5 yards (tackle by Kenoy Kennedy). Penalty on Kenoy Kennedy: Personal Foul, 15 yards 1.070 2.390 4 2:56 1 10 DET 48 14 20 Chris Weinke pass complete to Rod Gardner for 6 yards (tackle by Andre' Goodman) 2.390 2.660 4 2:28 2 4 DET 42 14 20 Chris Weinke for 1 yard (tackle by Terrence Holt) 2.660 2.080 4 2:22 3 3 DET 41 14 20 Chris Weinke pass complete to Ricky Proehl for 5 yards (tackle by Terrence Holt) 2.080 3.180 4 2:00 1 10 DET 36 14 20 Chris Weinke pass complete to Ricky Proehl for 18 yards (tackle by Andre' Goodman) 3.180 4.370 4 1:33 1 10 DET 18 14 20 Chris Weinke pass incomplete intended for Ricky Proehl (defended by Andre' Goodman) 4.370 3.800 4 1:29 2 10 DET 18 14 20 Chris Weinke pass complete to Ricky Proehl for 15 yards (tackle by Kenoy Kennedy) 3.800 6.510 4 1:05 1 3 DET 3 14 20 Jamal Robertson left end for no gain (tackle by Shaun Rogers) 6.510 5.530 4 0:39 2 3 DET 3 14 20 Chris Weinke pass incomplete intended for Ricky Proehl 5.530 4.720 4 0:36 3 3 DET 3 20 20 Chris Weinke pass complete to Ricky Proehl for 3 yards, touchdown 4.720 7.000 4 DET 2 21 20 John Kasay kicks extra point good 0.000 0.000 4 CAR 30 21 20 John Kasay kicks off 64 yards, returned by R.W. McQuarters fo Quote
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