The 1999

1999 NFL season

The 1999 NFL season was the 80th regular season of the National Football League. The Cleveland Browns returned to the field for the first time since the 1995 season...

 Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...

 season was their 70th in the league

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

. The team improved upon their previous season

1998 Detroit Lions season

The 1998 Detroit Lions season was their 69th in the league. The team failed to improve upon their previous season's output of 9–7 and did not make a repeat playoff appearance. This was the last year Barry Sanders would ever play in the NFL.-Staff:...

's output of 5–11 and qualified for the playoffs, where they lost to the Washington Redskins

Washington Redskins

The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...

 in the Wild Card round. This was the last playoff appearance for the Lions as of the 2010 season.

Staff

1999 Detroit Lions staff
Front Office Owner and Chairman – William Clay Ford, Sr. William Clay Ford, Sr. William Clay Ford, Sr. is the youngest of the four children of Edsel Ford and the youngest grandchild of Henry Ford.-Biography:... Vice Chairman – William Clay Ford, Jr. William Clay Ford, Jr. William Clay "Bill" Ford Jr. , is the great-grandson of Henry Ford, and serves as the executive chairman of Ford Motor Company, Ford also served as the President, CEO, and COO until turning over those roles to former Boeing executive Alan Mulally in September 2006... Executive Vice President and COO – Chuck Schmidt Vice President of Football Operations – Larry Lee Vice President of Player Personnel – Ron Hughes Ron Hughes (American football) Ron Hughes is the College Scouting Coordinator of the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers.-Biography:Hughes is a native of Charleroi, Pennsylvania. He was a standout football and basketball player at Charleroi High School. He matriculated to nearby California State College where he played center and... Director of Pro Scouting – Kevin Colbert Kevin Colbert Kevin Colbert is the general manager of the National Football League's Pittsburgh Steelers since the start of 2000. He is widely credited with putting together the World Championship Super Bowl XL team in Pittsburgh along with owner Dan Rooney and coach Bill Cowher... Head Coaches Head Coach – Bobby Ross Bobby Ross Robert Joseph Ross is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at The Citadel , the University of Maryland, College Park , the Georgia Institute of Technology , and the United States Military Academy , compiling a career college football record of 103–101–2... Offensive Coaches Offensive Coordinator – Sylvester Croom Sylvester Croom Sylvester Croom, Jr. is the former football head coach at Mississippi State University and current running backs coach of the St. Louis Rams. He was the first African American head football coach in the Southeastern Conference... Quarterbacks – Jim Zorn Jim Zorn James Arthur "Jim" Zorn is an American quarterbacks coach in the National Football League. He was formerly the quarterbacks coach for the Baltimore Ravens and now holds that same position with the Kansas City Chiefs... Running Backs – Frank Falks Wide Receivers – Jerry Sullivan Jerry Sullivan Jerry Sullivan is the current Wide Receivers/Senior Assistant Coach for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League. He was the offensive coordinator for the Arizona Cardinals in 2003.... Tight Ends – Danny Smith Offensive Line – Jack Henry Jack Henry John "Jack" Henry is an offensive line coach for the National Football League's San Diego Chargers. After a disappointing playoff loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Chargers organization announced that Henry's contract will not be renewed when it expires in February 2009... Offensive Assistant – Stan Kwan Quality Control/Offense – John Misciagna			Defensive Coaches Defensive Coordinator – Larry Peccatiello Larry Peccatiello Larry Peccatiello is a former American Football coach. He was an assistant coach with the Washington Redskins from 1981-93. For most of that time, he was defensive coordinator, either alone or sharing it with Richie Petitbon... Defensive Line – Brian Baker Linebackers – Gary Moeller Gary Moeller Gary O. Moeller is an American football coach best known for being head coach at the University of Michigan from 1990 to 1994. During his five seasons at Michigan, he won 44 games, lost 13 and tied 3 for a winning percentage of .758... Defensive Backs – Richard Selcer Defensive Assistant – Don Clemons Quality Control/Defense – Dennis Murphy Special Teams Coaches Special Teams – Chuck Priefer Chuck Priefer Charles John Priefer was born July 26, 1941 in Parma, Ohio. He attended Boromeo High School in Wickliffe, Ohio before matriculating to John Carroll University... Special Teams Assistant – Stan Kwan Strength and Conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Bert Hill Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Rob Graf

Regular seaseon

The season had an inauspicious beginning as future Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders

Barry Sanders

Barry Sanders is a former American football running back who spent all of his professional career with the Detroit Lions in the NFL. Sanders left the game just short of the all-time rushing record...

 suddenly retired on the eve of training camp. Undaunted, Coach Bobby Ross led the Lions to a fast start, highlighted by a Week 9 win over the then 6-1 St. Louis Rams. The following week, Coach Ross made a questionable decision to go for a failed two-point conversion after a touchdown against Arizona. The game ended with Detroit in the red zone trying to score a game-winning touchdown. After defeating the Redskins in Week 13, the Lions had an 8-4 record and were the top seed in the NFC. Subsequently, the Lions lost their last four regular season games and backed into the 6th playoff seed.

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 12, 1999	at Seattle Seahawks Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...	W 28-20	66,238
2	September 19, 1999	Green Bay Packers Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...	W 23-15	76,202
3	September 26, 1999	at Kansas City Chiefs Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...	L 31-21	78,384
4	Bye
5	October 10, 1999	San Diego Chargers San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...	L 20-10	61,481
6	October 17, 1999	Minnesota Vikings Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...	W 25-23	76,516
7	October 24, 1999	at Carolina Panthers Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are currently members of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Panthers, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars, joined the NFL as expansion...	W 24-9	64,322
8	October 31, 1999	Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...	W 20-3	63,135
9	November 7, 1999	St. Louis Rams St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...	W 31-27	73,224
10	November 14, 1999	at Arizona Cardinals Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...	L 23-19	49,600
11	November 21, 1999	at Green Bay Packers Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...	L 26-17	59,869
12	November 25, 1999	Chicago Bears Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...	W 21-17	77,905
13	December 5, 1999	Washington Redskins Washington Redskins The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...	W 33-17	77,693
14	December 12, 1999	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...	L 23-16	65,536
15	December 19, 1999	at Chicago Bears Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...	L 28-10	50,256
16	December 25, 1999	Denver Broncos Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...	L 17-7	73,158
17	January 2, 2000	at Minnesota Vikings Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...	L 24-17	64,103

Standings

NFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1999 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season The 1999 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season began with the team trying to improve on an 8-8 season. Rookie Shaun King replaced the injured and inconsistent Trent Dilfer late in the season...	11	5	0	.688	270	235	W-2
Minnesota Vikings 1999 Minnesota Vikings season 1999 was the 39th year of season play for the Minnesota Vikings and the 80th regular season of the National Football League.After going 15-1 in 1998 the Vikings began the 1999 season with high hopes of another great season. Randall Cunningham resumed duties again in 1999, but after a lukewarm 2-4...	10	6	0	.625	399	335	W-3
Detroit Lions	8	8	0	.500	322	323	L-4
Green Bay Packers 1999 Green Bay Packers season The 1999 Green Bay Packers season was the first and last season for head coach Ray Rhodes. The Packers finished 8-8, posting their worst record since Brett Favre took over the helm as the Packers' starting quarterback.-1999 NFL draft:...	8	8	0	.500	357	341	W-1
Chicago Bears 1999 Chicago Bears season The 1999 Chicago Bears season was their 80th regular season completed in the National Football League. On January 24, Dick Jauron was named head coach. The club posted a 6-10 record under first year head coach Dick Jauron who replaced Dave Wannstedt....	6	10	0	.375	272	341	L-2

Playoffs

Week	Date	Opponent	Result
Wild Card	January 8, 2000	at Washington Redskins Washington Redskins The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...	L 27-13