Wikipedia

1960 Detroit Lions season

The 1960 Detroit Lions season was the 27th in the Motor City, and 31st season overall in franchise history. The Lions had only one win entering November, but had only one loss in their final seven games and finished at 7–5, one game short of the Western Conference championship (won by Green Bay). However, the Lions won the inaugural third place Playoff Bowl over the Cleveland Browns at the Miami Orange Bowl.

1960 Detroit Lions season
Head coachGeorge Wilson
Home fieldBriggs Stadium
Results
Record7–5
Division place2nd NFL Western
Playoff finishWon NFL Playoff Bowl
(vs. Browns) 17–16

Due to this being the NFL's last 12-game regular season and the addition of the Dallas Cowboys giving the league 13 teams - meaning each team was required to have a bye during the season - the 1960 Lions are the last NFL team that did not play its season opener until October: Detroit drew its bye during Week One, which was in the last week of September.

Ironically, in the next season in which each NFL team had a bye week (in 1966, due to addition of the Atlanta Falcons giving the league 15 teams), the Lions did not have their bye until Week 15 (the last week of that season).

Regular season

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Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Attendance
1 Bye
2 October 2 at Green Bay Packers L 9–28 0–1 32,150
3 October 9 San Francisco 49ers L 10–14 0–2 49,825
4 October 16 at Philadelphia Eagles L 10–28 0–3 38,065
5 October 23 Baltimore Colts W 30–17 1–3 53,854
6 October 30 at Los Angeles Rams L 35–48 1–4 53,295
7 November 6 at San Francisco 49ers W 24–0 2–4 48,447
8 November 13 Los Angeles Rams W 12–10 3–4 54,019
9 November 20 at Chicago Bears L 7–28 3–5 46,267
10 November 24 Green Bay Packers W 23–10 4–5 54,123
11 December 4 at Baltimore Colts W 20–15 5–5 57,808
12 December 11 Dallas Cowboys W 23–14 6–5 43,272
13 December 18 Chicago Bears W 36–0 7–5 51,017
  • Thursday (November 24: Thanksgiving)[1][2]
  • A bye week was necessary in 1960, as the league expanded to an odd-number (13) of teams (Dallas); one team was idle each week.

Game summaries

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Week 9

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1 234Total
Packers 0 0100 10
• Lions 9 770 23
Scoring summary
Q1DETSafety, blocked punt through end zoneDET 2–0
Q1DETJim Ninowski 7 yard run (Jim Martin kick)DET 9–0
Q2DETKen Webb 1 yard run (Jim Martin kick)DET 16–0
Q3GBPaul Hornung 12 yard field goalDET 16–3
Q3GBPaul Hornung 8 yard run (Paul Hornung kick)DET 16–10
Q3DETJim Gibbons 11 yard pass from Jim Ninowski (Jim Martin kick)DET 23–10

Thanksgiving Day game

Source:[1][2][3]

Standings

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NFL Western Conference
W L T PCT CONF PF PA STK
Green Bay Packers 8 4 0 .667 7–4 332 209 W3
Detroit Lions 7 5 0 .583 7–4 239 212 W4
San Francisco 49ers 7 5 0 .583 7–4 208 205 W1
Baltimore Colts 6 6 0 .500 5–6 288 234 L4
Chicago Bears 5 6 1 .455 5–5–1 194 299 L3
Los Angeles Rams 4 7 1 .364 4–6–1 265 297 L1
Dallas Cowboys 0 11 1 .000 0–6 177 369 L1
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Roster

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Detroit Lions roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists
  • currently vacant

rookies in italics

Playoff Bowl

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The first Playoff Bowl game for third place was played at the Orange Bowl in Miami, the week following the NFL Championship game.

Round Date Opponent Result Venue Attendance
Playoff Bowl January 7, 1961 Cleveland Browns W 17–16 Orange Bowl 34,981

[4]

Awards and records

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References

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  1. ^ a b Johnson, Chuck (November 25, 1960). "Stumbling Packers fall to Lions". Milwaukee Journal. p. 15, part 2.
  2. ^ a b "Lions turn tables on Packers, 23-10". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. November 25, 1960. p. 2B.
  3. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2013-Dec-27.
  4. ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 369
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