2014 Detroit Lions season


The 2014 season was the Detroit Lions' 85th in the National Football League, their 81st as the Detroit Lions and their first under a new coaching staff led by head coach Jim Caldwell. The Lions suffered the passing of long-time owner William Clay Ford Sr., who died on March 9, 2014, at the age of 88, and wore patches with his initials on their jerseys in his honor. After the Philadelphia Eagles lost to the Washington Redskins in Week 16, the Lions clinched a playoff berth for the first time since 2011. They lost to the Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card Game 24–20, ending their season. It was their eighth straight playoff loss, tying the Kansas City Chiefs for the longest postseason losing streak in NFL history.
The Lions defense finished second in the NFL in total defense, surrendering just 300.9 yards per game. They also finished third in points per game defense, giving up just 17.6 points a game while leading the NFL in rushing defense, yielding just 69.3 rush yards per game.

Offseason

Coaching staff

Additions

Departures

Draft

Notes
  • The Lions traded their original fifth-round selection to the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for wide receiver Mike Thomas.
  • The Lions traded their fifth-round pick to Dallas in exchange for a fifth-round pick and a seventh-round pick.

    Final roster

Staff

Preseason

Schedule

Regular season

Schedule

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold.

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. New York Giants

The Lions hosted their first opening-day Monday Night Football game since 1971, rudely welcoming the New York Giants to town. Matthew Stafford connected with Calvin Johnson on TD passes of 67 and 16 yards in the first quarter, giving Detroit an early 14–0 lead. The Giants got on the board in the second quarter with a 1-yard TD pass from Eli Manning to Larry Donnell, closing the gap to 14–7. Rookie kicker Nate Freese connected on field goals of 28 and 27 yards in the third quarter to extend the Lions lead to 20–7. An interception by Glover Quin, Detroit's second pick of the game, set up the Lions next touchdown, a 5-yard run by Stafford. New York narrowed the lead to 27–14 early in the fourth quarter when Rashad Jennings plunged in from a yard out, but that was as close as the Giants would get. Joique Bell capped the scoring with a 3-yard TD run, and the ensuing two-point conversion made the final score 35–14.

Week 2: at Carolina Panthers

Carolina's Cam Newton made a successful comeback from a rib injury that kept him out of action in Week 1, but the story of the day was the Panthers' defense. Carolina forced three Detroit turnovers, two of which led to scores. Graham Gano opened the scoring for Carolina in the second quarter with field goals of 29 and 53 yards. The Lions took a 7–6 lead in the third quarter when Matthew Stafford hit fullback Jed Collins with a 1-yard TD pass. But the rest of the game was all Carolina. Newton closed the third with a 14-yard TD pass to Jason Avant to retake the lead, 13–7. In the fourth quarter, Jonathan Stewart found the end zone on a 2-yard TD run, with the ensuing two-point conversion giving the Panthers a 21–7 lead. Gano finished the scoring with a 38-yard field goal.

Week 3: vs. Green Bay Packers

The Lions faced division rival Green Bay in Week 3, with Packers QB Aaron Rodgers sporting a 9–1 record in his last 10 games against Detroit. The first two scoring plays for the Lions came courtesy of the defense. Nick Fairley forced a fumble that was scooped up by defensive back Don Carey and returned 40 yards for a touchdown to put the Lions up 7–0. After Rodgers tied the game with a 10-yard TD pass to Andrew Quarless, DeAndre Levy tackled running back Eddie Lacy in the end zone for a safety, making the score 9–7. Nate Freese closed the first half scoring with a 30-yard field goal, sending Detroit to the locker room with a 12–7 lead. The only scoring drive of the second half culminated with a Reggie Bush 26-yard TD run, to put Detroit up 19–7. The Lions defense held Green Bay scoreless for the final three quarters of the game.

Week 4: at New York Jets

After opening the season 3-for-7 on field goal attempts, Detroit kicker Nate Freese was cut during the week and was replaced by Alex Henery. Henery made good on his first field goal attempt for his new team, a 51-yarder to tie the Jets at 3–3 in the first quarter. The Lions put together two TD drives in the second quarter to go up 17–3. First, Matthew Stafford hit Jeremy Ross on a 59-yard bomb. Stafford then connected with first-round draft pick Eric Ebron for a 16-yard TD, giving Ebron his first NFL touchdown. Jets QB Geno Smith hit Eric Decker with an 11-yard TD pass to close the gap to 17–10. Early in the fourth, Stafford found the right pylon for a 1-yard TD run, making the score 24–10. Chris Johnson rumbled 35 yards for a touchdown midway through the final quarter, pulling the Jets within a touchdown again, at 24–17. Detroit's defense was able to force a punt on New York's final possession and the Lions ran out the clock thereafter.

Week 5: vs. Buffalo Bills

The Lions took a 14–0 lead by early in the second quarter, following a 9-yard touchdown reception by Golden Tate and a 41-yard interception return by Rashean Mathis. But that would end Detroit's scoring for the day. Buffalo came back on field goals of 45 and 25 yards by Dan Carpenter, making the score 14–6 by the start of the fourth quarter. Kyle Orton hit Chris Gragg with a 2-yard TD pass and the ensuing two-point conversion tied the score at 14–14. With 26 seconds left in the game, Alex Henery missed a 50-yard field goal attempt, his third miss of the day. The Bills quickly moved the ball to the Lions' 40-yard line, setting up Carpenter's game-winning 58-yard field goal with 4 seconds remaining.

Week 6: at Minnesota Vikings

On a day when offensive stars Calvin Johnson and Reggie Bush could not play due to injuries, the Lions defense had to step up and it did in a big way. Detroit sacked Vikings rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater eight times, harassed him into throwing three interceptions and held the Vikings scoreless until late in the fourth quarter. The Lions got on the board in the first quarter with a 9-yard TD pass from Matthew Stafford to Theo Riddick. Matt Prater, acquired during the week to replace the struggling Alex Henery, made good on a 52-yard field goal near the end of the first half to give the Lions a 10–0 lead. After a scoreless third quarter, Detroit upped its lead to 17–0 on a 1-yard TD plunge by Joique Bell. Blair Walsh got the Vikings on the board with a 40-yard field goal, making the final score 17–3.
This game would receive attention due to it being the only NFL on FOX game ever broadcast by UFC announcer Mike Goldberg, whose commentating style received overwhelmingly negative reception by fans and viewers alike. Goldberg was not retained after the game.

Week 7: vs. New Orleans Saints

Playing again without Calvin Johnson, the Lions fell behind the visiting New Orleans Saints by two scores on two separate occasions, before mounting a dramatic comeback in the final minutes of the game. New Orleans had three of the first four scoring plays of the game. Drew Brees hit Austin Johnson with a 14-yard TD pass, Shayne Graham made good on a 27-yard field goal and Kenny Stills caught a 46-yard TD pass from Brees. Meanwhile, the Lions could only muster a 21-yard field goal by Matt Prater, falling behind 17–3. Detroit closed the gap to 17–10 in the third quarter after a 1-yard TD run by Joique Bell. Two more Shayne Graham field goals, however, gave the Saints a seemingly comfortable 23–10 lead with 5:24 to play in the game. With under four minutes to play, Matthew Stafford connected with Golden Tate on a 73-yard catch-and-run, making the score 23–17. On the Saints' next possession, Glover Quin picked off a third-and-ten Drew Brees pass, returning it to the New Orleans 14-yard line. At the 1:48 mark, Corey Fuller made a leaping catch of a 5-yard TD pass from Stafford for the winning touchdown in a 24–23 game. The Lions' defense held off the Saints in four downs, then the offense ran out the clock for the win.

Week 8: at Atlanta Falcons

In week 8, the Lions flew to London, England to play in the NFL International Series against the Atlanta Falcons at Wembley Stadium. The game was played at 9:30 AM EDT, the first ever NFL game in that time slot. Like the previous game, the Lions were trailing by a large margin before mounting a huge comeback, scoring 22 unanswered points in the second half to win by a single point in the final minutes. The Falcons had touchdown catches of 7 and 1 yards respectively by Devonta Freeman and Bear Pascoe in the first quarter, then a 1-yard run by Steven Jackson in the second quarter. After halftime, a 22-yard Matt Prater field goal and a 59-yard TD pass from Matthew Stafford to Golden Tate narrowed the score to 21–10 by the end of the third quarter. Detroit got the ball on the Atlanta 8-yard line early in the fourth quarter after a Cassius Vaughn interception and return, settling for a 20-yard Prater field goal. A 5-yard touchdown reception by Theo Riddick made the score 21–19, but the Lions failed to convert a two-point attempt. The Falcons had the ball in Lions territory with under two minutes to play, but a holding penalty and a dropped pass both stopped the clock, forcing Atlanta to punt. With no time outs remaining and 1:38 on the clock, Detroit drove from its own 6-yard line to the Atlanta 25 with four seconds remaining in the game. Prater missed a 43-yard field goal attempt, but the whistle had blown before the snap because of a Detroit delay-of-game penalty. Prater then nailed a 48-yarder as time expired for the win.
Calvin Johnson, still recovering from an ankle injury, missed a third straight game for the Lions, who also played without Reggie Bush and their top three tight ends. Matthew Stafford's two touchdown passes gave him a team-record 120 in his career, breaking the tie he held with Bobby Layne at 118. The Falcons blew a halftime lead of 21 points or more for the first time in team history. The Lions entered their bye week atop the NFC North with a 6–2 record.