| 1958 Detroit Lions season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | George Wilson |
| Home field | Briggs Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 4–7–1 |
| Division place | 5th NFL Western |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
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The 1958 season was Detroit Lions' 29th in the National Football League (NFL), their 18th playing in Briggs Stadium, and their second under head coach George Wilson. The defending NFL champions failed to improve on their 8–4 record from the previous season and finished at 4–7–1, fifth in the six-team Western Conference.[1]
Following the second game of the regular season in early October, the Lions made a major trade. Future hall of fame quarterback Bobby Layne, the Lions' primary starter for eight seasons and leader of three championship teams, was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers for third-year quarterback Earl Morrall and two draft choices.[2][3]
This supposedly led to Layne "cursing" the Lions, allegedly saying that Detroit "would not win for fifty years." The story is considered a hoax, as no contemporaneous account exists and Layne himself denied saying it. (Real or not, the "curse" bedeviled the Lions franchise for the next half-century, and beyond: as of 2024, 66 years after the trade, Detroit has not won another championship, and indeed has won only three playoff contests in that time.) Meanwhile, after losing their first two games without Layne, the Steelers finished at 7–4–1, their best record in over a decade.
The Lions won only one game in the first half of the season (1–4–1),[4] then spilt the final six games; one of the poorest performances by a defending league champion in NFL history. The preseason began on a sour note in mid-August as they lost 35–19 to the 14-point underdog College All-StarsatSoldier FieldinChicago, closing the margin with a late touchdown.[5]
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 15 | vs. College All-Stars | L 19–35 | 0–1 | Soldier Field | 70,000 |
| 2 | August 22 | Cleveland Browns | W 17–7 | 1–1 | Briggs Stadium | 36,662 |
| 3 | August 29 | New York Giants | W 26–7 | 2–1 | Briggs Stadium | 33,090 |
| 4 | September 5 | vs. Chicago Bears | L 17–24 | 2–2 | Cotton Bowl | 40,000 |
| 5 | September 13 | vs. Philadelphia Eagles | L 24–31 | 2–3 | Oklahoma Memorial Stadium | 61,000 |
| 6 | September 20 | at Cleveland Browns | L 7–41 | 2–4 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 35,543 |
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 28 | atBaltimore Colts | L 15–28 | 0–1 | Memorial Stadium | 48,377 | |
| 2 | October 5 | atGreen Bay Packers | T 13–13 | 0–1–1 | City Stadium | 32,035 | |
| 3 | October 12 | Los Angeles Rams | L28–42 | 0–2–1 | Briggs Stadium | 55,648 | |
| 4 | October 19 | Baltimore Colts | L 14–40 | 0–3–1 | Briggs Stadium | 55,190 | |
| 5 | October 26 | atLos Angeles Rams | W 41–24 | 1–3–1 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 81,703 | |
| 6 | November 2 | atSan Francisco 49ers | L 21–24 | 1–4–1 | Kezar Stadium | 59,213 | |
| 7 | November 9 | atCleveland Browns | W 30–10 | 2–4–1 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 75,363 | |
| 8 | November 16 | San Francisco 49ers | W 35–21 | 3–4–1 | Briggs Stadium | 54,523 | |
| 9 | November 23 | Chicago Bears | L 7–20 | 3–5–1 | Briggs Stadium | 55,280 | |
| 10 | November 27 | Green Bay Packers | W 24–14 | 4–5–1 | Briggs Stadium | 50,971 | |
| 11 | December 7 | vs. New York Giants | L 17–19 | 4–6–1 | Briggs Stadium | 50,115 | |
| 12 | December 14 | atChicago Bears | L 16–21 | 4–7–1 | Wrigley Field | 38,346 | |
| Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text. | |||||||
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Source:[6]
| NFL Western Conference | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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W | L | T | PCT | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Baltimore Colts | 9 | 3 | 0 | .750 | 8–2 | 381 | 203 | L2 | |
| Los Angeles Rams | 8 | 4 | 0 | .667 | 7–3 | 344 | 278 | W3 | |
| Chicago Bears | 8 | 4 | 0 | .667 | 7–3 | 298 | 230 | W2 | |
| San Francisco 49ers | 6 | 6 | 0 | .500 | 4–6 | 257 | 324 | W2 | |
| Detroit Lions | 4 | 7 | 1 | .364 | 3–6–1 | 261 | 276 | L2 | |
| Green Bay Packers | 1 | 10 | 1 | .091 | 0–9–1 | 193 | 382 | L7 | |
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
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| Division championships (9) |
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Formerly the Portsmouth Spartans (1930–1933) | |
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Bold indicates NFL Championship (1920–69) or Super Bowl (1966–present) victory |
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