The story of the 2008 Lions and how it affected the next decade of Lions Football. (2024)

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Many remember the wild 2008 NFL season for multiple reasons, Tom Brady tearing his ACL in week 1 vs. KC, Brett Favre playing all 16 games for the Jets, Kurt Warner taking the Cardinals to Super Bowl 43, and the most wild of them all the 0 — 16 Lions, the first team to lose all 16 games which is not a great record to hold.

The Lions opened the 2008 — 09 NFL Season with an almost 36-year-old QB Jon Kitna who had thrown 42 interceptions since the 2006 season.

The Lions would open up the 2008–09 NFL season against rookie QB Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons. The season looked over by 3:20 left in the 1st quarter as the Lions fell to a 21–0 hole. The Lions would score a couple of TDs but lose 34–21 to start there 0–16 journey. This was nothing compared to what was to come.

In week 5 Jon Kitna suffered a back injury and was placed on IR. Backup QB Dan Orlovsky finished the game vs. the Bears going 13 for 23, 97 yards and a INT.

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In week 6 as if the season couldn’t get any worse it did, the new starting QB Dan Orlovsky made one of the biggest blooper plays in NFL history as he stepped out of the end zone cluelessly after being chased by Vikings DE Jared Allen. The Lions lost 12–10, which would be the closest they would get to a win that year.

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The rest of the season was what the first 6 games where a LOSS. The only 2 relives the Lions had that year was when they fired 3rd year HC Rod Marinelli on Monday, December 28th. The other was knowing they secured Georgia QB Matt Stafford in the upcoming 2009 Draft in April.

The 2008 — 09 Lions may be worse than the 2017 — 18 Browns depending on which NFL fan you ask. Let’s just put this ugly season in perspective. The Lions went 0 — 8 on the road and 0 — 8 at home. They went 0 — 6 against NFC North opponents also. They finished with a horrid -249-point differential and it was so bad that it made the 2017 Browns -149-point differential look good that’s how bad the 08 Lions truly were.

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Following the horrendous 2008 Season, the Lions got a glimmer of hope when they Drafted the QB they wanted from the start, Georgia standout Matthew Stafford. Stafford was coming off an Impressive Bulldog career as he threw for 7,731 yards and 51 Touchdowns in his 3 years at Georgia.

It’s hard to believe that the 0 — 16 Lions, The worst team ever in my opinion was 15 years ago. Looking back it wasn’t the end of dark times in Detroit as they failed to win a playoff game with QB Matt Stafford in his 12 years with Detroit. They only made the postseason 3 times, 2011, 2014 and 2016 and lost all 3. They had 4 winning seasons in the Stafford era and could never really get over that hump. In February of 2021, following the 2020 season, in which the Lions had finished 5 — 11 and missed the playoffs for the 4th straight year Detroit had decided to end an era when losses overshadowed the slight success as Stafford was traded to the Rams for QB Jared Goff, two first-round picks, as well as a third-rounder was a fresh start for the desperate Franchise.

(AP Photo/Ed Zurga)

The Lions are set up for a much better 15 years as they finished 9 — 8 last season and just barely missed the playoffs, which was their first winning season since 2016. QB Jared Goff had a passer rating of 99.3 with 4,438 yards, 29 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions in 17 games in 2022. He was selected to play in his third Pro Bowl. Maybe just maybe the Lions can win their first playoff game in 31 years as they started their 2023 season off with a bang after beating the defending Super Bowl champs Chiefs on the road in the 2023 kickoff game. Only time will tell but the 2023 — 24 Lions may be that light that could quite never turn on before.