2008 Detroit Lions season

The 2008 Detroit Lions season was the 79th football season of the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). It was their third year under head coach Rod Marinelli. In 2008, the Lions had one of the worst seasons of any major American pro sports team. They lost all 16 of their regular season games. They were the first NFL team to finish a season with no wins and 16 losses after their loss to the Green Bay Packers. They were the second team with no wins after the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Matt Millen was fired during the bye week of the season and the rest of the staff were fired after the season was over.

2008 Detroit Lions season
Owner	William Clay Ford, Sr
Head coach	Rod Marinelli (3rd season)
General manager	Matt Millen (7th season)
Home field	Ford Field
Results
Record	0-16
Division place	4th NFC North
Playoff finish	Did not qualify

In 2017, the Cleveland Browns became the second team to lose all 16 regular season games.

Roster

Detroit Lions 2008 final roster
Quarterbacks 11 Daunte Culpepper 12 Drew Henson  6 Dan Orlovsky  5 Drew Stanton Running Backs 36 Aveion Cason 45 Jerome Felton FB 32 Rudi Johnson 44 Moran Norris FB 34 Kevin Smith Wide Receivers 19 Keary Colbert 10 Chris Hannon 80 Adam Jennings 81 Calvin Johnson 16 John Standeford 17 Travis Taylor Tight Ends 82 Casey FitzSimmons FB 86 Michael Gaines 83 John Owens		Offensive Linemen 76 Jeff Backus T 77 Gosder Cherilus T 74 Damion Cook G/T 71 Junius Coston G 72 George Foster T 67 Andy McCollum C 66 Stephen Peterman G 51 Dominic Raiola C 63 Manny Ramirez G Defensive Linemen 97 Ikaika Alama-Francis DE 92 Cliff Avril DE 75 Shaun Cody DT 98 Landon Cohen DT 91 Chuck Darby DT 96 Andre Fluellen DT 79 Langston Moore DT 93 Corey Smith DE 99 Dewayne White DE		Linebackers 46 Darnell Bing OLB 52 Anthony Cannon OLB 53 Paris Lenon ILB 55 Ryan Nece OLB 50 Ernie Sims OLB Defensive Backs 28 Leigh Bodden CB 27 Daniel Bullocks SS 21 Travis Fisher CB 35 LaMarcus Hicks SS 24 Kalvin Pearson FS 33 Chris Roberson CB 38 Ramzee Robinson CB 39 Stuart Schweigert FS 30 Dexter Wynn CB Special Teams  4 Jason Hanson K  2 Nick Harris P 48 Don Muhlbach LS		Reserve Lists 42 Gerald Alexander FS (IR) 13 Reggie Ball WR (IR) 40 Jon Bradley FB (IR) 29 Brian Calhoun RB (IR) 89 Dan Campbell TE (IR) 95 Jared DeVries DE (IR) 57 Jordon Dizon ILB (IR) 74 Jon Dunn OT (IR) 87 Mike Furrey WR (IR)  8 Jon Kitna QB (IR) 60 Shemiah LeGrande DT (IR) 59 Alex Lewis OLB (IR) 84 Shaun McDonald WR (IR) 64 Edwin Mulitalo G (IR) 78 Cory Redding DT (IR) 26 Dwight Smith SS (IR) 23 Keith Smith CB (IR) 31 Stanley Wilson CB (IR) Practice Squad 62 Ben Claxton C/G 25 Dowayne Davis S 39 Allen Ervin RB 18 Eric Fowler WR 54 Chris Graham ILB 94 Rudolph Hardie DE 85 Jake Nordin TE 49 Jeff Shoate CB Unsigned Draft Picks 47 Caleb Campbell OLB/S Rookies in italics

Schedule

Preseason

Week	Date	Kickoff	Opponent	Results		Game Site	TV	NFL Recap
				Final score	Team record
1	August 7, 2008	7:00 PM EDT	New York Giants	W 13–10	1–0	Ford Field	Lions TV Network	Recap Archived 2009-03-07 at the Wayback Machine
2	August 17, 2008	7:30 PM EDT	at Cincinnati Bengals	W 27–10	2–0	Paul Brown Stadium	Lions TV Network	Recap Archived 2009-07-26 at the Wayback Machine
3	August 23, 2008	4:00 PM	Cleveland Browns	W 26–6	3–0	Ford Field	Lions TV Network	Recap Archived 2009-08-22 at the Wayback Machine
4	August 28, 2008	6:30 PM EDT	at Buffalo Bills	W 14–6	4–0	Ralph Wilson Stadium	Lions TV Network	Recap Archived 2009-08-22 at the Wayback Machine

Regular season

Week	Date	Kickoff	Opponent	Results		Game Site	TV	NFL Recap
				Final score	Team record
1	September 7, 2008	1:00 PM EDT	at Atlanta Falcons	L 34–21	0–1	Georgia Dome	FOX	Recap Archived 2009-08-03 at the Wayback Machine
2	September 14, 2008	1:00 PM EDT	Green Bay Packers	L 48–25	0–2	Ford Field	FOX	Recap Archived 2009-08-04 at the Wayback Machine
3	September 21, 2008	4:05 PM EDT	at San Francisco 49ers	L 31–13	0–3	Candlestick Park	FOX	Recap Archived 2009-06-28 at the Wayback Machine
4	Bye
5	October 5, 2008	1:00 PM EDT	Chicago Bears	L 34–7	0–4	Ford Field	FOX	Recap Archived 2009-06-28 at the Wayback Machine
6	October 12, 2008	1:00 PM EDT	at Minnesota Vikings	L 12–10	0–5	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	FOX	Recap Archived 2009-06-28 at the Wayback Machine
7	October 19, 2008	4:05 PM EDT	at Houston Texans	L 28–21	0–6	Reliant Stadium	FOX	Recap Archived 2009-08-21 at the Wayback Machine
8	October 26, 2008	1:00 PM EDT	Washington Redskins	L 25–17	0–7	Ford Field	FOX x	Recap Archived 2009-06-28 at the Wayback Machine
9	November 2, 2008	1:00 PM EST	at Chicago Bears	L 27–23	0–8	Soldier Field	FOX	Recap Archived 2009-06-28 at the Wayback Machine
10	November 9, 2008	1:00 PM EST	Jacksonville Jaguars	L 38–14	0–9	Ford Field	CBS x	Recap Archived 2009-06-28 at the Wayback Machine
11	November 16, 2008	1:00 PM EST	at Carolina Panthers	L 31–22	0–10	Bank of America Stadium	FOX	Recap Archived 2009-08-17 at the Wayback Machine
12	November 23, 2008	1:00 PM EST	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 38–20	0–11	Ford Field	FOX x	Recap Archived 2009-06-28 at the Wayback Machine
13	November 27, 2008	12:30 PM EST	Tennessee Titans	L 47–10	0–12	Ford Field	CBS #	Recap Archived 2009-06-28 at the Wayback Machine
14	December 7, 2008	1:00 PM EST	Minnesota Vikings	L 20–16	0–13	Ford Field	FOX x	Recap
15	December 14, 2008	1:00 PM EST	at Indianapolis Colts	L 31–21	0–14	Lucas Oil Stadium	FOX	Recap
16	December 21, 2008	1:00 PM EST	New Orleans Saints	L 42–7	0–15	Ford Field	FOX x	Recap
17	December 28, 2008	1:00 PM EST	at Green Bay Packers	L 31–21	0–16	Lambeau Field	FOX	Recap

COLOR KEY AND NOTES:

x Means game was blacked out locally

# Means the game was nationally televised

Season facts

• Three people who were on the 2008 Lions played in Super Bowl 48. They were Manny Ramirez and Paris Lenon of the Denver Broncos and Cliff Avril for the Seattle Seahawks, who won the Super Bowl.
• First 0-16 team in NFL history after loss to the Green Bay Packers
• The team won all 4 preseason games.
• After losing to the New Orleans Saints in week 16 (7-42), they became the first 0-15 team. They also became the first team to lose 15 straight games since the 2001 Panthers
• Gave up 517 points during the season
• Third team to lose 14 games, after the 1980 Saints and the 1976 Buccaneers
• In week 6 against the Minnesota Vikings in Minnesota, it was the first game where the Lions lost by 2.
• In week 13 against the Tennessee Titans, the team gave up 47 points as the team lost 10-47. They fell to 0-12. It would also be the 2nd straight season a NFL team has started 0-12 after the 2007 Miami Dolphins, who finished the year 1-15.