1966 Detroit Lions season
NFL team season
- ← 1965
- Lions seasons
- 1967 →
The 1966 Detroit Lions season was their 37th in the league. The team failed to improve on their previous season's output of 6–7–1, winning only four games.[1] They missed the playoffs for the ninth straight season and incurred their second losing record in a row.
Roster
| Detroit Lions roster | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
| Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
| Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
| Reserve lists
rookies in italics | |||
Regular Season
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Attendance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 11 | Chicago Bears | W 14–3 | 1–0 | 52,225 | ||
| 2 | September 18 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 3–17 | 1–1 | 35,473 | ||
| 3 | September 25 | Atlanta Falcons | W 28–10 | 2–1 | 47,615 | ||
| 4 | October 2 | at Green Bay Packers | L 14–23 | 2–2 | 50,861 | ||
| 5 | October 9 | Los Angeles Rams | L 7–14 | 2–3 | 52,793 | ||
| 6 | October 16 | at Baltimore Colts | L 14–45 | 2–4 | 60,238 | ||
| 7 | October 23 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 24–27 | 2–5 | 36,745 | ||
| 8 | October 30 | Green Bay Packers | L 7–31 | 2–6 | 56,954 | ||
| 9 | November 6 | at Chicago Bears | T 10–10 | 2–6–1 | 47,041 | ||
| 10 | November 13 | at Minnesota Vikings | W 32–31 | 3–6–1 | 43,939 | ||
| 11 | November 20 | Baltimore Colts | W 20–14 | 4–6–1 | 52,383 | ||
| 12 | November 24 | San Francisco 49ers | L 14–41 | 4–7–1 | 53,189 | ||
| 13 | December 4 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 3–23 | 4–8–1 | 40,039 | ||
| 14 | December 11 | Minnesota Vikings | L 16–28 | 4–9–1 | 43,022 | ||
| 15 | Bye | ||||||
- A bye week was necessary in 1966, as the league expanded to an odd-number (15) of teams (Atlanta); one team was idle each week.
Game summaries
Week 1
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Week 6 at Baltimore Colts
Week Six: Detroit Lions (2–3) at Baltimore Colts (2–2)
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lions | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| Colts | 7 | 17 | 7 | 14 | 45 |
at Memorial Stadium, Baltimore
- Date: October 16
- Game weather: 64 °F (18 °C)
- Box Score
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Standings
| NFL Western Conference | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Green Bay Packers | 12 | 2 | 0 | .857 | 10–2 | 335 | 163 | W5 | |
| Baltimore Colts | 9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 7–5 | 314 | 226 | W1 | |
| Los Angeles Rams | 8 | 6 | 0 | .571 | 6–6 | 289 | 212 | L1 | |
| San Francisco 49ers | 6 | 6 | 2 | .500 | 5–5–2 | 320 | 325 | L1 | |
| Chicago Bears | 5 | 7 | 2 | .417 | 4–6–2 | 234 | 272 | W1 | |
| Detroit Lions | 4 | 9 | 1 | .308 | 3–8–1 | 206 | 317 | L3 | |
| Minnesota Vikings | 4 | 9 | 1 | .308 | 4–7–1 | 292 | 304 | L1 | |
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
