1968 Detroit Lions season

NFL team season

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The 1968 Detroit Lions season was their 39th in the league. The team failed to improve on their previous season's output of 5–7–2, winning only four games.^[1] They missed the playoffs for the eleventh straight season.

NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1968 Detroit Lions draft
1	11	Greg Landry *	QB	Massachusetts
1	24	Earl McCullouch	WR	USC	from Los Angeles
2	37	Jerry DePoyster	K	Wyoming
3	74	Charlie Sanders * ^†	TE	Minnesota	from Los Angeles
4	93	Ed Mooney	LB	Texas Tech
5	120	Phil Odle	WR	BYU
6	148	Mike Spitzer	DE	San Jose State
8	202	Terry Miller	LB	Illinois
9	229	Greg Barton	QB	Tulsa
10	256	Granville Liggins	LB	Oklahoma
11	283	Dwight Little	G	Kentucky
12	310	Ed Caruthers	DB	Arizona
13	337	Chuck Bailey	OT	Cal State-Humboldt
14	364	Richie Davis	WR	Upsala
15	391	Jim Oliver	RB	Colorado State
16	418	Bob Rokita	DE	Arizona State
Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Notes

Detroit traded DT Roger Brown to Los Angeles in exchange for the Rams' first- and third-round selections (24th and 74th) and second-round selection in 1969.
Detroit traded its third-round selection (65th) and fourth-round selection in 1969 to San Francisco in exchange for RB David Kopay.
Detroit traded its seventeenth-round selection (445th) to Minnesota in exchange for Minnesota's sixteenth-round selection in 1969.

Roster

1968 Detroit Lions roster
Quarterbacks 14 Greg Barton 11 Greg Landry 19 Bill Munson Running backs 21 Mike Campbell 40 Nick Eddy 24 Mel Farr 43 Dave Kopay 35 Tom Nowatzke 23 Phil Odle 38 Bill Triplett Wide receivers 3 Billy Gambrell 89 Gail Cogdill 81 Bill Malinchak 25 Earl McCullouch Tight ends 80 Jim Gibbons 88 Charlie Sanders		Offensive linemen 79 Charlie Bradshaw T 54 Ed Flanagan C 76 Rocky Freitas T 68 Frank Gallagher G 66 Bob Kowalkowski G 70 Denis Moore T 73 Roger Shoals T 63 Chuck Walton G 52 Bill Cottrell Defensive linemen 78 John Baker DE 74 Larry Hand DT 85 Lew Kamanu DE 71 Alex Karras DT 85 Greg Kent DE 70 Denis Moore DE 84 Joe Robb DE 82 Jerry Rush DT 61 Chuck Sieminski DT	Linebackers 53 Mike Lucci 62 Ed Mooney 50 Paul Naumoff 55 Wayne Walker 51 Bill Swain Defensive backs 20 Lem Barney CB 44 Dick LeBeau CB 47 Wayne Rasmussen FS 27 Bobby Thompson S 48 Tom Vaughn FS 28 Mike Weger SS 46 Jim Welch S Special teams 15 Jerry DePoyster K		Reserve lists None - vacant Practice squad 26 Mike Bass CB 1 Garo Yepremian K Note: rookies in italics

1968 Detroit Lions roster

Quarterbacks

14 Greg Barton
11 Greg Landry
19 Bill Munson

Running backs

21 Mike Campbell
40 Nick Eddy
24 Mel Farr
43 Dave Kopay
35 Tom Nowatzke
23 Phil Odle
38 Bill Triplett

Wide receivers

Tight ends

80 Jim Gibbons
88 Charlie Sanders

Offensive linemen

79 Charlie Bradshaw T
54 Ed Flanagan C
76 Rocky Freitas T
68 Frank Gallagher G
66 Bob Kowalkowski G
70 Denis Moore T
73 Roger Shoals T
63 Chuck Walton G
52 Bill Cottrell

Defensive linemen

78 John Baker DE
74 Larry Hand DT
85 Lew Kamanu DE
71 Alex Karras DT
85 Greg Kent DE
70 Denis Moore DE
84 Joe Robb DE
82 Jerry Rush DT
61 Chuck Sieminski DT

Linebackers

53 Mike Lucci
62 Ed Mooney
50 Paul Naumoff
55 Wayne Walker
51 Bill Swain

Defensive backs

20 Lem Barney CB
44 Dick LeBeau CB
47 Wayne Rasmussen FS
27 Bobby Thompson S
48 Tom Vaughn FS
28 Mike Weger SS
46 Jim Welch S

Special teams

15 Jerry DePoyster K

Reserve lists

None - vacant

Practice squad

26 Mike Bass CB
1 Garo Yepremian K

Note: rookies in italics

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 15	at Dallas Cowboys	L 13–59	0–1	Cotton Bowl	61,382
2	September 22	Chicago Bears	W 42–0	1–1	Tiger Stadium	50,688
3	September 29	at Green Bay Packers	W 23–17	2–1	Lambeau Field	50,681
4	October 6	at Minnesota Vikings	L 10–24	2–2	Metropolitan Stadium	44,289
5	October 13	at Chicago Bears	W 28–10	3–2	Wrigley Field	46,996
6	October 20	Green Bay Packers	T 14–14	3–2–1	Tiger Stadium	57,302
7	October 27	San Francisco 49ers	L 7–14	3–3–1	Tiger Stadium	53,555
8	November 3	at Los Angeles Rams	L 7–10	3–4–1	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	77,982
9	November 10	Baltimore Colts	L 10–27	3–5–1	Tiger Stadium	55,170
10	November 17	Minnesota Vikings	L 6–13	3–6–1	Tiger Stadium	46,654
11	November 24	New Orleans Saints	T 20–20	3–6–2	Tiger Stadium	46,152
12	November 28	Philadelphia Eagles	L 0–12	3–7–2	Tiger Stadium	47,909
13	December 8	at Atlanta Falcons	W 24–7	4–7–2	Atlanta Stadium	49,437
14	December 15	at Washington Redskins	L 3–14	4–8–2	D.C. Stadium	50,123

Note: The October 6 game against Minnesota was originally scheduled to be played in Detroit. The game was switched with the November 17 game due to game 4 of the World Series.

Season summary

Week 5

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Lions	7	7	7	7	28
Bears	7	3	0	0	10

Date: October 13
Location: Wrigley Field, Chicago
Game weather: 67 °F (19 °C), wind 9 mph

Scoring summary

1	DET	Mel Farr 32 yard pass from Bill Munson (Jerry DePoyster kick)	Lions 7–0

1	CHI	Cecil Turner 80 yard pass from Larry Rakestraw (Mac Percival kick)	Tie 7–7

2	DET	Mel Farr 9 yard run (Jerry DePoyster kick)	Lions 14–7

2	CHI	Mac Percival 33 yard field goal	Lions 14–10

3	DET	Mel Farr 1 yard run (Jerry DePoyster kick)	Lions 21–10

4	DET	Tom Nowatzke 1 yard run (Jerry DePoyster kick)	Lions 28–10

^[2]

Standings

NFL Central
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Minnesota Vikings	8	6	0	.571	4–2	6–4	282	242	W2
Chicago Bears	7	7	0	.500	3–3	5–5	250	333	L1
Green Bay Packers	6	7	1	.462	1–4–1	2–7–1	281	227	W1
Detroit Lions	4	8	2	.333	3–2–1	4–5–1	207	241	L1

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

References

^ 1968 Detroit Lions
^ Pro-Football-Reference.com

v t e Detroit Lions
Founded in 1928 Formerly the Portsmouth Spartans (1928–1933) Based in Detroit, Michigan Headquartered in Allen Park, Michigan
Franchise	Ownership: William Clay Martha Firestone Ford Sheila Ford Hamp Franchise overview Team history in Portsmouth, Ohio
Records	Coaches First-round draft picks Players Pride of the Lions Pro Football Hall of Famers Retired numbers 7 20 20 20 22 37 56 85 Seasons Starting quarterbacks
Stadiums	Universal Stadium University of Detroit Stadium Tiger Stadium Pontiac Silverdome Ford Field
Culture	NFL on Thanksgiving Day Paper Lion (film) "What's Going On" (Marvin Gaye song) Home Improvement Beverly Hills Cop Cheerleaders
Lore	1932 NFL Playoff Game Curse of Bobby Layne 0–16 Miracle in Motown
Rivalries	Chicago Bears Green Bay Packers Minnesota Vikings
Division championships (9)	1935 1952 1953 1954 1957 1983 1991 1993 2023
League championships (4)	1935 1952 1953 1957
Media	Broadcasters Radio: Radio network Dan Miller Lomas Brown WXYT-FM TV: Television network WJBK Bally Sports Detroit
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League (1930–present) Conference: National Football Conference (1970–present) Division: North Division (2002–present)

v t e Detroit Lions seasons
Formerly the Portsmouth Spartans (1930–1933)
1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Bold indicates NFL Championship (1920–69) or Super Bowl (1966–present) victory Italics indicates NFL Championship (1920–69) or Super Bowl (1966–present) appearance

1968 NFL season

Capitol	Century	Coastal	Central
Dallas	Cleveland	Atlanta	Chicago
New York	New Orleans	Baltimore	Detroit
Philadelphia	Pittsburgh	Los Angeles	Green Bay
Washington	St. Louis	San Francisco	Minnesota