The 1969 Detroit Lions season was the 40th season in franchise history. They enjoyed their best season in seven years, and their first winning campaign since 1964, by finishing in second place in the NFL Central Division with a solid 9–4–1 record led by a stingy defense that only allowed 188 total points on the season. However, the Lions still failed to qualify for the postseason, for the 12th straight season.Detroit Lions season history at Sports E-Cyclopedia The Lions were the only team to lose to the Pittsburgh Steelers, doing so in week 1 of the season. Pittsburgh lost their remaining 13 games. The loss to the Steelers proved costly to the Lions, as it served as a big blow to their playoff hopes.
Offseason
NFL draft
Notes
Detroit traded its first-round selection (8th) and QB Milt Plum, P/WR Pat Studstill and RB Tommy Watkins to Los Angeles in exchange for QB Bill Munson and the Rams' third-round selection (73rd). Detroit traded DT Roger Brown to Los Angeles in exchange for the Rams' second-round selection (47th) and first- and third-round selections in 1968. Detroit traded QB Karl Sweetan to New Orleans in exchange for the Saints' third-round selection (59th). Detroit traded its third-round selection (60th), fourth-round selection in 1970 and S Bruce Maher to N.Y. Giants in exchange for RB Bill Triplett and LB Bill Swain. Detroit traded the third-round selection received from the Rams (73rd) to St. Louis in exchange for WR Billy Gambrell. Detroit traded its fourth-round selection (86th) and third-round selection (65th) in 1968 to San Francisco in exchange for RB David Kopay. Detroit traded its sixth- and seventh-round selections (138th) and (164th) to Atlanta in exchange for DT Chuck Sieminski and LB Andy Bowling.
Personnel Staff / coaches
Final roster 1969 Detroit Lions roster Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen Linebackers
Defensive backs Lem Barney CB/P
Special teams Reserve lists
Taxi squad
rookies in italics
Regular season
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 21 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 13–16 0–1 Pitt Stadium 51,360 2 September 28 New York Giants W 24–0 1–1 Tiger Stadium 54,358 3 October 5 at Cleveland Browns W 28–21 2–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 82,833 4 October 12 Green Bay Packers L 17–28 2–2 Tiger Stadium 58,384 5 October 19 Chicago Bears W 13–7 3–2 Tiger Stadium 54,732 6 October 26 at Minnesota Vikings L 10–24 3–3 Metropolitan Stadium 47,900 7 November 2 at San Francisco 49ers W 26–14 4–3 Kezar Stadium 35,100 8 November 9 Atlanta Falcons W 27–21 5–3 Tiger Stadium 53,242 9 November 16 St. Louis Cardinals W 20–0 6–3 Tiger Stadium 51,749 10 November 23 at Green Bay Packers W 16–10 7–3 Lambeau Field 50,861 11 November 27 Minnesota Vikings L 0–27 7–4 Tiger Stadium 57,906 12 December 7 at Baltimore Colts T 17–17 7–4–1 Memorial Stadium 60,238 13 December 14 Los Angeles Rams W 28–0 8–4–1 Tiger Stadium 53,256 14 December 21 at Chicago Bears W 20–3 9–4–1 Wrigley Field 41,879 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Season summary
Week 11 vs Vikings
Muddy field Largest crowd for Thanksgiving game in Detroit history
Standings
References
Detroit Lions on Pro Football Reference Detroit Lions on jt-sw.com Detroit Lions on The Football Database