The 1977 Detroit Lions season was their 48th in the National Football League (NFL). The team matched their previous season's output of 6–8,1977 Detroit Lions and missed the playoffs for the seventh straight season. The Lions struggled offensively, scoring a mere 183 points while finishing in third place with a 6–8 record for the second consecutive season.
The 1977 coaching staff included 25-year-old assistant special teams and offensive assistant coach Bill Belichick. Belichick would later win two Super Bowls in the 1986 and 1990 seasons as defensive coordinator with the New York Giants, and six as head coach of the New England Patriots.
This would be the final season for head coach Tommy Hudspeth before he and his entire staff were fired. This would also be the final season for future Hall-of-Fame tight end Charlie Sanders before his retirement.
NFL draft
Notes
Detroit traded its first-round pick (12th) to Buffalo in exchange for WR J.D. Hill. Detroit traded QB Bill Munson to Seattle in exchange for Seattle's fifth-round pick (114th). Detroit traded its fifth-round pick (125th) to Pittsburgh in exchange for TE John McMakin. Detroit traded its sixth-round pick (320th) and G Guy Dennis to San Diego in exchange for G Mark Markovich. Detroit traded WR Marlin Briscoe to New England in exchange for a sixth-round pick (166th).
Undrafted free agents
+ 1977 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeJoe HarveyDefensive tackleNorthern MichiganKevin McClainDefensive backWyomingJohn StufllebeemPunterNavyBob WoodKickerMichigan
Personnel
Staff / Coaches
Roster
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Attendance 1 September 18 at Chicago Bears L 30–200–1 51,530 2 September 25 New Orleans Saints W 23–191–1 51,458 3 October 2 Philadelphia Eagles W 17–132–1 57,236 4 October 9 at Minnesota Vikings L 14–72–2 45,860 5 October 16 Green Bay Packers W 10–63–2 78,452 6 October 23 at San Francisco 49ers L 28–73–3 39,392 7 October 30 at Dallas Cowboys L 37–03–4 63,160 8 November 6 San Diego Chargers W 20–04–4 72,559 9 November 13 at Atlanta Falcons L 17–64–5 47,461 10 November 20 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 16–75–5 49,751 11 Chicago Bears L 31–145–6 71,373 12 December 4 at Green Bay Packers L 10–95–7 56,267 13 December 11 at Baltimore Colts W 13–106–7 45,124 14 Minnesota Vikings L 30–216–8 78,572Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries Week 3 vs Philadelphia Eagles
Week 8: vs San Diego Chargers
Week 9 at Atlanta Falcons
Week 10: vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Standings
References
External links 1977 Detroit Lions at Pro-Football-Reference.com 1977 Detroit Lions at JT-SW.com 1977 Detroit Lions at The Football Database (FootballDB.com)