1968 Detroit Lions season

1968 Detroit Lions season
Head coach	Joe Schmidt
Home field	Tiger Stadium
Results
Record	4–8–2
Division place	4th NFL Central
Playoff finish	did not qualify

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. They missed the playoffs for the eleventh straight season.

Roster

1968 Detroit Lions roster
Quarterbacks 11 Greg Landry 19 Bill Munson Running Backs 40 Nick Eddy 24 Mel Farr 43 Dave Kopay 35 Tom Nowatzke 23 Phil Odle 38 Bill Triplett Wide Receivers  3 Billy Gambrell 25 Earl McCullouch 81 Bill Malinchak 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 73 Roger Shoals T 63 Chuck Walton G Defensive Linemen 78 John Baker DE 74 Larry Hand DT 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 52 Bill Cottrell 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 None - vacant Note: Rookies in italics

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 15, 1968	at Dallas Cowboys	L 59–13	61,382
2	September 22, 1968	Chicago Bears	W 42–0	50,688
3	September 29, 1968	at Green Bay Packers	W 23–17	50,681
4	October 6, 1968	at Minnesota Vikings	L 24–10	44,289
5	October 13, 1968	at Chicago Bears	W 28–10	46,996
6	October 20, 1968	Green Bay Packers	T 14–14	57,302
7	October 27, 1968	San Francisco 49ers	L 14–7	53,555
8	November 3, 1968	at Los Angeles Rams	L 10–7	77,982
9	November 10, 1968	Baltimore Colts	L 27–10	55,170
10	November 17, 1968	Minnesota Vikings	L 13–6	46,654
11	November 24, 1968	New Orleans Saints	T 20–20	46,152
12	November 28, 1968	Philadelphia Eagles	L 12–0	47,909
13	December 8, 1968	at Atlanta Falcons	W 24–7	49,437
14	December 15, 1968	at Washington Redskins	L 14–3	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, 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

Standings

NFL Central
	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.