Detroit Lions Flashback: September 15, 1991 - Lions 17, Miami 13
The Detroit Lions host the Miami Dolphins today at Ford Field in a matchup of two of the NFL’s best defenses. Miami leads the series wth the Lions with a 7-3 record. When was the last time the Lions beat the ‘Fins in Detroit? It was during the Lions’ magical season of 1991 - when they won the NFC Central Division with a 12-4 record and collected their only playoff win since 1957. Here is a brief excerpt from my definitive history of the Detroit Lions that is still in the works. The book is tentatively titled, “Honolulu Blues: The Good, Bad, Ugly, Glorious History of the Detroit Lions.”
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. . . In week three, the Lions welcomed their former defensive coordinator, Don Shula, and his Miami Dolphins to the Silverdome. Shula was the Lions highly-regarded defensive coordinator from 1960-62. Shula’s Lion defense was at its peak during that 1962 two-game war against Lombardi’s Packers. In January 1963, Baltimore Colts’ owner, Carroll Rosenbloom, hired Shula to replace the recently fired Weeb Ewbank. Now, thirty-nine years later, Shula was seeking his 300th career win.
When a Rodney Peete interception, by Miami’s Shawn Lee, was returned to the Lions’ three-yard line, giving the Dolphins a first-and-goal with 4:43 left in the game; it looked like Shula would get his milestone.
Instead, Wayne Fontes’ Lions called up the Ghost of Defenses past.
First down, Dan Marino – who the Lions skipped over to draft fullback, James Jones, in 1983 – threw the ball into the turf to avoid the coverage sack.
Second down, Chris Spielman tackled fullback, Tony Paige, for a one-yard gain.
Third-down, Dan Owens tackled Paige for a three-yard loss.
Fourth-and-goal from the 5, Marino’s pass, intended for Tony Martin, was knocked to the turf by Ray Crockett.
“It was just a quick slant,” Crockett said in the lockeroom. “He tried to set me up. They had been running fades all day, so I was kind of expecting something different.”
In the win, Barry Sanders gained 143 yards on 32 carries, including a highlight-reel three-yard run for a first down to ice the game. . . . Mouse Davis had officially left the building.
“This was the first time since I’ve been here that everybody did what they had to do to win,” said Spielman. “Maybe we have finally learned how to win.”
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Back to 2014 - the Lions have Calvin Johnson, Reggie Bush and Brandon Pettigrew back in the linup today versus a strong Dolphins defense. Meanwhile, C.J. Mosley - fresh off his two-week suspension for toking reefer in the U.K. - starts in place of Nick Fairley on the Detroit defensive line. Today’s game, along with the back-to-back road trips to Arizona and New England over the next three weeks, will go a long way to determining if the 2014 Lions will be anywhere near as successful as the 1991 edition.
We shall see . . .
