By John Turney 
Any idea what passers had the best single seasons in Detroit Lions' history? Notice I said "passers," not "quarterbacks?" That's because the franchise dates back to the Portsmouth Spartans of the early 1930s when the passer was a tailback or fullback ... and, in my book, those guys count.
So, let me ask again: Who had the best single seasons?
OK, full disclosure: It's somewhat of a trick question. Because unlike teams such as the Chargers or 49ers, the Lions had few elite seasons by their passers.
Astonishingly few.
Only four passers were first-team All-Pro, including three single-wing tailbacks who played prior to Word War II. Moreover, since the advent of the modern Pro Bowl, only four T-formation quarterbacks received an invitation. Of course, there's a reason: In only 15 seasons has a Lions' passer thrown for 20 or more touchdowns.
Expansion teams that joined pro football in the late-1960s and 1970s had more.
But that won't stop me from compiling a list of top seasons turned in by Lions' quarterbacks and tailbacks over the last 90 years. As written before, I take the top year by each player and then rank those seasons by criteria that matter -- including winning and awards. Then I put it all in a blender and come up with my Top 15.
So, here goes:
Yep, two guys. These two share the 15th slot.
The Lions were 12-4, and each had a 6-2 record. When Peete tore an Achilles tendon in the season's eighth game, Kramer stepped in and finished the year. Kramer even won a playoff game, guiding the Lions to a 38-6 victory over the Dallas Cowboys. But a week later, Washington crushed them, 41-10.
But, combined, Peete and Kramer had such a successful season that it wouldn't be until 2023 that the Lions won another playoff game.
14. Jon Kitna, 2007
Under Mike Martz, Kitna threw for over 4,000 yards, one year before the Lions went 0-16. He also won seven times. Not everyone loved Martz, but Kitna did. Granted, this is more of an "eye-test' pick, but Kitna could move the ball. In his top season with Detroit, the team jumped to a 6-2 start before slumping badly and winning just one of its next eight games.
13. Eric Hipple, 1983
Hipple was the typical Lions' quarterback. He didn't have great stats, but he took his team to the brink of the playoffs, going 8-3 down the stretch before being eliminated the final week of the season.
12. Gary Danielson, 1978
He took over the starting job and went 6-5 on a team that opened the season 1-4. No, he didn't tear up the NFL, but he was noted as one of the league's top up-and-coming young quarterbacks, throwing for 18 touchdowns -- which ranked sixth in the NFL -- and 2,294 yards. He was also the eighth-ranked passer.
11. Dave Krieg, 1994
Though Krieg started fewer than half the games, he not only kept the Lions in the playoff hunt but was able to push them into the playoffs. He took over after starter Scott Mitchell was sidelined and proceeded to finish the season with a passer rating of 101.7. However, he didn't have enough attempts to qualify for the league leadership.
10. Milt Plum, 1962
In his first year with the Lions, he went 11-3, but his passing stats weren't pretty ... which was somewhat odd for him. Plum had been one of the NFL's most efficient passers in Cleveland -- a quarterback who wouldn't throw for yardage but made his passes count.
You can do that with Jim Brown in the backfield.
Today, he'd be called a game manager, and that's what he was in 1962 when he beat Johnny Unitas twice and, with the help of his defensive front, handed the 13-1 Green Bay Packers their only loss. He also lost a squeaker to the Packers by two points and pushed the 12-2 New York Giants before losing by three.
9. Earl Morrall, 1963
Morrall was the NFL's quintessential backup during his career, and this was a season where he earned that reputation -- much as he did later for the Colts and Dolphins. In 1963, he stepped in for Plum and started the final 10 games, finishing with 24 touchdown passes and 2,621 yards. Incredibly, his TD total is still tied for 10th in team history, tied with Matthew Stafford in 2016 ... in 16 games. Morrall basically did it in 12.
8. Scott Mitchell, 1995
While going 10-6 as a starter, Mitchell broke team records for passing. His 32 touchdown passes were six more than the previous record, and he obliterated the yardage mark by over 1,100 yards. Only one problem: He didn't sustain it in the playoffs, throwing four interceptions in the NFC wildcard game against Philadelphia and getting benched in favor of Don Majkowski.
Ouch.
But his regular season included ranking second in passing yards and third in TD passes. Additionally, in Week 9, he was the NFC Offensive Player of the Week and, four weeks later, Pro Football Weekly's NFL Offensive Player of the Week.
7. Greg Landry, 1971
A dual threat, Landry was the second-best running quarterback in the NFL (second to Bobby Douglass). Unlike Douglass, however, Landry could pass.
As a starter in 1970, he led the Lions to the playoffs. But the following season he was so good that he was a Pro Bowler and even gained some MVP votes. That's the good news. The problem is that after a 7-3-1 start, the Lions lost their final three games and didn't repeat as a playoff team.
I admit, it was a close call with 1972 where he was 8-5-1, ran for nine touchdowns and threw for 18 -- a total of 27 TDs, or seven more than the second-place finisher in passing and rushing TDs combined. But he had some poor performances, with Landry at midseason conceding that he wasn't passing effectively. However, he corrected it somewhat in the second half.
Still, people forget that Landry was a winner. He was 25-14-1 from 1969-72, a span that included some quality wins along the way.
6. Tobin Rote, 1957
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| Art credit: Robert Hurst |
Including the playoffs, he was 6-1 as a starter. His regular-season stats were ordinary, but in the playoffs he was 28 for 49 for 494 yards, with five TDs and just a single interception. Plus, though not used at the time, his passer rating was 117.2. What matters is that it wasn't for nothing. His final victory was in the NFL championship game, a 59-14 drubbing of the Cleveland Browns.
5. Jared Goff, 2023
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| Art credit: Marci |
In coach Dan Campbell's third year in Detroit, Goff took the Lions to the playoffs and beat the Los Angeles Rams and former Lions' quarterback Matthew Stafford. So what? So it ended a 32-year winless drought in the playoffs for Detroit.
But there was more. He won a second playoff game, the first time the Lions won more than one since 1957, and had his team one victory from the Super Bowl. Though the 49ers edged Detroit, 34-31, in the conference championship game, the former No. 1 draft pick did his job.
By all accounts, he grew as a quarterback. He completed 407 of 605 passing (67.3 percent) for 4,575 passing yards, 30 TDs and 12 interceptions. He was also the Week 6 NFC Offensive Player of the Week and in Week 15 threw for five TDs in a 42-17 win over the Broncos.
No, he didn't go to the Pro Bowl, but it was a Pro Bowl-caliber season.
4. Frank Sinkwich, 1944
A single-wing tailback, Sinkwich was the 1944 NFL MVP who led the league in yards per completion, was second in touchdown passes and third in passing yards. Plus, he did a little bit of everything. Not only was he a top-three passer; he was also a top-three runner, played defense and returned kicks.
3. Matthew Stafford, 2011
The passing stat king for the Lions, Stafford completed 421 of 663 passes (63.5 percent) in his top season for 5,038 yards, 41 TDs (both club records) and just 16 interceptions. Furthermore, the team was 10-6, one of the best records for Stafford with a struggling franchise.
Twice in 2011 he threw for five touchdowns, and twice he passed for over 400 yards -- with a high of 520 in the season finale against the Packers. In the playoffs, he threw for another 380 yards and three TDs, but the Lions couldn't keep up with Drew Brees and the Saints, losing, 45-28.
Few quarterbacks in NFL history had Stafford's arm talent and few were as tough. He played through injuries and was the 2011 Comeback Player of the Year, but he didn't have the success of others in his era. The 2011 season, however, was an exception -- one of four where he had a winning record in Detroit.
2. Dutch Clark, 1934
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| Art credit: Merv Corning |
Clark was a do-it-all player who could run, catch, throw and kick and who might have been the best player anywhere in the 1930s. A tailback/halfback in the single-wing formation, it was he -- not the quarterback -- who threw the ball. The quarterback was a blocking back.
In Clark's era, the Lions were a dominant running team that passed about 22 percent of the time, the lowest percentage in the NFL. But in 1934, Clark passed for 383 yards, the most on the team, and was the Lions' leading rusher. Had there been an MVP then, he would've have been a strong contender.
It's important to note that while Clark split time with Glen Presnell at tailback, it was Clark who threw for more yards and was far more accurate -- which was true for the rest of the years the pair shared the position.
In 1934, the Lions began the year 10-0 but lost their final three games by a total of nine points to finish 10-3.
1. Bobby Layne, 1952
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| Art credit: Gizo |
Wait. Bobby Layne led the NFL in most passing statistics in 1951, yet I picked 1952 as his best season? Correct. And here's why: While 1951 was a great year and set the table for back-to-back NFL championships by the Lions, beating Paul Brown and the Cleveland Browns matters.
In fact, it means a lot.
In 1952, Layne and his Lions beat the defending league champion-Los Angeles Rams three times, twice in the regular season and once in the National Conference playoff game. That got them to the championship game, where they did enough to hand the Browns a 17-7 loss in their back yard -- Cleveland Municipal Stadium.
Layne was also a first-team All-Pro for the first time in his career and went to his second Pro Bowl. Plus, he did it all with the swashbuckling style and charisma that became legendary and eventually put him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
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So, there you have it -- the top 15 seasons by Lions passers. No, it's not the worst quarterback situation for a franchise but it's close. Check out the Bears' record book. Yikes! At the back end of my list, there are a handful of unremarkable single-seasons. But at the top, there are truly excellent seasons, including one worth celebrating.
Bill Munson?
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