Detroit Lions: NFC Championship run in 1991
It’s been said that the Detroit Lions are a cursed franchise. After trading away Bobby Layne in 1958, the former quarterback said that the club wouldn’t win for the next 50 years. And that ended up holding up, even after the time frame has passed.
Still without a Super Bowl win in their existence, the Lions have had some terrible fortune in the NFC playoffs since that trade. Since winning the NFL Championship in a 59-14 win over the Cleveland Browns — which was Layne’s final season with the team — Detroit has just one playoff win. That win came following their 1991 campaign which ended seven-straight losing seasons that spanned from 1984 to 1990.
Detroit won 12 games that season (8-0 at home) on the strength of five Pro Bowl players such as running back Barry Sanders and linebacker Chris Spielman. Despite having some great players, they were a wildly inconsistent team, quarterbacked to a 6-2 record by both Rodney Peete and Erik Kramer under center.
The whole team was based on No. 20, as Sanders ran for 1,548 yards with 16 touchdowns. Just for some perspective about how heavily they leaned on Sanders, the next highest yardage total on the ground belonged to Peete, as the quarterback finished with 125 yards and two touchdowns.
Making the season even more unexpected, the Lions then defeated the Dallas Cowboys easily by a score of 38-6. The tough Dallas defense held Sanders in check with just 69 yards — 47 of which came off one run — but had no answers for Kramer. The Detroit signal-caller had the game of his career, throwing for 341 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions.
Detroit then reminded us all how inconsistent they were, as they managed just 10 points while surrendering 41 in the NFC Championship Game to the Washington Football Team. Still, this is the closest this team has been to a ring since the days of Layne.