Detroit Lions Milestones

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Order these Detroit Lions franchise moments by the year they happened. Drag or tap it onto the line

Detroit Lions

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How the Detroit Lions history timeline works

Lions milestones are the cards in this deck, each with a short description, and you put them in order of the year they happened. A first card is placed on the line with its year visible. You read each new card and slot it before, after or between the others. Each correct guess shows the year; wrong ones still send the card to its true spot and cost one of three lives.

The Lions were one of the league's best teams in an earlier era, then went through a very long stretch without much to celebrate before their recent rise. That long middle is where the deck gets tricky, since star players, records and stadium moves are the main landmarks. A few legendary players retired suddenly, and their cards are easy to misplace. The playoff cards from the revival come close together.

Want a longer game? On the deck tree you can tick this deck alongside any other one measured in release years and dates, and they shuffle into a single timeline together.

What's in the deck

Here are 26 of the 26 cards you might be dealt. Their values stay hidden until you place them.

Founded as the Portsmouth Spartans The franchise began in a small Ohio river town in the NFL's early years.
Moved to Detroit and became the Lions New owners relocated the Spartans and, that fall, launched the team's Thanksgiving Day tradition.
Won their first NFL Championship Detroit beat the Giants 26-7 for the title in only its second season in the city.
Won the NFL Championship over the Browns Detroit beat Cleveland 17-7 for the title behind quarterback Bobby Layne.
Repeated as NFL champions A 17-16 title-game win over the Browns, again led by Bobby Layne, gave Detroit back-to-back crowns.
Lost the title game 56-10 The Browns avenged two straight defeats by routing the Lions for the championship.
Won the NFL Championship 59-14 Detroit blew out Cleveland for its last league title of the century.
Traded Bobby Layne Detroit shipped its star quarterback to Pittsburgh; legend says he cursed the team for 50 years.
Returned to the playoffs Detroit reached the postseason for the first time since its last title, losing a defensive 5-0 game to Dallas.
Moved to the Silverdome The Lions left Detroit for a domed stadium in suburban Pontiac.
Drafted Billy Sims Detroit took the Oklahoma Heisman-winning running back first overall, and he won Rookie of the Year.
Drafted Barry Sanders Detroit landed the electrifying Oklahoma State Heisman winner with the third overall pick.
Rallied around Mike Utley in a 12-4 season The Lions dedicated their best season in decades to a lineman paralyzed on the field, who flashed a thumbs-up as he was carried off.
Won a playoff game and reached the NFC title game Detroit routed Dallas for its first postseason win in decades before losing at Washington.
Barry Sanders ran for 2,053 yards Sanders topped 2,000 yards on the ground and shared league MVP honors.
Barry Sanders abruptly retired Still near his peak and within reach of the career rushing record, the star quit by faxing a statement to his hometown paper.
Moved into Ford Field The Lions returned downtown to a new domed stadium next to Comerica Park.
Went 0-16 Detroit became the first NFL team to lose all sixteen games in a season.
Drafted Matthew Stafford Detroit used the first overall pick on a strong-armed Georgia quarterback.
Ended a long playoff drought Behind Stafford and receiver Calvin Johnson, Detroit reached the postseason for the first time in over a decade.
Calvin Johnson set the receiving-yards record 'Megatron' broke Jerry Rice's single-season mark with 1,964 receiving yards.
Calvin Johnson retired The dominant receiver walked away at just 30 years old, stunning the franchise.
Hired Dan Campbell and traded Matthew Stafford A fiery new coach arrived as the longtime quarterback was dealt to the Rams for Jared Goff and picks.
Won their first division title in 30 years Detroit captured the NFC North for the first time since the early 1990s.
Reached the NFC Championship Game Detroit came within a half of the Super Bowl before blowing a big lead at San Francisco.
Lost a home playoff game as the top seed Coming off a franchise-best regular season, the Lions were upset by Washington in the divisional round.