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The Pistons won back-to-back NBA titles in 1989 and 1990.
After spending nearly three decades in prison, Nelson Mandela was not far away from a historic visit to Detroit.
The University of Michigan had just received a teenager who was on the heels of leading Detroit Southwestern High School to back-to-back Class A state championships.
The schedule and format are full.
The first look at the divisional round.
The wild-card weekend has overreactions.
See more playoff content.
Barry Sanders was the talk of the town.
The Detroit Lions played in 1991.
In his third season in the league, the running back led the league in rushing touchdown and rushing yards per game. He had a team around him that could take advantage of his talents.
The Lions won a franchise-record 12 games, but it was not without its share of heartbreaking losses. Mike Utley, an offensive lineman for the Los Angeles Rams, was paralyzed from the waist down after he was injured in a game. Utley would be carted off the field, but not before showing his support for his teammates and fans.
The Dallas Cowboys visited the Silverdome as the Lions hosted a playoff game for the first time since 1957.
The last playoff win for the franchise was the one that happened on Saturday, when the Cincinnati Bengals defeated the Las Vegas Raiders in the wild-card round.
Thirty years ago, Detroit was the epicenter of the football world.
The Detroit Lions defeated the Dallas Cowboys 38-6) in the 1991 NFC Divisional Playoff Game on January 5, 1992.
I remember driving around the city. It was around the holidays, and it was exciting. The excitement that comes with Christmas and New Year's and all that stuff, but the excitement that everybody was feeling about the Lions. It reminds me of how hungry this city is and how our fans get into it. It was cool for one year. Everything was about the Lions. Everything.
Player.
Pos.
The man is Erik Kramer.
The quarterback.
The man is Barry Sanders.
There is a person named RB.
Mike Farr.
The WR.
Willie Green.
The WR.
Moore is named Herman Moore.
The WR.
Aubrey Matthews.
The WR.
The man is named Lomas Brown.
Lt.
Eric Andolsek is a person.
It's the LG.
Kevin.
C.
Ken is a man.
The person is called RG.
Scott Conover is a man.
There is a show called "RT."
Ninety-one was the year I graduated from high school. I was a McDonald's All-American, a city and state champion, and a huge Lions fan. The national game and the Thanksgiving Day game were the big games before the games were on DirecTV. While watching the Lions, we began to get familiar with players on the other teams, in particular the Cowboys. I played football in elementary and middle school. I used to feel like Ed Jones, because I was a defensive end. I was trying to hit the kids. The Cowboys were America's Team. I always wanted the Lions to be the Cowboys, but I never jumped ship.
The media wanted to cover the game and we had an incredible demand from them. We had to build temporary media seats in the end zone of the Silverdome because we had an amazing media request and demand for that game, and we had to construct them because Dallas became at least the sentimental favorite because of what happened to Mike, throughout the country. The demand was kind of overwhelming when all the national reporters came in.
It was a big deal. There was a lot of going on that season because of Mike Utley. That really shook me up. We went on a winning streak after we were shaken up. We won all of our home games. The Cowboys were coming to town.
It was packed. People who have never been to the Silverdome will never know. When you pull up in your own vehicle in the parking lot, they start to recognize you as a person, because of the sea of people and tailgaters cheering at the gate. You knew you were going somewhere special.
In Detroit's comfortable win over Dallas, Lions quarterback Erik Kramer wasn't hit a lot.
The game plan for Dallas was simple. The Lions attacked with short passes, with backup quarterback Erik Kramer playing for starter Rodney Peete, who had suffered an injury in a game against Dallas.
The Lions had a great game plan against them and they were very confident going into that game. The pass was used like the run by the quarterback. The short passes, slant routes, and out routes are thrown to the back. He was on point. We were able to be more aggressive against the Dallas defense because we were eating them up with short passes.
Player.
Pos.
The man is named Marc Spindler.
LDE.
Pete Lawrence.
NT.
Dan Owens.
RDE.
George Jamison.
It's a funny thing.
Chris Spielman is a football player.
LILB.
Victor Jones.
Riel.
Tracy Hayworth is a person.
There is a person named ROLB.
Ray Crockett.
LCB.
Mel Jenkins is a person.
The name of the company is RCB.
William White is a man.
S.
Bennie Blades is a person.
The game is called FS.
D. Kevin Wildenhaus, a sports psychologist, helped me with my mental work.
It was kind of a mental guided imagery that helped me relax during the game. I remember waking up very calm and treating that game like any other practice, but I didn't notice it. Before I even stepped on the field, I and Willie Green would work on a lot of things, and by the time the playoffs rolled around, we were very comfortable. I don't remember much about that day.
Dallas said they were going to stop Barry Sanders. They had eight men in the box. Willie Green, Herman Moore, and Brett Perriman were with us. We had three good players. I recall my coach said to keep throwing it, because they had eight men in the box every time. We kept throwing the ball to them. We were playing in the field.
The game was not close but we never gave up. Sometimes in the NFL, when games get like that, you can see teams let up, and there are always a comebacks, but it never gets to that point. Everything was working. Like, defensively. Troy Aikman tried to throw a touchdown pass at the end of the first half, but I was able to intercept it, which is pretty cool.
It was one of the rare games where I didn't try to catch my breath. I don't know why. It was weird. I felt like I could run all day and hit anything that moved, but our defense felt that way. It was cool to be on a team that everyone was playing for each other and not themselves, and that was the biggest thing about it. It was enjoyable.
The Cowboys won Super Bowls in 1993, 1994 and 1996 with the help of quarterback Troy Aikman.
The Lions held a 17-6 lead at the half despite the fact that Sanders ran for eight yards. In the first quarter, Kramer threw a 31 yard touchdown pass to Green, and the Cowboys defense was overwhelmed. The other Detroit points came from a field goal and an intercept return.
The administrative assistant came up to Fontes and said "You know Barry has only touched the ball four times this whole first half" and I said "Well, we're winning the game." Everyone is getting their uniforms straightened out in the locker room. Everyone wanted to look good in the second half. I came up to Barry and asked how he was. He says he is a great coach. I said, "We haven't given you much, but we've got a lot of passing going on." "Don't worry about it," he said. The most important thing is that we are winning the football game. I said, "You are absolutely correct."
They did a good job of keeping me out of the game.
They never changed up coverage, but we kept throwing simple throws. They never went cover 2 or cover 1 and never did anything. If that is what you are going to do, this is what we are going to do.
Moore was going against a shorter guy in the end zone. I remember this guy was aggressive. I wanted it for him. I said, "You know what, I'm going to really work him over" because I didn't think anyone respected me at that time. I said, "Anything thrown my way, I'm catching." I think the first pass he threw went over my head. I went to the huddle and toldErik to bring it down so I could get my hands on it. He threw a perfect fade and I caught it in the corner of the end zone, I remember just going up, never even having to tuck it. I said, "You know what?" It can't be that easy.
A number of Cowboys defenders looked silly when Barry Sanders ran for a 47-yard touchdown late in the game.
In his first playoff game, he hadn't been able to break loose. He broke off a 47-yard run in the fourth quarter that left a number of Cowboys shaking their heads in disbelief.
We go out for the second half the same way. They will put eight guys in the box, and we are up 31-6. Barry has only touched the ball about five or six times, and I told my offensive coach. Give him the ball. Barry made the greatest run in the history of football when we gave him the ball. One guy on the defense missed him three times, and another guy spun around like a top. I am laughing as he comes off the field after scoring a touchdown. I told my offensive coach to give the ball to Barry.
The last playoff win of the Lions.
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McKinnon is giving KC something to think about.
Tough decisions are ahead.
There are many changes in the Packers-49ers dynamic.
Tony Casillas, Cowboys defensive tackle: I see it all the time on those top 10 runs, and I am the guy that they shadow, highlight in white. He runs by me. I turn around and wonder what the hell is going on. I tell people that Barry did that to many people. We shut it down because we thought the game was over. It was a crazy moment in my career and one of his top highlights of making someone look stupid, but it is all good.
Tony Casillas is from the University of Oklahoma, and he was starred at Oklahoma State. I was aware of him because I only watched college football at my house. I was aware that he played on those great college defenses with Brian and Rickey.
It was not a tackle. I knew that they had a good, young, quick defense when they ran the ball many times. I don't know how many yards we got in the passing game, but Herman and those guys had a good day, and Tony was a good nose guard.
It was one of those things where I was able to catch a little daylight and deliver to the Silverdome fans what they had been waiting for. I bounced off of someone and they thought he was going to wrap me up, but instead I found that every running back is always looking at the same spot. I don't know, 50 yards or whatever it was, it sealed the deal and gave the Silverdome fans a nice run in the playoffs.
Kevin Glover, Lions center, said that KenNorton got turned around at the end of the play, but then he took hard feedback from his teammates. Barry was a rare breed and nobody gets embarrassed if they beat him. He is not an ordinary guy and there is no shame in being beaten by great players.
It is always great to be a part of history for Barry. I think I should get some residuals from that play because they say "Who is that dumbass, No. 75?" and have my name on it." Thanks a lot, Barry. Being remembered is better than being forgotten. The next three Super Bowls happened over the next four years or so, although that was their first playoff game. Jimmy Johnson was going to let that happen again, but Barry Sanders is the best all-time running back that has ever played.
The Lions wore decals on their helmets to honor Utley, and their victory celebration started even before the game ended. It was the first playoff win for the franchise since 1957.
The Cowboys won the Super Bowl the next year, but it was before they were the actual Cowboys, so I don't want to say it was before that. That was a big deal.
I remember the owner saying, " God rest his soul, Mr. (William Clay) Ford." I asked my PR guy if this was a good time for Detroit. I told the PR guy to tell him to come down on the field. Mr. Ford did not want to be involved. He cared about winning and was a great owner. He is in the tunnel after coming down on the field. I wave him down on the field, and he comes off the sideline and is 20 feet behind me. I told Mr. Ford to come up and enjoy it. This is your team. He was a proud man.
Oh, my gosh. That thing was correct. I don't think I've ever been in a locker room that was as sad as ours was. The offensive tackle is from the Lions.
Brown: Oh, my gosh. That thing was correct. I don't think I've ever been in a locker room that was as sad as ours. The music was playing. There were a lot of celebrities in there. Tim Allen was there. There were so many local people at that game. It was a great moment. It was an amazing event. It was not on the chain. Everything was flowing after the game.
Mark "Pilgrim" Mullins is a Lions season ticket holder. I don't think we sat down in the second half. The roar and screaming. I don't think we've ever matched that before. We were young when we got our first season tickets. I will never forget it, I was in my late 20s. I'm loyal. We partied a lot that night.
The Lions lost to Washington in the Super Bowl. The Lions have never reached that point again.
The reason that this was one of the best groups of guys that I have ever had the chance to play with is because everybody sacrificed so much to be where we were at. We were mediocre, but we were playing well on the field. There is a big difference. It was something that I had to say.
Jerry Ball, a nose tackle for the Lions, said that in this particular situation, it was a culture thing that was shifting, and as players, we decided to change the culture from within by being accountable for each other.
It's hard to believe it's been 30 years. I think there should've been more wins in the playoffs. It's hard to believe that was the last one, and so it proves we have a lot of work to do, but it also proves that we made some progress, and at least for that year, gave the Lions fans some hope. Hopefully we can do that again soon.
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