The 1962Detroit Lions season was the 33rd season in franchise history. In one of the best regular seasons in their history, the Lions posted an 11–3 record (.786), but finished two games behind the eventual NFL championGreen Bay Packers in the NFL Western Conference. It was the third straight season the Lions finished as runner-up to the Packers in the West. Entering the final weekend, Detroit was one game behind and had won seven consecutive, but were shut out 3–0 by the Chicago Bears.[1] The Lions' three losses, all on the road, were by a total of eight points.
As conference runner-up, Detroit won their third consecutive Playoff Bowl game over the Pittsburgh Steelers, 17–10.[2][3] The third place game was played at the Orange Bowl in Miami on January 6, three weeks after the end of the regular season.[4]
The Lions never trailed by more than seven points at any point in any game during the season, a feat that was not repeated for 48 years. Their 26–14 win over the Packers
on Thanksgiving Day in week 11 denied defending champion Green Bay the NFL's first true perfect season.[5] The Lions were up 26–0 in the fourth quarter before Green Bay scored two touchdowns;[6] the Packers had won the first meeting 9–7 in the mud in Green Bay with a late field goal on October 7.[7][8]
After the season, defensive coordinator Don Shula left to become the head coach for the Baltimore Colts, a position he would hold for seven years.
According to the team, a total of 35,693 season tickets were sold by the Lions for the 1962 campaign.[11] The Lions played their home games in Briggs Stadium (Tiger Stadium), which had a regular listed seating capacity of 46,194, with an additional 7,000 bleacher seats for football to bring total capacity to 53,194.[11]
This game provided the backdrop for the Vince Lombardi book Run to Daylight!, chronicling a typical week in the life of a pro football team. Alex Karras reportedly threw a helmet at Milt Plum in the locker room after the game for throwing the late interception that led to the Lions' defeat.
The game was dubbed the "Thanksgiving Day Massacre" thanks to the dominant performance of the Lions defense, who sacked Bart Starr 11 times.[12][13] It was Green Bay's sole loss of the season; they repeated as NFL champions.
The game matched the conference runners-up for third place in the league and was played three weeks after the end of the regular season (and a week after the championship game). The ten editions of the Playoff Bowl, all held at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, are now considered exhibition games by the NFL, not post-season contests.
The Lions were only the third NFL team since 1940 that never trailed by more than 7 points at any time during the season. This feat was not repeated until the Green Bay Packers did so in their Super Bowl-winning 2010 season.[15][16]
