The

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

Detroit Lions season was the 47th season in franchise history. After the first four games of the season,

Rick Forzano Richard Eugene Forzano (November 20, 1928 – January 10, 2019) was an American football coach at the high school, collegiate and professional levels, most prominently as head coach of the National Football League's Detroit Lions from 1974 to 1976 ...

resigned under pressure of owner William Clay Ford, and was replaced by one time

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

head coach and Lions assistant Tommy Hudspeth. In spite of a stellar season by quarterback

Greg Landry Gregory Paul Landry (born December 18, 1946) is a former American football player and coach who played quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) from 1968 to 1981, and again in 1984. He played for the Detroit Lions, Baltimore Colts and ...

, that year's NFL Comeback Player Of The Year, the team was still mired in mediocrity, finishing 6–8.

NFL Draft

Notes * Detroit were awarded a first-round pick (8th) from

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

as compensation for the Rams signing Lions free agent WR

Ron Jessie Ron Ray Jessie (February 4, 1948 – January 13, 2006) was an American football wide receiver in the National Football League for the Detroit Lions, Los Angeles Rams and Buffalo Bills. His best season came in 1976 with the Los Angeles Rams, ...

. During the draft, Detroit traded this 8th pick to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in exchange for the Bears' first- and third-round picks (10th and 68th). * Detroit were awarded a second-round pick (46th) from

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

as compensation for the Chargers signing Lions free agent C Ed Flanagan. * Detroit traded its fourth-round pick (108th) to

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

in exchange for LB Larry Ball and the Dolphins' fifth-round pick (145th). * Detroit traded its fifth-round pick (140th) to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

in exchange for QB Joe Reed. * Detroit traded its sixth-round pick (170th) to

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

in exchange for C

Jon Morris Jon Morris (born April 5, 1942) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive lineman for fifteen seasons in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He played for the Boston/New Eng ...

. * Detroit traded FB Leon Crosswhite to

in exchange for the Patriots' eighth-round pick (217th) and sixth-round pick in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

Roster

Regular season

On November 25, O.J. Simpson of the Buffalo Bills set a record with the most rushing yards in a Thanksgiving Day game, by rushing for 273 yards against the Lions. In spite of their poor overall record the Lions offense set a statistical record for Passer Rating Differential (40.9, 14th best 1960 to 2011). Such a high rating is usually reserved for playoff teams or Super Bowl winners.

Schedule

!Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Season summary

Week 1 at Bears

Week 2 vs Falcons

Week 4 at Packers

Standings

References

Detroit Lions on Pro Football Reference

Detroit Lions on jt-sw.com

Detroit Lions on The Football Database
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