1996 Detroit Lions season

1996 Detroit Lions season
Owner	William Clay Ford, Sr.
General manager	Chuck Schmidt
Head coach	Wayne Fontes
Home field	Pontiac Silverdome
Results
Record	5–11
Division place	5th NFC Central
Playoff finish	did not qualify
Uniform

The 1996 Detroit Lions season was their 67th in the league. The team failed to improve upon their previous season's output of 10–6 and missed the playoffs for the first time in four years.

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 1, 1996	at Minnesota Vikings	L 17–13	52,972
2	September 8, 1996	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 21–6	54,229
3	September 15, 1996	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 24–17	66,007
4	September 22, 1996	Chicago Bears	W 35–16	70,022
5	September 29, 1996	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 27–0	34,961
6	October 6, 1996	Atlanta Falcons	W 28–24	58,666
7	October 13, 1996	at Oakland Raiders	L 37–21	50,037
8	Bye
9	October 27, 1996	New York Giants	L 35–7	63,501
10	November 3, 1996	at Green Bay Packers	L 28–18	60,695
11	November 11, 1996	at San Diego Chargers	L 27–21	60,425
12	November 17, 1996	Seattle Seahawks	W 17–16	51,194
13	November 24, 1996	at Chicago Bears	L 31–14	55,864
14	November 28, 1996	Kansas City Chiefs	L 28–24	75,079
15	December 8, 1996	Minnesota Vikings	L 24–22	46,043
16	December 15, 1996	Green Bay Packers	L 31–3	73,214
17	December 23, 1996	at San Francisco 49ers	L 24–14	61,921

Standings

NFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
(1) Green Bay Packers	13	3	0	.813	456	210	W5
(6) Minnesota Vikings	9	7	0	.563	298	315	L1
Chicago Bears	7	9	0	.438	283	305	L1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	6	10	0	.375	221	293	W1
Detroit Lions	5	11	0	.313	302	368	L5