Oral history of the Detroit Lions’ 1992 playoff victory over the Dallas Cowboys: “That was a big deal”

(Editor’s note: This story was original published on Jan. 18, 2022)

DETROIT — The “Bad Boy” Detroit Pistons had recently won back-to-back NBA championships in 1989 and 1990.

Civil Rights advocate Nelson Mandela was not far removed from a historic visit to Detroit after spending nearly three decades in prison.

A teenaged Jalen Rose — on the heels of leading Detroit Southwestern High School to back-to-back Class A state championships — had just arrived on the University of Michigan’s campus to help birth college basketball’s famed Fab Five.

But Detroit Lions superstar running back Barry Sanders was the talk of the town.

This was Motown, during the Detroit Lions’ 1991 season.

Sanders was in his third season and led the NFL in rushing touchdowns (16) and rushing yards per game (103.2). After two losing years, he had a team around him to capitalize on his once-in-a-generation talents.

The Lions were winners of a franchise-record 12 games, but it was not a season without heartbreak. Offensive lineman Mike Utley suffered a spinal cord injury during a Week 12 game against the Los Angeles Rams and was paralyzed. Utley would be carted off the field, but not before flashing his now iconic thumbs up to fans and teammates, who rallied to win for Utley.

All of these events would lead to Sunday, Jan. 5, 1992: The Dallas Cowboys visited the Pontiac Silverdome as the Lions hosted a playoff game for the first time since 1957.

The game was also the last playoff win for the franchise, which is home to the longest current drought between postseason victories in the NFL after the Cincinnati Bengals victory over the Las Vegas Raiders in the wild-card round Saturday.

This is how they remember that day, 30 years ago, when Detroit was the epicenter of the football world.

Chris Spielman, Lions linebacker: Leading up to it, I remember driving around the city. It was around the holidays, and it was just excitement. Not only the natural 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 want this so bad and how much they get into it. For that one year, it was so cool. Everything was about the Lions. Everything.

Jalen Rose, retired NBA player and Detroit native: Ninety-one was the year I graduated from high school. So, I was a McDonald’s All-American, a city and state champion, and of course a huge Lions fan. But, before the games were on DirecTV and all of that stuff, the big games were the national game and then the Thanksgiving Day game. So, what ended up happening is while watching the Lions, we started to get familiar with players on the other teams, in particular the Cowboys. And I played elementary and middle school football. So, I was a defensive end, and I used to feel like I was Ed “Too Tall” Jones. I was trying to crush kids. The Cowboys then were America’s Team. Although I never jumped ship, it seemed like the Cowboys was the team I always wished the Lions were.

Bill Keenist, Lions public relations director: We had just an incredible demand from the media to cover that game. Obviously, it was Dallas, and then we became at least the sentimental favorite because of what happened to Mike, throughout the country, and we just had an amazing media request and demand for that game, so we had to construct temporary media seats in the end zone of the Silverdome where the bleachers were located. Then, throughout the week, all the national reporters that came in and just the onslaught and the demand was kind of overwhelming.

Barry Sanders, Lions running back: It was a big deal. A lot had gone on that season because of Mike Utley’s injury. That really sh

shook me up and a lot of my teammates. So, we were shaken up, but we went on a winning streak. We won all of our home games that year. It was a big deal that the Cowboys were coming into town.

Herman Moore, Lions wide receiver: It was just packed. With Ford Field, people who go there and have never experienced the Silverdome, will never know. The parking lot, the driving in and to see just this sea of people and tailgaters and the cheering at the gate when you pull up in your own vehicle and they start to recognize who you are by that time. You knew you were going somewhere special

Dallas’ game plan was simple: Stop Sanders. So, the Lions attacked with short passes with backup quarterback Erik Kramer playing for starter Rodney Peete, who had suffered a mid-season Achilles injury in a game against Dallas earlier in the season.

Lomas Brown, Lions offensive lineman: Going into that game we were very, very confident, and we had a great game plan against them. We used the pass like the run, which quarterback Erik Kramer was very good at. So, the short passes, the slant routes, the out routes, throwing to the back out the backfield. Erik was on point that game. I mean we were eating them up with short passes that would go for 5, 6, 7 yards, and that allowed us to be a little more aggressive against the defensive line for Dallas.

Erik Kramer, Lions quarterback: I had been working with a sports psychologist, D. Kevin Wildenhaus, who got me through visualization and painting mental work pictures and scenes.

It was kind of that little mental guided imagery that allowed me to really relax my way through a game. So, that’s what I remember is waking up very calm and treating that game like any other practice, really, and the fever pitch of that day in the Silverdome, I didn’t really notice it honestly. Long before I even stepped on the field, before and after practice, me and (wide receiver) Willie Green would work on a bunch of stuff, and over time it just became very comfortable by the time that playoff game rolled around. I don’t really remember us running the ball much that day.

Wayne Fontes, Lions coach: Dallas came into the game and said they were gonna stop Barry Sanders. That was their thinking, because every down they had eight men in the box. We had Herman Moore, Willie Green and Brett Perriman. We had three good receivers. So, they were saying “You’re gonna have to pass to beat us,” and I recall my coordinator (Dave Levy) came up to say “Coach, they’ve got eight men in the box every time,” and I said, “Well, keep throwing it.” So we kept throwing the ball to Herman and Brett and Willie. We were catching balls all over the field.

Spielman: The game wasn’t close, but we never let up. In the NFL sometimes when games get like that, you see teams let up, and there’s always a comeback, but it just never got to that point. Everything was clicking. Like, offensively, defensively. (Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman) tried to Hail Mary at the end of the first half, and I was able to go up and get it for an interception, which is pretty cool to have a playoff interception.

It was one of those rare games where I don’t ever remember trying to catch my breath. I don’t know why. It was just strange. I felt like I could run all day and hit anything that moved, but our whole defense felt that way. But the biggest thing about it was for that moment in time, it was so cool to be on a team that everybody was playing for each other and not themselves. It was fun.