Winning three of first four games hasn't meant much

By Brendan Savage | bsavage@mlive.com

The Detroit Lions are off to a strong start after Sunday's road victory over the Minnesota Vikings gave them a 3-1 record with two of those wins coming on the road. Had it not been for a dramatic 30-26 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, a game that saw Detroit on the 1-yard line as time expired, the Lions would be unbeaten.

This season marks the 10th time since 1980 and the 17th time since their last championship in 1957 that the Lions have won at least three of their first four games. But that hasn’t always translated to success. In fact, they missed the playoffs in 11 of those 17 seasons. That includes 1962, when they started 6-2, never lost two straight and finished 11-3 but were left out of the postseason because only the two division championship made the playoffs.

Their 1957 championship, however, did come after a 3-1 start so that might provide a glimmer of hope for the Lions' long-suffering fans.

Here’s a look back at the last 10 seasons when the Lions won at least three of their first four games, what their final record was and how they fared in the postseason – when they made it, of course.

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2014: Playoff heartbreaker follows 3-1 start

The Lions beat the Giants and Packers at home, knocked off the Jets on the road and lost at Carolina en route to a 3-1 start. The lost their fifth game of the season to Buffalo before winning four straight and eight of the next 10 to secure a playoff berth before finishing 11-5.

But they fell 24-20 at Dallas in the wild card round of the playoffs, losing a heartbreaker after building a 14-0 lead and then seeing the officials make a controversial call midway through the fourth quarter. With Detroit leading 20-17, the officials flagged Dallas' Anthony Hitchens (pictured) for pass interference against Brandon Pettigrew before waving off the penalty. Dallas got the ball back two plays later and mounted the winning TD drive.

Photo by Melanie Maxwell | MLive.com

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2013: Lose six of last seven after 3-1 start

The Lions beat Minnesota, Washington and Chicago during their first four games while losing 25-21 in Arizona after getting outscored 9-0 in the fourth quarter. But after the 3-1 start, they lost six of their last seven games – including four straight to end the season – to finish 7-9 and miss the playoffs in Jim Schwartz's final season as head coach. Their final three losses were by three points or fewer to the Ravens, Giants (in overtime) and Vikings.

MLive file photo by Jeff Sainlar

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2011: Best start in 55 years

Three years after posting the worst season in NFL history, the Lions had a 5-0 record after beating the Bears 24-13 on Monday Night Football, marking the first time since 1956 they won five straight games to open the season. Before beating the Bears, the Lions knocked off Tampa Bay, Kansas City, Minnesota and Dallas. But in typical Lions fashion, they lost five of their next seven after the hot start, finished with a 10-6 record and lost 45-28 to New Orleans in the wild card round of the playoffs.

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2007: Another botched opportunity

Another strong start, another botched opportunity. This time, the Lions missed the playoffs after starting the season with a 6-2 record that included wins in three of their first four games. But they followed that 6-2 start with losses in six straight games and seven of the last eight to finish with a 7-9 record. During the 1-7 finish, they allowed 37 points vs. Green Bay, 42 vs. Minnesota and 51 against San Diego during a four-week stretch. Perhaps that was a sign of things to come as the Lions posted the only 0-16 season in 2008.

MLive file photo by Paul L. Newby II

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2004: Strong start, terrible finish

The Lions won three of their first four games and had a 4-2 record after six games only to collapse during the second half of the season. They dropped five straight after the 4-2 start and lost eight of their final 10 games to finish with a 6-10 record despite Kevin Jones (pictured) rushing for 1,133 yards.

MLive file photo by Jon M. Brouwer

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2000: Bobby Ross walks, misses collapse

The Lions won three of their first four games, were 8-4 with 75 percent of the season in the books and looked like they were on their way to the playoffs with four games remaining. But they dropped three of their final four games under interim coach Gary Moeller, who was promoted when Bobby Ross walked away with seven games to play and the Lions owning a 5-4 record. A 23-20 loss to the Bears in the season finale left the Lions with a 9-7 record.

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1993: Two in a row over Packers? Nope

Three victories in the first four games helped the Lions reach the playoffs with a 10-6 record. But it was one and done after they lost 28-24 to the Packers in the wild card round despite building a 17-7 lead in the third quarter. The playoff loss came six days after they beat Green Bay 30-20 in the regular-season finale, when they intercepted Brett Favre four times and held to him 190 passing yards with a quarterback rating of 44.7.

MLive file photo by Brian Masck

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1991: Reaching the NFL Championship game

A 5-1 start helped produce the most memorable season since the Lions won the NFL championship in 1957. After posting a 12-4 record to win the NFC Central – their last division championship, by the way – the Lions beat the Dallas Cowboys 38-6 in the playoffs to advance to the NFC Championship game.

But eventual Super Bowl champion Washington hammered Detroit 41-10 after outscoring them 24-0 in the second half. Barry Sanders rushed for 1,548 yards in his third NFL season while leading the league with 16 TDs on the ground. Dallas, by the way, went on to win the next two Super Bowls after losing to the Lions.

MLive file photo by Michael Kaire

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1985: Late collapse starts playoff skid

A solid 3-1 start didn’t do the Lions much good after they lost six of the final eight games – including the final three – to finish 7-9 and miss the playoffs. Three of those six losses in the second half were blowouts while two others were decided by a field goal. Eric Hipple passed for 2,952 yards and 17 touchdowns but was intercepted 18 times. It was the second of seven straight seasons without a playoff berth for the Lions.

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1980: Another One Bites The Dust?

Safety Jimmy Allen's version of the Queen classic “Another One Bites The Dust” became the Lions theme song after a 4-0 start made them the toast of Detroit. But they ended up biting the dust themselves after an epic collapse saw them lost seven of 10 games after the hot start to finish 9-7 and miss the playoffs. Rookie running back Billy Sims was a bright spot for the Lions, rushing for 1,303 yards and leading the NFL with 13 TDs on the ground.

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Hot start has Lions turning heads

The Carolina Panthers, another 3-1 team, are set to visit Ford Field this weekend. They'll be meeting a Lions team that has been making some noise around the NFL so what better time to take a look at what's being said about the Motor City's favorite football team?

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Photo by Mike Mulholland | MLive.com

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Video by Jeremy Marble

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