| Team: | Detroit Lions |
| Year: | 1940 |
| Record: | 5–5–1 |
| Division Place: | 3rd NFL Western |
| Coach: | Potsy Clark |
| Stadium: | University of Detroit Stadium |
| Playoffs: | Did not qualify |
| Shortnavlink: | Lions seasons |
The 1940 Detroit Lions season was their 11th in the league. The team failed to improve on their previous season's output of 6–5, winning only five games.[1] They failed to qualify for the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season.
Due to a dispute between new Lions owner Fred Mandel and Detroit Tigers owner Walter Briggs, the Lions played the entire 1940 home schedule at University of Detroit Stadium.[2]
| Game | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap | Sources | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 15 | at Chicago Cardinals | T 0–0 | 0–0–1 | War Memorial Stadium | 18,048 | Recap | |||
| 2 | September 22 | Pittsburgh Steelers | L 7–10 | 0–1–1 | Dinan Field | 15,310 | Recap | |||
| 3 | September 29 | Cleveland Rams | W 6–0 | 1–0–1 | Dinan Field | 15,347 | Recap | |||
| 4 | October 5 | Chicago Cardinals | W 43–14 | 2–0–1 | Dinan Field | 20,619 | Recap | |||
| 5 | October 13 | at Chicago Bears | L 0–7 | 2–1–1 | Soldier Field | 34,217 | Recap | |||
| 6 | October 20 | at Green Bay Packers | W 23–14 | 3–1–1 | City Stadium | 21,001 | Recap | |||
| 7 | October 27 | Washington Redskins | L 14–20 | 3–3–1 | Dinan Field | 28,809 | Recap | |||
| 8 | November 3 | at Cleveland Rams | L 0–24 | 3–4–1 | Cleveland Stadium | 18,881 | Recap | |||
| 9 | November 10 | Chicago Bears | W 17–14 | 4–4–1 | Dinan Field | 21,735 | Recap | |||
| 10 | November 17 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 21–0 | 5–4–1 | Shibe Park | 6,327 | Recap | |||
| 11 | November 24 | Green Bay Packers | L 7–50 | 5–5–1 | Briggs Stadium | 26,019 | Recap | |||
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | ||||||||||