1948 NFL season

1948 National Football League season
Regular season
Duration
East Champions	Philadelphia Eagles
West Champions	Chicago Cardinals
Championship Game
Champions	Philadelphia Eagles
National Football League seasons  < 1947 1949 >

The 1948 NFL season was the 29th regular season of the National Football League. During the season, Halfback Fred Gehrke painted horns on the Los Angeles Rams' helmets, making the first modern helmet emblem in pro football. The season ended when the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Chicago Cardinals in the NFL Championship Game.

Major rule changes

• Plastic helmets are prohibited. This rule was enacted because critics argued that they were being used more as a weapon than protection.
• A flexible artificial tee is permitted at the kickoff.
• When the intended passer is tackled behind the line of scrimmage, the game clock will stop temporarily until any receivers who have gone down field have had a reasonable time to return.
• When the offense is called for delay of game, the defense may decline the 5-yard distance penalty.
• If a foul occurs behind the line during a backwards pass or fumble, the penalty is enforced from the spot of the pass or fumble.
• It is illegal to bat or punch the ball while it is in a player's possession.
• All officials are equipped with whistles, not horns.

Division Races

In the Eastern race, the Eagles beat Washington 45–0 in Week Five to take a 1/2 game lead. When the 6–1–1 Eagles met the 6–2 Skins again in Week Ten, Washington lost a must-win game, 42–21.

The other race was all Chicago, as the Cardinals and Bears both had records of 10–1 going into the final week. A record crowd of 51,283 packed Wrigley Field on December 12 to watch. The Bears took a 21–10 lead, on George Gulyanic's as the fourth quarter began. Charley Trippi's touchdown cut the margin to 21–17, but the Bears had the ball and time on their side. The turning point came when the Cards' Vince Banonis picked off a pass from Johnny Lujack, and ran the ball back to the Bears' 19, and Elmer Angsman scored the winning touchdown three plays later for the Western Division title and the trip to the championship.

Final standings

W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT= Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against

Note: The NFL did not officially count tie games in the standings until 1972

Eastern Division
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
Philadelphia Eagles	9	2	1	.818	376	156
Washington Redskins	7	5	0	.583	291	287
New York Giants	4	8	0	.333	297	388
Pittsburgh Steelers	4	8	0	.333	200	243
Boston Yanks	3	9	0	.250	174	372

Western Division
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
Chicago Cardinals	11	1	0	.917	395	226
Chicago Bears	10	2	0	.833	375	151
Los Angeles Rams	6	5	1	.545	327	269
Green Bay Packers	3	9	0	.250	154	290
Detroit Lions	2	10	0	.167	200	407

NFL Championship Game

Philadelphia 7, Chi. Cardinals 0 in a blizzard at Shibe Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, December 19, 1948

References

• NFL Record and Fact Book (ISBN 1-932994-36-X)
• NFL History 1941-1950 (Last accessed December 4, 2005)
• 1948 season in details
• Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (ISBN 0-06-270174-6)