1953 NFL season

1953 National Football League season
Regular season
Duration
East Champions	Cleveland Browns
West Champions	Detroit Lions
Championship Game
Champions	Detroit Lions
National Football League seasons  < 1952 1954 >

The 1953 NFL season was the 34th regular season of the National Football League. The names of the American and National conferences were changed to the Eastern and Western conferences.

Meanwhile, a Baltimore, Maryland group headed by Carroll Rosenbloom was granted an NFL team, and was awarded the holdings of the defunct Dallas Texans organization. The new team was named the Colts after the previous team that folded after the 1950 NFL season.

The season ended when the Detroit Lions defeated the Cleveland Browns in the NFL Championship Game for the second year in a row.

Major rule changes

• The definition of illegal motion is clarified. A player must be moving directly forward at the snap to be considered illegally in motion.

Conference races

For 1953, the former American and National Conferences were renamed the Eastern and Western Conferences, respectively. The Western race saw the Rams beat the Lions twice, in Detroit (October 18) and in L.A. (November 1), and at the midway point in Week Six, the Rams were a full game ahead in the race. In Week Seven (November 8), the 49ers beat the Rams 31-27, and the Lions won their game, to put all three teams at 5-2-0. In Week Eight, the Lions beat Green Bay 14-7, while the Rams were tied 24-24 by the Cards, and the 49ers lost 23-21 to the Browns. As both teams won their remaining games, San Francisco was always a game behind Detroit.

In the Eastern, the Cleveland Browns won their first eleven games and led wire-to-wire, clinching a playoff spot by week 10. The Browns' shot at a 12-0-0 season was spoiled by a 42-27 loss on the last day, December 13, and spoiled even more by the championship game against the Lions.

Week	WESTERN		EASTERN
1	4 teams (Bal., Det, LA, SF)	1-0-0	Tie (Cle, Was)	1-0-0
2	Tie (Det, SF)	2-0-0	CLEVELAND BROWNS	2-0-0
3	DETROIT LIONS	3-0-0	CLEVELAND BROWNS	3-0-0
4	3 teams (Det, LA, SF)	3-1-0	CLEVELAND BROWNS	4-0-0
5	Tie (Det, LA)	4-1-0	CLEVELAND BROWNS	5-0-0
6	LOS ANGELES RAMS	5-1-0	CLEVELAND BROWNS	6-0-0
7	3 teams (Det, LA, SF)	5-2-0	CLEVELAND BROWNS	7-0-0
8	DETROIT LIONS	6-2-0	CLEVELAND BROWNS	8-0-0
9	DETROIT LIONS	7-2-0	CLEVELAND BROWNS	9-0-0
10	DETROIT LIONS	8-2-0	CLEVELAND BROWNS	10-0-0
11	DETROIT LIONS	9-2-0	CLEVELAND BROWNS	11-0-0
12	DETROIT LIONS	10-2-0	CLEVELAND BROWNS	11-1-0

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 Conference
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
Cleveland Browns	11	1	0	.917	348	162
Philadelphia Eagles	7	4	1	.636	352	215
Washington Redskins	6	5	1	.545	208	215
Pittsburgh Steelers	6	6	0	.500	211	263
New York Giants	3	9	0	.250	179	277
Chicago Cardinals	1	10	1	.091	190	337

Western Conference
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
Detroit Lions	10	2	0	.833	271	205
San Francisco 49ers	9	3	0	.750	372	237
Los Angeles Rams	8	3	1	.727	366	236
Chicago Bears	3	8	1	.273	218	262
Baltimore Colts	3	9	0	.250	182	350
Green Bay Packers	2	9	1	.182	200	338

NFL Championship Game

Detroit 17, Cleveland 16 at Briggs Stadium, Detroit, Michigan, December 27, 1953

References

• NFL Record and Fact Book (ISBN 1-932994-36-X)
• NFL History 1951-1960 (Last accessed December 4, 2005)
• 1953 season in details
• Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (ISBN 0-06-270174-6)