1957 NFL season

1957 National Football League season
Regular season
Duration
East Champions	Cleveland Browns
West Champions	Detroit Lions
Championship Game
Champions	Detroit Lions
National Football League seasons  < 1956 1958 >

The 1957 NFL season was the 38th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended when the Detroit Lions crushed the Cleveland Browns in the NFL Championship Game, 59–14.

Major rule changes

• During sudden-death overtime, rules for time outs are the same as in a regular game, including the last two minutes of the second and fourth quarters.
• Home teams wore dark jersey and road team wore white. Previously, NFL teams were allowed to wear whatever uniform color they liked, even if it clashed with the other team, and were not required to have a white jersey.

Conference races

Cleveland won its opener, 6–3 over the Giants, and led the Eastern Conference from wire to wire. A 17–7 loss to the Eagles in Week Four forced the Browns to share the lead with New York, but the Giants lost the following week, and spent the rest of the season trying to catch Cleveland.

The Western Conference race was more protracted. Baltimore, Detroit and San Francisco were tied for the lead several times, and had identical 7–4 records at the end of the penultimate week. When two teams tied for first place, they would meet in a one-game playoff. The NFL did have a provision for that: "If all three teams win, tie, or lose, then a two-week playoff series begins next Sunday with Baltimore drawing a bye, San Francisco playing Detroit, and the winner meeting the Colts at Baltimore Dec. 29." . Detroit and San Francisco both won, but the Colts lost, so the additional playoff never took place.

Week	WESTERN		EASTERN
1	3 teams (Bal, GB, LA)	1-0-0	3 teams (Cards, Cle, Pit)	1-0-0
2	BALTIMORE COLTS	2-0-0	CLEVELAND BROWNS	2-0-0
3	BALTIMORE COLTS	3-0-0	CLEVELAND BROWNS	3-0-0
4	Tie (Bal, Det, SF)	3-1-0	Tie (Cle, NYG)	3-1-0
5	SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS	4-1-0	CLEVELAND BROWNS	4-1-0
6	SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS	5-1-0	CLEVELAND BROWNS	5-1-0
7	SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS	5-2-0	CLEVELAND BROWNS	6-1-0
8	Tie (Bal, Det, SF)	5-3-0	CLEVELAND BROWNS	6-1-1
9	BALTIMORE COLTS	6-3-0	CLEVELAND BROWNS	7-1-1
10	BALTIMORE COLTS	7-3-0	CLEVELAND BROWNS	8-1-1
11	Tie (Bal, Det, SF)	7-4-0	CLEVELAND BROWNS	8-2-1
12	Tie (Det, SF)	8-4-0	CLEVELAND BROWNS	9-2-1

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	9	2	1	.818	269	172
New York Giants	7	5	0	.583	254	211
Pittsburgh Steelers	6	6	0	.500	161	178
Washington Redskins	5	6	1	.455	251	230
Philadelphia Eagles	4	8	0	.333	173	230
Chicago Cardinals	3	9	0	.250	200	299

Western Conference
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
Detroit Lions	8	4	0	.667	251	231
San Francisco 49ers	8	4	0	.667	260	264
Baltimore Colts	7	5	0	.583	303	235
Los Angeles Rams	6	6	0	.500	307	278
Chicago Bears	5	7	0	.417	203	211
Green Bay Packers	3	9	0	.250	218	311

Playoffs

See: 1957 NFL playoffs

Home team in capitals

Western Conference Playoff Game

• Detroit 31, SAN FRANCISCO 27

NFL Championship Game

• DETROIT 59, Cleveland 14

Awards

Most Valuable Player	Jim Brown, Running Back, Cleveland
Coach of the Year	George Wilson, Lions

References

• NFL Record and Fact Book (ISBN 1-932994-36-X)
• NFL History 1951-1960 (Last accessed December 4, 2005)
• 1957 season in details
• Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (ISBN 0-06-270174-6)