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.

Contents 1 Major rule changes 2 Conference races 3 Final standings 4 Playoffs 5 References

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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." ^[1]. 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

[edit] 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

[edit] Playoffs

Home team in capitals

Western Conference Playoff Game

• Detroit 31, SAN FRANCISCO 27

NFL Championship Game

• DETROIT 59, Cleveland 14

[edit] 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)

1957 NFL Season v • d • e
Eastern Conference	Western Conference
Chicago Cardinals	Baltimore
Cleveland	Chicago Bears
New York	Detroit
Philadelphia	Green Bay
Pittsburgh	Los Angeles
Washington	San Francisco
1957 NFL Draft • NFL Championship • Pro Bowl

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