1957 Cleveland Browns season

The 1957 Cleveland Browns season was the team's eighth season with the National Football League. They were 9–2–1 in the regular season and won the Eastern Conference title, but lost the championship game to the Detroit Lions, 59–14.[1][2][3][4]

1957 Cleveland Browns season
Head coachPaul Brown
Home fieldCleveland Stadium
Local radioWGAR
Results
Record9–2–1
Division place1st NFL Eastern
Playoff finishLost NFL Championship (at Lions) 59–14

Season summary

The Browns missed the playoffs the previous season, ending ten straight years of league championship game appearances. The Browns came storming back in 1957 to finish 9–2–1 and win the Eastern Conference title by a relatively healthy margin over the defending world champion New York Giants (7–5). The Browns took care of business against the Giants, "bookending," as it were, their arch rivals. They beat New York 6–3 in the season opener and then edged them again 34–28 in the finale. The Browns also posted two shutouts on the year, 24–0 over the Pittsburgh Steelers and 31–0 over the Chicago Cardinals.

The Eastern foe the Browns had the most trouble with was fourth-place Washington (5–6–1). Cleveland edged the Redskins 21–17 and then had to settle for a 30–30 tie in the rematch. The Browns fell to Detroit 20–7, making them 0–3 against the Lions in the regular season since joining the NFL in 1950.

Although they had a rookie All-American running back out of Syracuse by the name of Jim Brown, the Browns were by no means an offensive juggernaut overall. The future Hall of Famer was outstanding, rushing for 942 yards and nine TDs, but he was the only real standout that year. Tommy O'Connell, who had taken over for retired Hall of Famer Otto Graham in 1956 and was the quarterback during the 5–7 finish that year, had the job for most of the way in 1957 as well. He and rookie Milt Plum combined for just 1,873 yards passing 12 touchdowns with 14 interceptions.

Schedule
Main article: 1957 NFL season

Exhibition
Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
1 August 14 at Detroit Lions L 20–10
40,150
2 August 24 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers at Akron W 28–13
26,669
3 September 1 at San Francisco 49ers L 21–17
32,840
4 September 6 at Los Angeles Rams L 20–14
45,011
5 September 14 Detroit Lions W 23–7
34,369
6 September 20 at Chicago Bears L 29–3
47,354

Regular season
Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
1 September 29 New York Giants W 6–3
58,095
2 October 5 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 23–12
35,570
3 October 13 Philadelphia Eagles W 24–7
53,493
4 October 20 at Philadelphia Eagles L 17–7
22,443
5 October 27 at Chicago Cardinals W 17–7
26,341
6 November 3 Washington Redskins W 21–17
52,936
7 November 10 Pittsburgh Steelers W 24–0
53,709
8 November 17 at Washington Redskins T 30–30
27,722
9 November 24 Los Angeles Rams W 45–31
65,407
10 December 1 Chicago Cardinals W 31–0
40,525
11 December 8 at Detroit Lions L 20–7
55,814
12 December 15 at New York Giants W 34–28
54,294

Playoffs
Main article: 1957 NFL playoffs
Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
Championship December 29 at Detroit Lions L 59–14
55,263

Standings
NFL Eastern Conference
W L T PCT CONF PF PA STK
Cleveland Browns 9 2 1 .818 8–1–1 269 172 W1
New York Giants 7 5 0 .583 6–4 254 211 L3
Pittsburgh Steelers 6 6 0 .500 5–5 161 178 W1
Washington Redskins 5 6 1 .455 4–5–1 251 230 W3
Philadelphia Eagles 4 8 0 .333 4–6 173 230 L2
Chicago Cardinals 3 9 0 .250 2–8 200 299 L1

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Postseason

NFL Championship Game
Main article: 1957 NFL Championship Game
1 2 3 4 Total
Browns 0 7 7 0 14
Lions 17 14 14 14 59

Scoring

  • DET – FG Martin 31
  • DET – Rote 1-yard run (Martin kick)
  • DET – Gedman 1-yard run (Martin kick)
  • CLE – Brown 29-yard run (Groza kick)
  • DET – Junker 26-yard pass from Rote (Martin kick)
  • DET – Barr 19-yard interception (Martin kick)
  • CLE – Carpenter 5-yard run (Groza kick)
  • DET – Doran 78-yard pass from Rote (Martin kick)
  • DET – Junker 23-yard pass from Rote (Martin kick)
  • DET – Middleton 32-yard pass from Rote (Martin kick)
  • DET Cassady-yard pass from Reichow (Martin kick)

Awards and records
  • Jim Brown, NFL Rushing Leader, 942 yards
  • Tommy O’Connell, NFL Leader, Passing Yards, (1,229)

Milestones
  • Jim Brown, First Rushing Title

References
  1. Johnson, Chuck (December 30, 1957). "Rote's passes, play calling smash Cleveland, 59 to 14". Milwaukee Journal. p. 7, part 2.
  2. Sell, Jack (December 30, 1957). "Lions crush Browns, 59 to 14, to win title". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 18.
  3. Jones, Eddie T. (December 30, 1957). "Browns show off collapsing defense". Toledo Blade. Ohio. p. 11.
  4. Maule, Tex (January 6, 1958). "All hail the lusty Lions". Sports Illustrated. p. 8.
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