1957 NFL season

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.

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 7-4-0 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." [ "Western NFL Championship At Stake Today," "The Post-Standard" (Syracuse), Dec. 15, 1957, p34 ] . Detroit and San Francisco both won, but the Colts lost, so the additional playoff never took place.