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1958 Cleveland Browns season

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1958 Cleveland Browns season
Head coachPaul Brown
Home fieldCleveland Stadium
Local radioWGAR
Results
Record9–3
Division placeT-1st Eastern
Playoff finishLost Eastern Conference Playoff
(at Giants) 0–10
The Browns team

The 1958 Cleveland Browns season was the team's ninth season with the National Football League. They were 9–3 in the regular season, tied for first in the Eastern Conference with the New York Giants,[1][2] in the tiebreaker playoff the Giants won 10–0.[3][4]

Exhibition schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
1 August 16 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers at Akron W 10–0 27,202
2 August 22 at Detroit Lions L 17–7 36,662
3 August 29 at Los Angeles Rams W 13–10 41,387
4 September 7 at San Francisco 49ers L 21–16 31,339
5 September 12 at Chicago Bears L 42–31 52,669
6 September 20 Detroit Lions W 41–7 35,343

Regular season

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  • Tommy O’Connell was the first MVP to be cut from a team before the start of the following season.[5]

Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Attendance
1 September 28 at Los Angeles Rams W 30–27 1–0 69,993
2 October 5 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 45–12 2–0 31,130
3 October 12 Chicago Cardinals W 35–28 3–0 65,403
4 October 19 Pittsburgh Steelers W 27–10 4–0 66,852
5 October 26 at Chicago Cardinals W 38–24 5–0 30,933
6 November 2 New York Giants L 17–21 5–1 78,404
7 November 9 Detroit Lions L 10–30 5–2 75,563
8 November 16 at Washington Redskins W 20–10 6–2 32,372
9 November 23 Philadelphia Eagles W 28–14 7–2 51,319
10 November 30 Washington Redskins W 21–14 8–2 33,240
11 December 7 at Philadelphia Eagles W 21–14 9–2 36,773
12 December 14 at New York Giants L 10–13 9–3 63,192

Season summary

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For the second straight year, one of their rivals had gotten revenge for something that had happened earlier in the decade.

After the Detroit Lions whipped the Browns 59–14 in the 1957 NFL Championship Game to atone for the 56–10 pounding they had absorbed from Cleveland in the title contest three years earlier, the 1958 New York Giants took their turn. The Giants shut out the Browns 10–0 in a tiebreaker playoff game at Yankee Stadium to determine the Eastern Conference champion. The last time the two teams met in such a special playoff contest was 1950, when Cleveland edged New York 8–3 to win the title in the American Conference, the forerunner of the Eastern Conference, and advance to the league championship game.

As was the case in 1950, the 1958 Giants also beat Cleveland twice during the regular season, 21–17 and 13–10, and the teams tied for first with a 9–3 record. The Browns went into the latter game at 9–2, needing a tie (or a win) to clinch the conference crown, and led 7–0 early in the first quarter and 10–3 in the fourth quarter. Future broadcaster Pat Summerall kicked a 49-yard field goal in a snowstorm to provide the win,[1][2] even though he made barely 50 percent (12-of-23) of his attempts during the regular season. Seven days later in the tiebreaker playoff, Summerall added a 26-yard field goal in a game highlighted by the fact the Giants held hall of fame running back Jim Brown to a career-low eight yards rushing on seven carries, and limited the Browns to just 86 yards of total offense.[3][4]

In the following week's NFL Championship Game at Yankee Stadium, later dubbed "The Greatest Game Ever Played," the Giants lost 23–17 in overtime to the Baltimore Colts.[6][7][8]

Aside from the three losses to the Giants, the only team to beat the Browns in 1958 were the Detroit Lions, who gained a 30–10 decision midway through the year.

Standings

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NFL Eastern Conference
W L T PCT CONF PF PA STK
New York Giants 9 3 0 .750 7–3 246 183 W4
Cleveland Browns 9 3 0 .750 8–2 302 217 L1
Pittsburgh Steelers 7 4 1 .636 6–3–1 261 230 W1
Washington Redskins 4 7 1 .364 3–6–1 214 268 W1
Chicago Cardinals 2 9 1 .182 2–7–1 261 356 L6
Philadelphia Eagles 2 9 1 .182 2–7–1 235 306 L4

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

Playoffs

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Round Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
Conference December 21 at New York Giants L 0–10 0–1 Yankee Stadium 61,174 Recap
Source:[3][4]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Giants force playoff, jolt Browns, 13-10". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. December 15, 1958. p. 26.
  2. ^ a b Schell, Jack (December 15, 1958). "Summerall's kick gives Giants 13-10 win, forces playoff with Browns". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). p. 14.
  3. ^ a b c "Giants do the 'impossible', blank Browns". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. December 22, 1958. p. 24.
  4. ^ a b c Hand, Jack (December 22, 1958). "Giants blank Browns". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. p. 2B.
  5. ^ Giants Among Men, Jack Cavanaugh, p.133, 2008, Random House, ISBN 978-1-4000-6717-6
  6. ^ "Unitas hero as Colts get 23-17 title win". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). UPI. December 29, 1958. p. 18.
  7. ^ "Colts win 23-17 in overtime". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. December 29, 1958. p. 4, part 2.
  8. ^ Maule, Tex (January 5, 1959). "The best football game ever played". Sports Illustrated. p. 8.
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