| Regular season | |
|---|---|
| Duration | September 17 – December 31, 1961 |
| East Champions | New York Giants |
| West Champions | Green Bay Packers |
| Championship Game | |
| Champions | Green Bay Packers |
The1961 NFL season was the 42ndregular season of theNational Football League (NFL). The league expanded to 14 teams with the addition of theMinnesota Vikings, after the team's founders declined to be charter members of the newAmerican Football League. The schedule was also expanded from 12 games per team to 14 games per team where it would stay for 17 years. The Vikings were placed in the Western Division, and theDallas Cowboys were switched from the Western Division to the Eastern Division. The addition of the Vikings returned the NFL to an even number of teams (and eliminated the bye week of 1960 until1966 temporarily and1990 on a permanent basis).
The season ended when theGreen Bay Packers shut out theNew York Giants 37–0 in theNFL Championship Game.
The1961 NFL draft was held from December 27–28, 1960 atPhiladelphia'sWarwick Hotel. With the first pick, theMinnesota Vikings selected halfbackTommy Mason fromTulane University.
The1961 NFL expansion draft was held on January 26, 1961, with theMinnesota Vikings selecting 36 players from the other NFL teams. The one-year oldDallas Cowboys were exempted from losing a player in this expansion draft.
The new Minnesota Vikings won their first game when they upset theChicago Bears team, 37–13, on September 17, 1961.Mike Mercer made the Vikings' first points on a 12-yard field goal, andFran Tarkenton guided the team to five touchdowns. The Vikings finished at 3–11 after that good start. With 14 teams in two divisions, each NFL team now played a 14-game schedule: a home-and-away series with the other six teams in their division, and two interdivision games.
InWeek Five, the Giants and Eagles led the Eastern Division, and the Packers and 49ers led the Western, all with records of 4–1. The following week, the 49ers lost to the Bears, 31–0, while Green Bay beat Minnesota 33–7. The Giants and Eagles, both winners, remained tied in the Eastern standings at 5–1. InWeek Seven, Dallas edged the Giants 17–16, while the Eagles beat the Redskins 27–24 onSonny Jurgensen's last-quarter touchdown pass to Tommy McDonald. InWeek Nine (November 12), the Giants beat the Eagles, 38–21, to give both teams 7–2 records, while Green Bay survived a game at Chicago, 31–28, that would otherwise have tied both teams at 6–3; Green Bay led the Western race the rest of the way. InWeek Ten, New York's 42–21 win over Pittsburgh put it at 8–2, while Cleveland's 45–24 win over Philadelphia put both those teams at 7–3. InWeek 11 (December 3), New York lost 20–17 to Green Bay, while the Eagles won 35–24 at Pittsburgh, tying the race again.
The Giants and Eagles, both at 9–3, met the following week in Philadelphia (December 10). After New York trailed 10–7, CoachAllie Sherman replacedY. A. Tittle withCharlie Conerly, who at 40 was the NFL's oldest player. Conerly threw for three touchdowns for the 28–24 win. The winning score came after the Eagles were penalized for roughing the kicker on the Giants' fourth down, giving the Giants first down on the 24.[1] At season's end (December 17), the Eagles rallied to beat Detroit 27–24, and hoped for a Giants' loss to force a playoff. At that moment, New York and Cleveland were tied 7–7 with two minutes left. A long punt by the Giants' Don Chandler pinned the Browns on their own 7-yard line, and ended any threat of a loss.[2]
| Week | Western | Eastern | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 teams (Bal, Det, Min, SF) | 1–0–0 | 3 teams (Dal, Phi, St.L) | 1–0–0 |
| 2 | Detroit Lions | 2–0–0 | Tie (Dal, Phi) | 2–0–0 |
| 3 | 4 teams (Bal, Det, GB, SF) | 2–1–0 | 5 teams (Cle, Dal, NYG, Phi, StL) | 2–1–0 |
| 4 | Tie (GB, SF) | 3–1–0 | 4 teams (Cle, Dal, NYG, Phi) | 3–1–0 |
| 5 | Tie (GB, SF) | 4–1–0 | Tie (NYG, Phi) | 4–1–0 |
| 6 | Green Bay Packers | 5–1–0 | Tie (NYG, Phi) | 5–1–0 |
| 7 | Green Bay Packers | 6–1–0 | Philadelphia Eagles | 6–1–0 |
| 8 | Green Bay Packers | 6–2–0 | Philadelphia Eagles | 7–1–0 |
| 9 | Green Bay Packers | 7–2–0 | Tie (NYG, Phi) | 7–2–0 |
| 10 | Green Bay Packers | 8–2–0 | New York Giants | 8–2–0 |
| 11 | Green Bay Packers | 9–2–0 | New York Giants | 9–2–0 |
| 12 | Green Bay Packers | 10–2–0 | Tie (NYG, Phi) | 9–3–0 |
| 13 | Green Bay Packers | 10–3–0 | New York Giants | 10–3–0 |
| 14 | Green Bay Packers | 11–3–0 | New York Giants | 10–3–1 |
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Green Bay 37, New York 0 atCity Stadium,Green Bay, Wisconsin, December 31, 1961
ThePlayoff Bowl was between the division runners-up, for third place in the league. This was its second year, and it was played a week after the title game.
Most valuable player
Rookie of the year
Coach of the year
Other
