| 1957 Detroit Lions season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Detroit Football Company |
| General manager | Nick Kerbawy |
| Head coach | George Wilson |
| Home stadium | Briggs Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 8–4 |
| Division place | 1stNFL Western (playoff) |
| Playoffs | WonConference Playoff (at49ers) 31–27 WonNFL Championship (vs.Browns) 59–14 |
| All-Pros | 5
|
| Pro Bowlers | |
The1957 season was theDetroit Lions' 28th season in theNational Football League (NFL), their 24th as the Detroit Lions, and their first under head coachGeorge Wilson. Despite dropping one more game than the previousseason, the Lions tied theSan Francisco 49ers for first place in theNFL Western Conference. In thetiebreaker game, the Lions defeated the 49ers 31–27 to advance to their fourth championship appearance of the decade. Playing as underdogs, the Lions defeated theCleveland Browns 59–14 to win their fourthNFL championship. As of the2024 season, this is the last time the Lions have appeared in an NFL title game, the second-longest drought in the NFL and fourth-longest inthe four major sports.
In the penultimate regular season game with theCleveland Browns on December 8,Hall of Fame quarterbackBobby Layne was lost for the season with a broken right ankle. With backupTobin Rote in at quarterback in the second quarter,[1] the Lions won that game and overcame a ten-point deficit at halftime the following week to defeat theChicago Bears 21–13, whom they had lost to three weeks earlier at home.[2] They ended the regular season with three consecutive wins and an 8–4 record. All four losses were within the Western Conference, splitting the two games with all but theGreen Bay Packers, whom they swept.
According to the team, a total of 39,844 season tickets were sold by the Lions for the 1957 campaign.[3] The Lions played their home games inBriggs Stadium (Tiger Stadium), which had a regular listed seating capacity of 46,194, with an additional 7,000 bleacher seats for football to bring total capacity to 53,194.[3]
| Game | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Sources | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 29 | atBaltimore Colts | L 14–34 | 0–1 | Memorial Stadium | 40,112 | [4] | ||
| 2 | October 6 | atGreen Bay Packers | W 24–14 | 1–1 | New City Stadium | 32,132 | [5] | ||
| 3 | October 13 | Los Angeles Rams | W 10–7 | 2–1 | Briggs Stadium | 55,764 | [6] | ||
| 4 | October 20 | Baltimore Colts | W 31–27 | 3–1 | Briggs Stadium | 55,764 | [7] | ||
| 5 | October 27 | atLos Angeles Rams | L 17–35 | 3–2 | L.A. Memorial Coliseum | 77,314 | [8] | ||
| 6 | November 3 | atSan Francisco 49ers | L 31–35 | 3–3 | Kezar Stadium | 59,702 | [9] | ||
| 7 | November 10 | atPhiladelphia Eagles | W 27–16 | 4–3 | Connie Mack Stadium | 29,320 | [10] | ||
| 8 | November 17 | San Francisco 49ers | W 31–10 | 5–3 | Briggs Stadium | 56,915 | [11] | ||
| 9 | November 24 | Chicago Bears | L 7–27 | 5–4 | Briggs Stadium | 55,769 | [12] | ||
| 10 | November 28 | Green Bay Packers | W 18–6 | 6–4 | Briggs Stadium | 54,301 | [13] | ||
| 11 | December 8 | Cleveland Browns | W 20–7 | 7–4 | Briggs Stadium | 55,814 | [14] | ||
| 12 | December 15 | atChicago Bears | W 21–13 | 8–4 | Wrigley Field | 41,088 | [15] | ||
| Note: Intra-conference opponents are inbold text. | |||||||||
| Game | Date | Opponent | Result | Venue | Attendance | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conference | December 22 | at San Francisco 49ers | W 31–27 | Kezar Stadium | 60,118 | [17] |
| Championship | December 29 | Cleveland Browns | W 59–14 | Briggs Stadium | 55,263 | [18] |
| NFL Western Conference | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | CONF | PF | PA | STK | ||
| Detroit Lions | 8 | 4 | 0 | .667 | 6–4 | 251 | 231 | W3 | |
| San Francisco 49ers | 8 | 4 | 0 | .667 | 7–3 | 260 | 264 | W3 | |
| Baltimore Colts | 7 | 5 | 0 | .583 | 6–4 | 303 | 235 | L2 | |
| Los Angeles Rams | 6 | 6 | 0 | .500 | 5–5 | 307 | 278 | W2 | |
| Chicago Bears | 5 | 7 | 0 | .417 | 4–6 | 203 | 211 | L1 | |
| Green Bay Packers | 3 | 9 | 0 | .250 | 2–8 | 218 | 311 | L3 | |
| Detroit Lions 1957 roster | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quarterbacks
Running backs Receivers | Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
| Linebackers
Defensive backs
| Reserve lists
rookies in italics | |||
At the "Meet the Lions" banquet on Monday, August 12, seventh-year head coachBuddy Parker surprised the audience by abruptly announcing his resignation;[19][20] longtime assistant coachGeorge Wilson was promoted the following day.[21][22] Two weeks later, Parker became the head coach of thePittsburgh Steelers.[23][24]
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| •Baltimore | 7 | 17 | 10 | 0 | 34 |
The Lions opened the regular season on the road with a 34–14 loss to theBaltimore Colts on September 29. QuarterbackJohnny Unitas threw four touchdown passes while the Baltimore defense held the Lions to 23 rushing yards and interceptedBobby Layne three times. Detroit's touchdowns were scored byHoward Cassady (a short run for his first NFL touchdown) andJerry Reichow on a 32-yard pass from backup quarterbackTobin Rote.[25]
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lions | 14 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 24 |
| Packers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 14 |
atNew City Stadium,Green Bay, Wisconsin
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rams | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| • Lions | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Q2 | LA | Arnett 12 yard pass fromVan Brocklin (Cothren kick) | LA 7–0 | |
| Q2 | DET | Reichow 16 yard pass fromRote (Layne kick) | Tie 7–7 | |
| Q2 | DET | Layne 25 yard field goal | DET 10–7 | |
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colts | 7 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 27 |
| • Lions | 0 | 3 | 7 | 21 | 31 |
| Q1 | BAL | Mutscheller 15 yard pass fromUnitas (Rechichar kick) | BAL 7–0 | |
| Q2 | DET | Martin 47 yard field goal | BAL 7–3 | |
| Q2 | BAL | Moore 72 yard pass from Unitas (Rechichar kick) | BAL 14–3 | |
| Q2 | BAL | Mutscheller 66 yard pass from Unitas (Rechichar kick) | BAL 21–3 | |
| Q3 | BAL | Moore 4 yard pass from Unitas (kick failed) | BAL 27–3 | |
| Q3 | DET | Junker 14 yard pass fromRote (Layne kick) | BAL 27–10 | |
| Q4 | DET | Cassady 26 yard pass from Layne (Layne kick) | BAL 27–17 | |
| Q4 | DET | Johnson 1 yard run (Layne kick) | BAL 27–24 | |
| Q4 | DET | Cassady 29 yard pass from Layne (Layne kick) | DET 31–27 | |
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| •Detroit | 0 | 7 | 14 | 10 | 31 |
| San Francisco | 14 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 27 |
On December 22, the Lions defeated theSan Francisco 49ers, 31–27, in a Western Conference playoff game. The two teams had finished the regular season tied in the standings at 8–4, which called for a tiebreaker game.
The 49ers took a 24–7 lead at halftime, asY. A. Tittle threw three touchdown passes in the first half. A field goal early in the third quarter extended the lead to 27–7, then the Lions responded with 24 unanswered points. Detroit's touchdowns were scored bySteve Junker on a four-yard pass fromTobin Rote, two runs byTom Tracy (1-yard and 58-yard runs), andGene Gedman on a two-yard run.[28]
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| •Detroit | 17 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 59 |
On December 29, the Lions defeated theCleveland Browns 59–14 in theNFL championship game. The Browns had been favored to win by three points.Tobin Rote, filling in at quarterback afterBobby Layne broke his ankle on December 8,[1] was credited with "a brilliant performance" as he completed 12 of 19 passes for 280 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for a touchdown, leading the Lions to their greatest point total in history.[29] The Lions capitalized on five interceptions and two fumble recoveries, including a 19-yard interception return for touchdown byTerry Barr, and held Cleveland star rookieJim Brown to 69 rushing yards on 20 carries.[29][30]
The longest play of the game was a 78-yard touchdown pass from Rote toJim Doran. RookieSteve Junker was the Lions' leading scorer with 12 points on touchdown receptions covering 26 and 23 yards.Jim Martin followed with 11 points on eight extra-point conversions and a 31-yard field goal.[30] The victory gave the Lions their third NFL championship in six years. It was also referred to as "the perfect revenge" for the Browns' 56–10 rout of the Lions in thetitle game in 1954.[29]
