1957 Detroit Lions season

1957 Detroit Lions season
Head coach	George Wilson
Home field	Briggs Stadium
Results
Record	8–4
Division place	1st NFL Western (playoff)
Playoff finish	Won Conference Playoff (at 49ers) 31–27 Won NFL Championship (vs. Browns) 59–14
← 1956 Lions seasons 1958 →

The 1957 Detroit Lions season was the franchise's 28th season in the National Football League (NFL) and their 24th as the Detroit Lions. The Lions won their fourth and most recent NFL championship.^[1][2][3][4]

In the penultimate regular season game with the Cleveland Browns on December 8, hall of fame quarterback Bobby Layne was lost for the season with a broken right ankle. With backup Tobin Rote in at quarterback in the second quarter,^[5] the Lions won that game and overcame a ten-point deficit at halftime the following week to defeat the Chicago Bears 21–13, whom they had lost to three weeks earlier at home.^[6] 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 the Green Bay Packers, whom they swept.

Detroit tied with the San Francisco 49ers (8–4) for the conference title, which required a tiebreaker playoff game. Played at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco on December 22, the 49ers entered the game as three point favorites.^[7] Down by twenty points in the third quarter, Detroit rallied with a 24–0 run to win 31–27.^[8]

The Lions were home underdogs for next week the NFL championship game on against Cleveland.^[9] Played on December 29 at Briggs Stadium in Detroit, the Lions led 17–0 after the first quarter and won in a rout, 59–14.^[1][2][3][4] Through the 2020 season, the Lions have yet to win, or even return to, another NFL title game (including the Super Bowl), an absence of more than sixty years. It is the fourth-longest drought in all four major sports, and the second-longest in the NFL, behind the Arizona Cardinals (1947, when the team was still based in Chicago), although the Cardinals, unlike the Lions, have subsequently appeared in the Super Bowl.

Schedule[]

Regular season[]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Attendance
1	September 29	at Baltimore Colts	L 14–34	0–1	40,112
2	October 6	at Green Bay Packers	W 24–14	1–1	32,132
3	October 13	Los Angeles Rams	W 10–7	2–1	55,914
4	October 20	Baltimore Colts	W 31–27	3–1	55,764
5	October 27	at Los Angeles Rams	L 17–35	3–2	77,314
6	November 3	at San Francisco 49ers	L 31–35	3–3	59,702
7	November 10	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 27–16	4–3	29,302
8	November 17	San Francisco 49ers	W 31–10	5–3	56,915
9	November 24	Chicago Bears	L 7–27	5–4	55,769
10	November 28	Green Bay Packers	W 18–6	6–4	54,301
11	December 8	Cleveland Browns	W 20–7	7–4	55,814
12	December 15	at Chicago Bears	W 21–13	8–4	41,088

• Thursday (November 28: Thanksgiving)^[10]

Playoffs[]

Round	Date	Opponent	Result	Venue	Attendance
Conference	December 22	at San Francisco 49ers	W 31–27	Kezar Stadium	60,118
Championship	December 29	Cleveland Browns	W 59–14	Briggs Stadium	55,263

Standings[]

NFL Western Conference
view talk	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

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

Roster[]

Detroit Lions 1957 roster
Quarterbacks 22 Bobby Layne 18 Tobin Rote 15 Jerry Reichow WR Running Backs 26 Gene Gedman 42 Marv Brown 40 Hopalong Cassady WR 35 John Henry Johnson FB 30 Tom Tracy FB Wide Receivers 83 Jim Doran 87 Dorne Dibble 84 Dave Middleton Tight Ends 82 Leon Hart FB 88 Steve Junker		Offensive Linemen 76 Lou Creekmur T 66 Harley Sewell G 52 Frank Gatski C 67 Stan Campbell G 75 John Gordy G 50 Charlie Ane T 73 Ken Russell T Defensive Linemen 78 Darris McCord DE 79 DE 85 Gene Cronin DE/G 70 Ray Krouse DT 74 Bob Miller DT 72 Gil Mains DT		Linebackers 86 Robert Long OLB 47 Jim Martin OLB 56 Joe Schmidt MLB 57 Roger Zatkoff OLB Defensive Backs 24 Jack Christiansen CB 25 James David CB 41 Terry Barr CB 43 Gary Lowe CB 28 Yale Lary FS 44 FS/FB 21 Carl Karilivacz SS Special Teams 22 Bobby Layne K (PAT) 47 Jim Martin K (field goals) 28 Yale Lary P		Reserve Lists 85 Sonny Gandee DE/LB Currently vacant Rookies in italics

Season summary[]

Between the 1956 and 1957 seasons, the Lions hired George Wilson as their new head coach.

Pre-season[]

Week 1: at Baltimore[]

1 2 3 4 Total Detroit 7 0 0 7 14 • Baltimore 7 17 10 0 34 Date: September 29 Location: Memorial Stadium, Baltimore Game attendance: 40,112

On September 29, the Lions opened their 1957 regular-season schedule with a 34-14 loss to the Baltimore Colts in Baltimore. The Colts were led by Johnny Unitas who threw four touchdown passes and the Baltimore defense that held the Lions to 23 rushing yards and intercepted three of Bobby Layne's passes. Detroit's touchdowns were scored by Howard Cassady (a short run for his first NFL touchdown) and Jerry Reichow on a 32-yard pass from backup quarterback Tobin Rote.^[11]

Week 2: at Green Bay Packers[]

Week 3: Los Angeles Rams[]

1 2 3 4 Total Rams 0 7 0 0 7 • Lions 0 10 0 0 10 Date: October 13 Location: Briggs Stadium, Detroit Game attendance: 55,764

Scoring summary Q2 LA Arnett 12 yard pass from Van Brocklin (Cothren kick) LA 7–0 Q2 DET Reichow 16 yard pass from Rote (Layne kick) Tie 7–7 Q2 DET Layne 25 yard field goal DET 10–7

^[12]

Week 4: Baltimore Colts[]

1 2 3 4 Total Colts 7 14 6 0 27 • Lions 0 3 7 21 31 Date: October 20 Location: Briggs Stadium, Detroit Game attendance: 55,764

Scoring summary Q1 BAL Mutscheller 15 yard pass from Unitas (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 from Rote (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

^[13]

Playoffs vs. San Francisco[]

1 2 3 4 Total • Detroit 0 7 14 10 31 San Francisco 14 10 3 0 27 Date: December 22 Location: Kezar Stadium, San Francisco Game attendance: 60,118

On December 22, the Lions defeated the San 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, as Y. 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 by Steve Junker on a four-yard pass from Tobin Rote, two runs by Tom Tracy (1-yard and 58-yard runs), and Gene Gedman on a two-yard run.^[14]

NFL Championship Game[]

1 2 3 4 Total Cleveland 0 7 7 0 14 • Detroit 17 14 14 14 59 Date: December 29 Location: Briggs Stadium, Detroit Game attendance: 55,263

On December 29, the Lions defeated the Cleveland Browns 59–14 in the NFL championship game. The Browns had been favored to win by three points. Tobin Rote, filling in at quarterback after Bobby Layne broke his ankle on December 8,^[5] 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.^[15] The Lions capitalized on five interceptions and two fumble recoveries, including a 19-yard interception return for touchdown by Terry Barr, and held Cleveland star rookie Jim Brown to 69 rushing yards on 20 carries.^[15][16]

The longest pay of the game was a 78-yard touchdown pass from Rote to Jim Doran. Rookie Steve 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.^[16] 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 defeat of the Lions in the 1954 NFL Championship Game.^[15]

References[]

• Detroit Lions on Pro Football Reference
• Detroit Lions on jt-sw.com