The 1957 NFL season was the 38th regular season

Regular season (NFL)

The National Football League regular season begins the weekend after Labor Day. Each team plays 16 games during a 17-week period. Traditionally, the majority of each week's games are played on Sunday afternoon, with weekly games on Sunday night and Monday night, and occasional games on Thursday...

 of the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

. The season ended when the Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...

 crushed the Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 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.
• Home teams wore dark jersey and road team wore white. Previously, NFL teams were allowed to wear whatever uniform color they liked, even if it clashed with the other team, and were not required to have a white jersey.

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 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." . Detroit and San Francisco both won, but the Colts lost, so the additional playoff never took place.

Week	WESTERN		EASTERN
1	3 teams (Bal, GB, LA)	1–0–0	3 teams (Cards, Cle, Pit)	1–0–0
2	BALTIMORE COLTS	2–0–0	CLEVELAND BROWNS	2–0–0
3	BALTIMORE COLTS	3–0–0	CLEVELAND BROWNS	3–0–0
4	Tie (Bal, Det, SF)	3–1–0	Tie (Cle, NYG)	3–1–0
5	SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS	4–1–0	CLEVELAND BROWNS	4–1–0
6	SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS	5–1–0	CLEVELAND BROWNS	5–1–0
7	SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS	5–2–0	CLEVELAND BROWNS	6–1–0
8	Tie (Bal, Det, SF)	5–3–0	CLEVELAND BROWNS	6–1–1
9	BALTIMORE COLTS	6–3–0	CLEVELAND BROWNS	7–1–1
10	BALTIMORE COLTS	7–3–0	CLEVELAND BROWNS	8–1–1
11	Tie (Bal, Det, SF)	7–4–0	CLEVELAND BROWNS	8–2–1
12	Tie (Det, SF)	8–4–0	CLEVELAND BROWNS	9–2–1

Final standings

W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT= Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against

Note: The NFL did not officially count tie games in the standings until 1972

Playoffs

See: 1957 NFL playoffs

Home team in capitals

Western Conference Playoff Game

• Detroit 31, SAN FRANCISCO 27

NFL Championship Game

• DETROIT 59, Cleveland 14

Awards

Most Valuable Player NFL Most Valuable Player Award The National Football League Most Valuable Player Award is given by various entities, most notably the Associated Press , to the player who is considered most valuable in the league. When the award is referred to without mentioning the organization, it generally means the AP award. The AP NFL MVP...

Jim Brown Jim Brown James Nathaniel "Jim" Brown is an American former professional football player who has also made his mark as an actor. He is best known for his exceptional and record-setting nine-year career as a running back for the NFL Cleveland Browns from 1957 to 1965. In 2002, he was named by Sporting News... , Running Back Running back A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running... , Cleveland

Coach of the Year NFL Coach of the Year Award The National Football League Coach of the Year Award is presented annually by various news and sports organizations to the NFL head coach who has done the most outstanding job of working with the talent he has at his disposal. Currently, the most widely recognized award is presented by the...

George Wilson George Wilson (football coach) George Wilson was a professional football end and later a coach for the National Football League's Detroit Lions and the American Football League's Miami Dolphins.... , Lions