The 1957 Detroit Lions season was the franchise's 28th season in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) and their 24th as the Detroit Lions. Under first-year head coach George Wilson, the Lions won their fourth and most recent NFL title. In the penultimate regular season game with the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

on December 8,

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quarterback

Bobby Layne Robert Lawrence Layne (December 19, 1926 – December 1, 1986) was an American football quarterback who played for 15 seasons in the National Football League. He played for the Chicago Bears in 1948, the New York Bulldogs in 1949, the Detroit ...

was lost for the season with a broken right ankle. With backup

Tobin Rote Tobin Cornelius Rote (January 18, 1928 – June 27, 2000) was an American football player who played quarterback for the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL), the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football Le ...

in at quarterback in the second quarter, the Lions won that game and overcame a ten-point deficit at halftime the following week to defeat the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

21–13, whom they had lost to three weeks earlier at home. 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 The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

, whom they swept. Detroit tied with the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

(8–4) for the conference title, which required a tiebreaker playoff game. Played at

Kezar Stadium Kezar Stadium is an outdoor athletics stadium in San Francisco, California, located adjacent to Kezar Pavilion in the southeastern corner of Golden Gate Park. It is the former home of the San Francisco 49ers and the Oakland Raiders (first AFL s ...

in San Francisco on December 22, the 49ers entered the game as three point favorites. Down by twenty points in the third quarter, Detroit rallied with a 24–0 run to win 31–27. This also marks the last time the Lions have won a playoff game away from home; they are 0-11 on the road in NFL postseason games since. The Lions were home

underdogs An underdog is a person or group in a competition, usually in sports and creative works, who is largely expected to lose. The party, team, or individual expected to win is called the favorite or top dog. In the case where an underdog wins, the ...

for next week the

NFL championship game Throughout its history, the National Football League (NFL) and other rival American football leagues have used several different formats to determine their league champions, including a period of inter-league matchups to determine a true national c ...

on against Cleveland. Played on December 29 at

Briggs Stadium Tiger Stadium, previously known as Navin Field and Briggs Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium located in the Corktown neighborhood of Detroit. The stadium was nicknamed "The Corner" for its location at the intersection of Michigan and Trumbul ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, the Lions led 17–0 after the first quarter and won in a rout, 59–14. Through the

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season, the Lions have yet to win, or even return to, another NFL title game (including the

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...

), 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 The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

( 1947, when the team was still based in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

), although the Cardinals, unlike the Lions, have subsequently appeared in the

Schedule

Regular season

* Thursday (November 28:

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)

Playoffs

Standings

Roster

Season summary

At the "Meet the Lions" banquet on Monday, August 12, seventh-year head coach

Buddy Parker Raymond Klein "Buddy" Parker (December 16, 1913 – March 22, 1982) was an American football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL), who served as head coach for the Chicago Cardinals, Detroit Lions, and Pittsburgh Steelers. Park ...

surprised the audience by abruptly announcing his resignation; longtime assistant coach George Wilson was promoted the following day. Two weeks later, Parker became the head coach of the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

Pre-season

Week 1: at Baltimore

The Lions opened the regular season on the road with a 34–14 loss to the Baltimore Colts on September 29. Quarterback

Johnny Unitas John Constantine Unitas (; May 7, 1933 – September 11, 2002) was an American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Baltimore Colts. Following a career that spanned from 1956 ...

threw four touchdown passes while the Baltimore defense held the Lions to 23 rushing yards and intercepted

three times. Detroit's touchdowns were scored by

Howard Cassady Howard Albert "Hopalong" Cassady (March 2, 1934 – September 20, 2019) was an American professional football player who was a halfback and split end. He won the Heisman Trophy in 1955, and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame ...

(a short run for his first NFL touchdown) and

Jerry Reichow Garet Neal Reichow (born May 19, 1934) is a former professional American football player. A , 220 lb tight end from the University of Iowa, Reichow was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the fourth round of the 1956 NFL Draft. He was one of ...

on a 32-yard pass from backup quarterback

Week 2: at Green Bay Packers

Week 3: Los Angeles Rams

Week 4: Baltimore Colts

Playoffs vs. San Francisco

On December 22, the Lions defeated the

, 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

, two runs by

Tom Tracy John Thomas "The Bomb" Tracy (September 7, 1934 – January 24, 1996) was an American football running back in the National Football League for the Detroit Lions, Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Washington Redskins and in the Canadian Football Leag ...

(1-yard and 58-yard runs), and Gene Gedman on a two-yard run.

NFL Championship Game

On December 29, the Lions defeated the

59–14 in the

. The Browns had been favored to win by three points.

, filling in at quarterback after

broke his ankle on December 8, 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. 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 James Nathaniel Brown (born February 17, 1936) is a former American football player, sports analyst and actor. He played as a fullback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) from 1957 through 1965. Considered to be one ...

to 69 rushing yards on 20 carries. The longest pay of the game was a 78-yard touchdown pass from Rote to

Jim Doran James Robert Doran (August 11, 1927 – June 30, 1994) was a National Football League (NFL) wide receiver for the Detroit Lions (1951–1959) and the Dallas Cowboys (1960–1961). He played college football at Iowa State University. He was ...

. 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. 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 the title game in 1954.

References

Detroit Lions on Pro Football ReferenceDetroit Lions on jt-sw.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:1957 Detroit Lions Season

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

Detroit Lions seasons National Football League championship seasons