1958 Cleveland Browns season

1958 Cleveland Browns season
Head coach	Paul Brown
Home field	Cleveland Stadium
Local radio	WGAR (AM)
Results
Record	9–3–0
Division place	T-1st NFL Eastern
Playoff finish	Lost Eastern Conference Playoffs

The 1958 Cleveland Browns season was the team's ninth season with the National Football League.

Season summary

For the second straight year, one of their rivals had gotten revenge for something that had happened earlier in the decade.

After the Detroit Lions whipped the Browns 59–14 in the 1957 NFL Championship Game to atone for the 56–10 pounding they had absorbed from Cleveland in the title contest three years earlier, the 1958 New York Giants took their turn. The Giants shut out the Browns 10–0 in a special playoff game at Yankee Stadium to determine the Eastern Conference champion. The last time the two teams met in such a special playoff contest was 1950, when Cleveland edged New York 8–3 to win the title in the American Conference, the forerunner of the Eastern Conference, and advance to the league championship game.

As was the case in 1950, the 1958 Giants also beat Cleveland twice during the regular season, 21–17 and 13–10, as the teams tied for first with a 9–3 record. The Browns went into the latter game at 9–2, needing only a victory to clinch the division crown, and led 7–0 early in the first quarter and 10–3 in the fourth quarter. But Pat Summerall – yes, that Pat Summerall – kicked a 49-yard field goal in a snowstorm to provide the win even though he made barely 50 percent (12-of-23) of his attempts during the regular season. Then in the playoff, Summerall added a 26-yard field goal in a game highlighted by the fact the Giants held Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown to a career-low eight yards rushing on seven carries, and limited the Browns to just 86 yards of total offense.

The Giants went on to lose 23–17 to the Baltimore Colts in overtime in the league championship contest, later dubbed "The Greatest Game Ever Played."

Aside from the Giants, the only team to beat the Browns in 1958 were the Lions, who gained a 30–10 decision midway through the year.

Exhibition Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	August 16, 1958	vs. Pittsburgh Steelers at Akron	W 10–0	27,202
2	August 22, 1958	at Detroit Lions	L 17–7	36,662
3	August 29, 1958	at Los Angeles Rams	W 13–10	41,387
4	September 7, 1958	at San Francisco 49ers	L 21–16	31,339
5	September 12, 1958	at Chicago Bears	L 42–31	52,669
6	September 20, 1958	Detroit Lions	W 41–7	35,343

Regular Season Schedule

• Tommy O’Connell was the first MVP to be cut from a team before the start of the following season.^[1]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 28, 1958	at Los Angeles Rams	W 30–27	69,993
2	October 5, 1958	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W 45–12	31,130
3	October 12, 1958	Chicago Cardinals	W 35–28	65,403
4	October 19, 1958	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 27–10	66,852
5	October 26, 1958	at Chicago Cardinals	W 38–24	30,933
6	November 2, 1958	New York Giants	L 21–17	78,404
7	November 9, 1958	Detroit Lions	L 30–10	75,563
8	November 16, 1958	at Washington Redskins	W 20–10	32,372
9	November 23, 1958	Philadelphia Eagles	W 28–14	51,319
10	November 30, 1958	Washington Redskins	W 21–14	33,240
11	December 7, 1958	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 21–14	36,773
12	December 14, 1958	at New York Giants	L 13–10	63,192

Playoffs

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
Divisional	December 21, 1958	at New York Giants	L 10–0	61,174

Standings

NFL Eastern Conference
	W	L	T	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STK
New York Giants	9	3	0	.750	7–3	246	183	W4
Cleveland Browns	9	3	0	.750	8–2	302	217	L1
Pittsburgh Steelers	7	4	1	.636	6–3–1	261	230	W1
Washington Redskins	4	7	1	.364	3–6–1	214	268	W1
Chicago Cardinals	2	9	1	.182	2–7–1	261	356	L6
Philadelphia Eagles	2	9	1	.182	2–7–1	235	306	L4

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

References

1. Giants Among Men, Jack Cavanaugh, p.133, 2008, Random House, ISBN 978-1-4000-6717-6

Sources

• Season summary and statistics at Cleveland Browns.com