| 1958 Cleveland Browns season | |
|---|---|
| Head Coach | Paul Brown |
| Home Field | Cleveland Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 9–3–0 |
| Place | T-1st NFL Eastern |
| Playoff Finish | Lost Eastern Conference Playoffs |
| Timeline | |
| Previous Season | Next Season |
| 1957 | 1959 |
The 1958 Cleveland Browns season was the team's ninth season with the National Football League.
Season summary
Edit
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 sudden-death overtime in the 1958 league championship contest, later dubbed "The Greatest Game Ever Played."
Aside from the Giants, the only team to beat the Browns in 1958 was those pesky Lions, who gained a 30-10 decision midway through the year.
Exhibition ScheduleEdit
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 16, 1958 | vs. Pittsburgh Steelers at Akron | W 10–0 | |
| 2 | August 22, 1958 | at Detroit Lions | L 17–7 | |
| 3 | August 29, 1958 | at Los Angeles Rams | W 13–10 | |
| 4 | September 7, 1958 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 21–16 | |
| 5 | September 12, 1958 | at Chicago Bears | L 42–31 | |
| 6 | September 20, 1958 | Detroit Lions | W 41–7 | |
Regular Season ScheduleEdit
- 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 | |
| 2 | October 5, 1958 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | W 45–12 | |
| 3 | October 12, 1958 | Chicago Cardinals | W 35–28 | |
| 4 | October 19, 1958 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 27–10 | |
| 5 | October 26, 1958 | at Chicago Cardinals | W 38–24 | |
| 6 | November 2, 1958 | New York Giants | L 21–17 | |
| 7 | November 9, 1958 | Detroit Lions | L 30–10 | |
| 8 | November 16, 1958 | at Washington Redskins | W 20–10 | |
| 9 | November 23, 1958 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 28–14 | |
| 10 | November 30, 1958 | Washington Redskins | W 21–14 | |
| 11 | December 7, 1958 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 21–14 | |
| 12 | December 14, 1958 | at New York Giants | L 13–10 | |
PlayoffsEdit
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Divisional | December 21, 1958 | at New York Giants | L 10–0 | |
StandingsEdit
| NFL Eastern | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK | |
| New York Giants | 9 | 3 | 0 | .750 | 246 | 183 | W-4 |
| Cleveland Browns | 9 | 3 | 0 | .750 | 302 | 217 | L-1 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 7 | 4 | 1 | .636 | 261 | 230 | W-1 |
| Washington Redskins | 4 | 7 | 1 | .364 | 214 | 268 | W-1 |
| Chicago Cardinals | 2 | 9 | 1 | .182 | 261 | 356 | L-6 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 2 | 9 | 1 | .182 | 235 | 306 | L-4 |
ReferencesEdit
- ↑ Giants Among Men, Jack Cavanaugh, p.133, 2008, Random House, ISBN 978-1-4000-6717-6
External linksEdit
