Detroit Lions Throwback: 1957 Championship season in review

DETROIT, MI - OCTOBER 18: Joe Schmidt during the Pro Football Hall of Fame half time show during the Chicago Bears v Detroit Lions game at Ford Field on October 18, 2015 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI - OCTOBER 18: Joe Schmidt during the Pro Football Hall of Fame half time show during the Chicago Bears v Detroit Lions game at Ford Field on October 18, 2015 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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Two losses in a row dropped Detroit back to 3-3, halfway through the twelve game season. From there, Layne and Rote continued to split time at quarterback, and legendary Lion Joe Schmidt tackled everything in sight on his way to a 4th consecutive All-Pro selection at linebacker. Detroit avenged a 35-31 loss with a 31-10 win over the 49ers, and a Thanksgiving win over Green Bay cancelled out a puzzling 27-7 loss to Chicago just four days earlier.

In Week 11, the moved into a first place tie with the Colts and 49ers in the tightly-contested Western Division. However, Bobby Layne broke his ankle in the first half of the 20-7 win, leaving the team to finish the season without their seasoned pilot.

Even without Layne, Detroit overcame a 10-0 halftime deficit in a raucous environment at Soldier Field to defeat Chicago 21-13. Elsewhere in the league, the Colts lost and the 49ers won, leaving both Detroit and San Francisco at 8-4 for the season. This set up a playoff against San Francisco to settle the tie in the Western Division and determine a place in the NFL Championship Game.

*Layne admitted in court to drinking roughly six whisky highballs on the evening in question, but was acquitted by the jury of the drunk driving charge.

Sources: Detroit Free Press, News-Palladium, and Traverse City Record Eagle archives, August to December 1957, via www.newspapers.com

The Comeback

Round three with the 49ers had a championship game appearance on the line, and as had been the case all year, the Lions found their backs against the wall. Trailing 24-7 at the half, and then 27-7 midway through the 3rd quarter, help came via an unlikely source: little-used backup running back Tom Tracy.

During the previous dozen games, Tracy totaled only 46 rushing yards and not a single touchdown. In a span of less than two minutes, Tom “the Bomb” found the end zone twice, from one-yard out and then on a 58-yard dash, closing the gap and proving that Buddy Parker’s criticism was entirely wrong. The Lions were anything but lifeless as they staged the greatest comeback in franchise history.

A crucial interception by Joe Schmidt, a short Gene Gedman touchdown run, followed by a late field goal, lifted the Lions to another frantic 31-27 comeback victory. The 59-14 thrashing over the Browns back home at Briggs Field capped a stunning season where the Lions fought through adversity at all angles to earn their 4th (and for the time being, final) NFL Championship.