NFL Playoff Game , 1932 The 1932 NFL Playoff Game was the first ever playoff game held by the National Football League ( NFL ) , the major professional American football sports league in the United States . Due to extremely cold weather , the game was played indoors on December 18 , 1932 at Chicago Stadium in Chicago . The final score was Chicago Bears 9 , Portsmouth Spartans 0 . The game paved the way for a new era of professional American football . After following the rules of college football for its first 13 years of existence , the NFL began to develop its own rules . The popularity of the game also led the league to start holding annual playoff games . Thus , the 1932 NFL Playoff Game is sometimes unofficially called the 1932 NFL Championship Game . Furthermore , the game is regarded as the first ever major indoor football game . Background . Since the NFL ' s first season in 1920 , every league title had been awarded to the team with the best regular season record , based on winning percentage , with ties omitted . Four of the first six championships were disputed , but only once ( the 1921 NFL season ) did two teams ever finish tied atop the standings . In that year , the two teams disputing the title had played each other , splitting a two - game series , but league officials used a tiebreaker to give the Bears ( then known as the Staleys ) the title over the Buffalo All - Americans . In the 1932 NFL season , the Spartans and the Bears tied for first place ( 6 - 1 ) . ( Standings were based on winning percentage , with ties excluded from the calculation . Therefore , the Spartans and Bears each finished the regular season with identical . 857 winning percentages , ahead of the Green Bay Packers ' . 769 ( 10 wins , 3 losses ) winning percentage . Had the post - 1972 method of calculating winning percentage - - counting ties as half - a - win , half - a - loss - - been used at that time , the Packers ' 10 - 3 - 1 ( . 750 ) record would have won the league , ahead of the Spartans ' 6 - 1 - 4 ( . 727 ) and Bears ' 6 - 1 - 6 ( . 615 ) . ) Further complicating matters , the Spartans and Bears had tied each other twice during the regular season , rendering the league ' s only tiebreaker useless . So , for the first time , the league arranged for a playoff game to determine the NFL champion . Because the game counted in the final standings , the loser would finish third , behind Green Bay . The league had to make a rule change to allow the game , since they had banned the practice in 1924 . The game was set to be played at Wrigley Field , the Bears ' home stadium . But because of severe blizzard s and sub - zero wind chill throughout the week , the game was moved indoors to Chicago Stadium . Because of the limited dimensions of the indoor arena , special rules were adopted for the game . The dirt - covered field itself was only 80 yards long and 10 yards narrower . The sidelines were butted up against the stands . The goal posts were moved from the endlines to the goal lines . The ball was automatically moved back to the 20 - yard line every time one team crossed midfield . For the first time , all plays would start with the ball on or between the hash marks , which were ten yards from the sidelines . Game summary . Both teams ' defenses dominated the first three quarters of the game . Then in the fourth quarter , the Bears scored on a controversial touchdown . On the play , Charles " Dutch " Brumbaugh handed the ball off to Bronko Nagurski , who then threw it to Red Grange in the end zone for the score . Rules at the time mandated that a forward pass had to be thrown from at least five yards behind the line of scrimmage . The Spartans argued that Nagurski did not drop back five yards before passing to Grange , but the touchdown stood . The Bears later scored a safety to clinch the victory . Effect on American football . Because it proved so popular , the 1932 NFL Playoff Game started a new era for the National Football League . Through 1932 , the league had used the same rules as college football . Beginning with the 1933 season , the NFL introduced its own rules . The goal posts were moved from the end line to the goal line . ( This was later reversed in 1974 . ) The forward pass became legal anywhere behind the line of scrimmage . All plays would start with the ball on or between the hash marks . In 1933 , the NFL divided its teams into two divisions . The winners of each division would play in a scheduled championship game to determine the NFL champion . The 1932 NFL Playoff Game is also regarded as the first major indoor football game , a variation of American football with rules modified to make it suitable for play inside arenas . While several attempts to develop a true indoor football game have been made since then , the only version to meet with anything resembling true success and acceptance has been arena football .