1951 NFL season The 1951 NFL season was the 32nd regular season of the National Football League . Prior to the season , Baltimore Colts owner Abraham Watner faced financial difficulties , and thus gave his team and its player contracts back to the league for $ 50 , 000 . However , many Baltimore fans started to protest the loss of their team . Supporting groups such as its fan club and its marching band remained in operation and worked for the team ' s revival ( which eventually led to a new Baltimore team in 1953 ) . For the first time , the NFL Championship Game was televised across the nation . The DuMont Television Network paid $ 75 , 000 to broadcast the game . Viewers coast - to - coast watched the Los Angeles Rams defeat the Cleveland Browns 24 - 17 . Regular season highlights . In " Week One " September 30 , the defending champions , the Cleveland Browns , opened with a loss , falling to their old AAFC rival in San Francisco , 24 - 10 ; the Giants tied the Steelers 13 - 13 in a Monday night game on national radio . " Week Four " ( October 21 ) in Detroit , the Lions had a 24 - 17 win cancelled when the New York Yanks tied the game , which would be important later . In " Week Five " ( October 28 ) , The Browns beat the Giants 14 - 13 on a missed extra point , putting Cleveland half a game ahead to lead the National Conference . In Detroit , the Bears ' Ed Sprinkle blocked a punt that Bill Wightkin fell on in the end zone for a 28 - 23 victory , while the Rams lost 44 - 17 loss to the 49ers , giving the Bears the lead in the American . " Week Seven " ( November 11 ) saw the Browns trailing the Eagles at home before preserving their American Conference lead with a 20 - 17 win . The Rams ' 45 - 21 win over the Cardinals , and the Bears ' 41 - 28 loss to the Lions , gave the Rams and Bears 5 - 2 - 0 records . In " Week Eight " ( November 18 ) , the Giants hosted a rematch with the Browns and lost again , 10 - 0 ; the New Yorkers would finish 9 - 2 - 1 , with both losses courtesy of the 11 - 1 - 0 Browns . " Week Nine " began with a Thursday night game in Detroit , which beat Green Bay 52 - 35 to raise its record to 6 - 2 - 1 . On ( November 25 ) , the Bears lost 42 - 21 at Cleveland , and the Rams lost 31 - 21 at Washington , and both fell to 6 - 3 - 0 , giving the Lions the National Conference lead . Meanwhile , the New York Yanks played spoiler again , tying the 49ers 10 - 10 while staying winless at 0 - 7 - 2 . As with Detroit ' s earlier tie with the Yanks , the 49ers would regret having a win taken away later . In " Week Ten " ( December 2 ) , the 49ers beat the Lions 20 - 10 , while the Rams triumphed over the Bears 42 - 17 , giving L . A . the top spot in a tight National Conference race . The New York Yanks finally won a game , 31 - 28 at Green Bay . In the penultimate regular games of the season in " Week Eleven " December 9 , the Lions held the Rams to field goals five times , and the lone L . A . touchdown wasn ' t enough to keep Detroit from winning 24 - 22 . Meanwhile , wins by the Bears and the 49ers made a four team National Conference race , with Lions ( 7 - 3 - 1 ) in front of the Rams and Bears ( both 7 - 4 - 0 ) and the 49ers ( 6 - 4 - 1 ) with one game left . But for the tying scores that had been made by the mediocre Yanks , the Lions and 49ers would have been 8 - 3 and 7 - 4 . Detroit , which had lost at home to San Francisco a week before , would face them again on the coast on December 16 in " Week Twelve " . The Lions led by 3 points in San Francisco with one quarter left , but lost the game 21 - 17 , along with the National Conference title as both teams finished 7 - 4 - 1 . The Bears were stunned by the Cardinals , 24 - 14 , finishing 7 - 5 - 0 . The Los Angeles Rams , who had been tied with the Green Bay 14 - 14 at halftime , poured on four touchdowns in the second half for a 42 - 14 win , an 8 - 4 - 0 record , and the right to host Cleveland in the 1951 NFL championship . At Yankee Stadium , only 6 , 658 spectators turned out to watch the last game ever for the New York Yanks , who lost to the crosstown Giants 27 - 17 . Final standings . " W = Wins , L = Losses , T = Ties , PCT = Winning Percentage , PF = Points For , PA = Points Against " " Note : The NFL did not officially count tie games in the standings until 1972 " NFL Championship Game . Los Angeles 24 , Cleveland 17 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum , Los Angeles , December 23 , 1951