NFL Championship Game
NFL Championship Game
1950 - Rams vs. Browns

NFL Championship Game

"The Cleveland Browns got to prove they belonged." - Kevin Clark
Kevin Clark
by Kevin Clark

On Christmas Eve in 1950, the Rams faced the Browns in the NFL Championship game at Cleveland Municipal Coliseum. Los Angeles, which had lost the 1949 title game to the Eagles, in 1950 became the first NFL team whose games were all on TV. The Browns, meanwhile, had been the 1949 champions of the short-lived AAFC. The game was evenly-matched: each team gained 22 first downs. The Rams totaled 116 rush yards to the Browns 106. Rams quarterback Bob Waterfield threw for 312 yards; Cleveland’s Otto Graham for 298. But Waterfield threw four picks and just one touchdown, while Graham tossed four TDs and just one interception. The Rams led 14-13 at halftime, then 28-27 in the fourth. With 28 seconds left, Hall of Famer Lou “The Toe” Groza, a 6-foot-3, 250-pound placekicker and offensive tackle who played all of his 21 seasons with Cleveland, booted a 16-yard field goal as the Browns won the title, 30-28.

Kevin Clark
Kevin
Clark
Kevin Clark is a staff writer for the Ringer who covers the NFL. An Orlando native, Clark co-hosts the podcast, “The Ringer NFL Show.” He previously wrote about professional football as a sports reporter for the Wall Street Journal. Prior to that, Clark covered the New York Knicks and the NBA. He attended the University of Miami.
Profession:
reporter
Place of Birth:
Orlando, FL