NFL Championship Game — 1933-1965
The NFL's championship system before the Super Bowl era began — every title game from the league's 1933 division reorganization through the 1965 season (played January 1966), the last year before Super Bowl I.
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
33 championship games covered, 1933-1965. Chicago Bears won the most titles in this era (6).
Results
| Season | Champion | Runner-up | Venue | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1933 | Chicago Bears | New York Giants | Wrigley Field, Chicago | Chicago Bears won 23-21 |
| 1934 | New York Giants | Chicago Bears | Polo Grounds, New York | New York Giants won 30-13 |
| 1935 | Detroit Lions | New York Giants | University of Detroit Stadium, Detroit | Detroit Lions won 26-7 |
| 1936 | Green Bay Packers | Boston Redskins | Polo Grounds, New York | Green Bay Packers won 21-6 |
| 1937 | Washington Redskins | Chicago Bears | Wrigley Field, Chicago | Washington Redskins won 28-21 |
| 1938 | New York Giants | Green Bay Packers | Polo Grounds, New York | New York Giants won 23-17 |
| 1939 | Green Bay Packers | New York Giants | State Fair Park, West Allis, Wisconsin | Green Bay Packers won 27-0 |
| 1940 | Chicago Bears | Washington Redskins | Griffith Stadium, Washington, D.C. | Chicago Bears won 73-0 |
| 1941 | Chicago Bears | New York Giants | Wrigley Field, Chicago | Chicago Bears won 37-9 |
| 1942 | Washington Redskins | Chicago Bears | Griffith Stadium, Washington, D.C. | Washington Redskins won 14-6 |
| 1943 | Chicago Bears | Washington Redskins | Wrigley Field, Chicago | Chicago Bears won 41-21 |
| 1944 | Green Bay Packers | New York Giants | Polo Grounds, New York | Green Bay Packers won 14-7 |
| 1945 | Cleveland Rams | Washington Redskins | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | Cleveland Rams won 15-14 |
| 1946 | Chicago Bears | New York Giants | Polo Grounds, New York | Chicago Bears won 24-14 |
| 1947 | Chicago Cardinals | Philadelphia Eagles | Comiskey Park, Chicago | Chicago Cardinals won 28-21 |
| 1948 | Philadelphia Eagles | Chicago Cardinals | Shibe Park, Philadelphia | Philadelphia Eagles won 7-0 |
| 1949 | Philadelphia Eagles | Los Angeles Rams | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | Philadelphia Eagles won 14-0 |
| 1950 | Cleveland Browns | Los Angeles Rams | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | Cleveland Browns won 30-28 |
| 1951 | Los Angeles Rams | Cleveland Browns | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | Los Angeles Rams won 24-17 |
| 1952 | Detroit Lions | Cleveland Browns | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | Detroit Lions won 17-7 |
| 1953 | Detroit Lions | Cleveland Browns | Briggs Stadium, Detroit | Detroit Lions won 17-16 |
| 1954 | Cleveland Browns | Detroit Lions | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | Cleveland Browns won 56-10 |
| 1955 | Cleveland Browns | Los Angeles Rams | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | Cleveland Browns won 38-14 |
| 1956 | New York Giants | Chicago Bears | Yankee Stadium, New York | New York Giants won 47-7 |
| 1957 | Detroit Lions | Cleveland Browns | Briggs Stadium, Detroit | Detroit Lions won 59-14 |
| 1958 | Baltimore Colts | New York Giants | Yankee Stadium, New York | Baltimore Colts won 23-17 (sudden-death overtime) |
| 1959 | Baltimore Colts | New York Giants | Memorial Stadium, Baltimore | Baltimore Colts won 31-16 |
| 1960 | Philadelphia Eagles | Green Bay Packers | Franklin Field, Philadelphia | Philadelphia Eagles won 17-13 |
| 1961 | Green Bay Packers | New York Giants | City Stadium (renamed Lambeau Field in 1965), Green Bay | Green Bay Packers won 37-0 |
| 1962 | Green Bay Packers | New York Giants | Yankee Stadium, New York | Green Bay Packers won 16-7 |
| 1963 | Chicago Bears | New York Giants | Wrigley Field, Chicago | Chicago Bears won 14-10 |
| 1964 | Cleveland Browns | Baltimore Colts | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | Cleveland Browns won 27-0 |
| 1965 | Green Bay Packers | Cleveland Browns | Lambeau Field, Green Bay | Green Bay Packers won 23-12 |
Notes, by season
| Season | Notes |
|---|---|
| 1933 | First official scheduled championship game, following the NFL's 1933 reorganization into Eastern and Western divisions (prompted by the popularity of an unofficial 1932 tie-breaker playoff game between the Bears and Portsmouth Spartans). Decided on a Bronko Nagurski jump-pass lateral play in the final two minutes. |
| 1934 | "The Sneakers Game" — the Giants switched to basketball sneakers at halftime on an icy field and scored 27 points in the fourth quarter, still a title-game record for that quarter. |
| 1935 | Detroit's first NFL title, part of the city's "City of Champions" run (the Tigers and Red Wings also won titles within the same year). |
| 1936 | Played at a neutral site after a Boston ticket-sales dispute. Owner George Preston Marshall moved the Redskins from Boston to Washington, D.C. shortly afterward, ahead of the 1937 season. |
| 1937 | Washington's first title in its new home city, led by rookie quarterback Sammy Baugh (335 passing yards) on a frozen field. |
| 1939 | Moved from Green Bay to the Milwaukee area for attendance reasons. |
| 1940 | The most lopsided game in NFL championship history, before or since. First championship broadcast nationwide on radio. |
| 1941 | Played two weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor; wartime-depressed attendance. The Bears and Green Bay Packers had tied for the Western Division (10-1 each), with Chicago winning a tie-breaker playoff 33-14 the week before. |
| 1942 | An upset of the previously-undefeated, heavily-favored Bears. |
| 1943 | Sid Luckman threw 5 touchdown passes. Washington had won an Eastern Division tie-breaker over the New York Giants 28-0 the week before. |
| 1945 | Extreme cold (-8F). Decided partly by a fluke safety when a Sammy Baugh pass struck the goalpost and bounced back into the end zone, leading directly to a rule change treating such plays as incomplete passes (in force until goalposts were moved to the end line in 1974). The Rams relocated to Los Angeles weeks after winning this title. |
| 1946 | Overshadowed by a bribery scandal involving Giants players Frank Filchock and Merle Hapes, accused of accepting money to fix the game. |
| 1947 | Remains the only NFL championship won by the Cardinals franchise (later the St. Louis Cardinals, then Arizona Cardinals) in the modern era. Philadelphia had won an Eastern Division tie-breaker over the Pittsburgh Steelers 21-0 the week before. |
| 1948 | Played in a snowstorm; the lowest-scoring championship game in NFL history and the only one decided by a single score. First televised NFL championship game. |
| 1949 | Driving rain turned the field to mud. The first title game played in the western United States. |
| 1950 | The Browns' first NFL season after dominating the All-America Football Conference; won on a late Lou Groza field goal. Both conferences needed tie-breaker playoffs that season: Cleveland beat the New York Giants 8-3, and Los Angeles beat the Chicago Bears 24-14. |
| 1951 | First title game televised coast-to-coast (blacked out locally). The Rams' first title since relocating from Cleveland in 1946. |
| 1952 | Detroit's first title since 1935. Detroit beat the Los Angeles Rams 31-21 in a Western tie-breaker the week before. |
| 1953 | Back-to-back title for Detroit, won on a late Bobby Layne-to-Jim Doran touchdown pass. |
| 1954 | The second-largest margin of victory in championship-game history, behind only 1940. Otto Graham accounted for 3 passing and 3 rushing touchdowns. |
| 1955 | Otto Graham's final game before retiring. |
| 1956 | The Giants again wore sneakers on an icy field, echoing the 1934 game. |
| 1957 | Backup quarterback Tobin Rote (starter Bobby Layne injured) led the blowout. Remains the Lions' most recent NFL championship as of 2026. Detroit beat the San Francisco 49ers 31-27 in a Western tie-breaker the week before. |
| 1958 | "The Greatest Game Ever Played" — the first NFL championship decided in sudden-death overtime. Alan Ameche scored the winning touchdown on a 1-yard run at 6:45 of overtime after an 80-yard Colts drive. An estimated 45 million watched on NBC; widely credited with launching professional football's rise in national popularity. The Giants had beaten the Cleveland Browns 10-0 in an Eastern tie-breaker the week before. |
| 1959 | A rematch of 1958; Baltimore scored 24 unanswered points in the fourth quarter after trailing 9-7. The only NFL championship game ever played in Baltimore. |
| 1960 | Vince Lombardi's only career playoff loss as a head coach. Decided when Eagles linebacker Chuck Bednarik tackled Packers fullback Jim Taylor at the 9-yard line as time expired. Philadelphia's last title until Super Bowl LII (February 2018). |
| 1961 | Vince Lombardi's first of five titles in seven seasons with Green Bay. Played in brutal cold. |
| 1962 | One of the most weather-notorious title games, with extreme wind chill. |
| 1963 | The Bears' "Monsters of the Midway" defense dominated on a bitterly cold day. The last of five NFL championship games held at Wrigley Field. |
| 1964 | Baltimore had been favored by a touchdown. Gary Collins caught 3 touchdown passes and was named MVP. Remains the Browns' most recent NFL championship as of 2026. |
| 1965 | Played January 2, 1966. Green Bay's 9th overall NFL title and the start of a run of 3 straight titles (1965-67), a feat no team has matched. Green Bay beat the Baltimore Colts 13-10 in sudden-death overtime in a Western tie-breaker the week before, in a game remembered for a heavily disputed game-tying field goal by Don Chandler. |
Sources
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