1956: Giants Defeat Eagles to Clinch Eastern Conference Crown

The New York Giants were looking to lock up the NFL Eastern Conference title as they faced the Philadelphia Eagles on December 15, 1956. Under the guidance of Head Coach Jim Lee Howell, the Giants had roared out to a 6-1 record and, following a 1-2-1 stretch, were now coming into the season finale at 7-3-1 and could gain a slot in the NFL Championship game with a win. New York operated a power-T offense that was the responsibility of assistant coach Vince Lombardi and emphasized a strong running game that utilized halfbacks Frank Gifford and Alex Webster (pictured above) and FB Mel Triplett. A platoon system was used at quarterback where Don Heinrich started games and the more-talented Charlie Conerly relieved when needed. Assistant coach Tom Landry handled the tough and talented defense.

The Eagles were going nowhere at 3-7-1 in their first year under Head Coach Hugh Devore.  They also used a two-quarterback platoon with Adrian Burk and Bobby Thomason and there was an able receiver in end Bobby Walston, but the ground attack was average at best. The defense was particularly sound at linebacker with All-Pro Chuck Bednarik and Wayne Robinson, but the backfield was a problem, particularly after the loss of safety Jerry Norton to injury.  

There were 15,562 fans in attendance on a foggy afternoon at Connie Mack Stadium and the contest was also nationally televised. It had rained the previous three days and the field was soft. The Giants had the first possession with Don Heinrich at quarterback and punted and, while the Eagles started off with runs by HB Ted Wegert for six yards and FB Dick Bielski for 12, they were forced to punt in turn. New York advanced into Philadelphia territory thanks primarily to the running of Mel Triplett and Frank Gifford, but the drive stalled at the 43 and Don Chandler punted into the end zone.

Following another punt by the Eagles, the Giants were driving as the game headed into the second quarter. Alex Webster started the series with a 14-yard carry and Heinrich threw to end Kyle Rote for a gain of 15 yards to the Philadelphia 30. An eight-yard run by Webster and 11-yard carry by Gifford (pictured below) got the ball inside the ten and Gifford then threw an option pass to Rote for a six-yard touchdown to complete the eight-play, 65-yard series. Ben Agajanian added the extra point.

Bobby Thomason was at quarterback for the Eagles on their next possession but a clipping penalty nullified a pass completion and Thomason was sacked for a loss of ten yards on third down to force another punt. Once again the running of Triplett and Webster advanced the ball into Philadelphia territory and Heinrich completed a pass to Gifford for nine yards to convert a third down. Following a five-yard carry by Triplett, Webster ran wide to the left for 10 yards that set up a 10-yard run by Gifford for a TD. Agajanian again converted to give the visitors a 14-0 lead.

The Eagles turned the ball over on the next series when DE Walt Yowarsky recovered an errant pitchout at the Philadelphia 35. But while the productive ground game got the Giants to the 14, Heinrich’s pass was intercepted by safety Lee Riley. The score remained unchanged at the half.

The Eagles had the ball first in the third quarter but a Thomason pass was picked off by safety Emlen Tunnell, who returned it 14 yards to the Philadelphia 27. Six plays later the Giants capitalized as Webster ran seven yards for a touchdown. Agajanian again booted the point after and New York held a comfortable 21-0 lead.

The teams exchanged punts and Riley briefly provided some excitement for the home team with a 35-yard return to midfield. But with Thomason giving way to Burk, the Eagles lost yardage from there and punted once again. Chuck Bednarik recovered a Triplett fumble on the next series at the Philadelphia 45 and the Eagles advanced into New York territory. Burk completed four passes, three of them to end Bobby Walston for gains totaling 36 yards, in the closing minutes of the period. But a run for negative yardage followed by a penalty on the offense to start the third quarter and an incomplete pass set up a fourth-and-30 situation, and Burk’s throw to Walston gained just 18 yards to turn the ball over on downs at the New York 12.

The Giants were able to put together a long series that was extended by a roughing-the-kicker call on a punt by Chandler. New York failed to extend its lead when Agajanian was wide on a 46-yard field goal attempt, but time was running out on the Eagles, who again had to punt.

Philadelphia finally put together a scoring drive of 64 yards in 14 plays that was helped along by a 26-yard pass interference penalty on the Giants. Burk completed two passes, one of which converted a fourth down, and had an 11-yard scramble in a third-and-10 situation. After an incomplete pass and 13-yard sack, the Eagles faced third-and-23 and Burk threw to end Hank Burnine for 13 yards and, on fourth down, to Walston for a 15-yard touchdown. Walston kicked the extra point, but while it averted a shutout, it was of no consequence with only 1:08 remaining in the contest. New York won by a final score of 21-7.

The Giants led significantly in total yards (332 to 174), with 291 of that total coming on the ground, and in first downs (22 to 13). Both teams turned the ball over twice. New York recorded four sacks, to none by the Eagles.

Alex Webster led the New York rushers with 132 yards on 23 carries that included a TD. Frank Gifford accumulated 81 yards and a touchdown on 16 attempts and Mel Triplett contributed 72 yards on 14 carries. With the Giants in control, Don Heinrich remained in for the full game and completed three of 10 passes for 35 yards. Gifford and Kyle Rote each caught two passes, for 20 and 21 yards, respectively, and Rote scored a touchdown on a Gifford pass.

For the Eagles, Adrian Burk was successful on 12 of 26 throws for 124 yards and a TD while Bobby Thomason was two of four for 17 yards. Bobby Walston (pictured at right) led the receivers with 5 catches for 69 yards and a touchdown. Ted Wegert rushed for 31 yards on 11 attempts.

The win allowed the Giants to finish atop the Eastern Conference with an 8-3-1 record. In their first NFL Championship game appearance in ten years, they thrashed the Chicago Bears 47-7. For Philadelphia, the loss closed out the club’s worst season since 1942, finishing at the bottom of the conference with a 3-8-1 tally.

Frank Gifford received MVP honors as he led the league in yards from scrimmage (1422, with 819 rushing and 603 receiving). Alex Webster also ranked among the Top 10 rushers with 694 yards and seven TDs and Mel Triplett added 515 yards on the ground.  

1957: Rookie Jurgensen Leads Eagles to Upset of Browns

Coming off a 3-8-1 record in 1956 in their first year under Head Coach Hugh Devore, the Philadelphia Eagles did well in the high rounds of the ’57 NFL draft. With the seventh pick in the first round, they took FB Clarence Peaks of Michigan State. Further seeking to bolster the running game, they chose Wake Forest HB Billy Barnes in the second round and HB Tommy McDonald from Oklahoma in the third. And in the fourth round, they drafted QB Sonny Jurgensen of Duke.

The stocky (5’11”, 195) Jurgensen had not thrown the ball much in college with a run-oriented team, but was reputed to have a strong arm and had shown great accuracy when he did pass. For the past several years, the Eagles had utilized the quarterback tandem of Adrian Burk and Bobby Thomason, and with Burk having retired to pursue a legal career there was a need to break in someone new.

Peaks and Barnes moved directly into the starting lineup while McDonald, who was too small at 5’9” and 182 pounds to play running back as a pro, would not make an impact until later once he was shifted to flanker - and the impact would indeed be great. Jurgensen backed up the veteran Thomason as Philadelphia lost its first three games.

On October 20 the Eagles faced the Cleveland Browns, who were off to a 3-0 start under Head Coach Paul Brown and had beaten Philadelphia at home the week before. They had a promising rookie of their own in FB Jim Brown, taken in the first round of that same draft out of Syracuse. Brown had already become the key to the ground-oriented offense directed by veteran QB Tommy O’Connell while second-round draft choice Milt Plum from Penn State, the quarterback of the future, backed him up.

The previous week’s game in Cleveland was a fight-filled contest in which seven players were ejected. Commissioner Bert Bell issued a warning prior to the rematch that the teams should “play football, not fight”. By and large his instructions were followed in the rematch.

There were 22,443 in attendance at Connie Mack Stadium as Sonny Jurgensen started at quarterback for the injured Thomason. There was no scoring in the opening period but the Eagles, with Billy Barnes running well, advanced to the Cleveland 8 yard line on the last play of the first quarter. On the second play of the second quarter, Bobby Walston kicked a 12-yard field goal to give the home team a 3-0 lead.

The Browns failed to tie the score later in the period when Lou Groza’s 39-yard field goal attempt into a stiff wind went wide. Philadelphia later put together an 80-yard drive in six plays, with Jurgensen passing to end Rocky Ryan, who pulled the ball in at the 15 and ran it in for a 46-yard touchdown. The Eagles held a 10-0 lead at the half.

The third quarter was scoreless, but then Philadelphia put together a seven-play, 45-yard scoring drive after LB Chuck Bednarik intercepted a pass by Tommy O’Connell and returned it 14 yards. Barnes ran for 14 yards and, after carrying again for a short gain, Clarence Peaks broke away for a 25-yard carry to the one yard line. On second down, Jurgensen scored on a quarterback sneak.

O’Connell was injured and replaced by the rookie Milt Plum, who led Cleveland on a 69-yard drive midway through the fourth quarter. Following a pass from Plum to HB Billy Reynolds to the Philadelphia one, Jim Brown blasted into the end zone for a touchdown. That was it for the Browns as the Eagles held on for a 17-7 win.

The Browns outgained the Eagles (285 yards to 270) although Philadelphia surprisingly outgained Cleveland on the ground (186 to 103). The Browns had the edge in first downs (14 to 13) but they also turned the ball over six times, four by interception, while Philadelphia gave the ball up just once on a fumble. While there wasn’t the fighting of the previous week’s game, there were a total of 16 penalties called – 10 on the Browns and six on Philadelphia.

Billy Barnes (pictured at left) rushed for 87 yards on 22 carries, overshadowing Jim Brown, who had 53 yards on 12 attempts. Sonny Jurgensen didn’t go to the air often, but was effective in his first career start as he completed 6 of 9 passes for 84 yards with a touchdown and none intercepted.

The upset of the Browns didn’t herald better things for the Eagles – they were shut out at Pittsburgh the next week and won only three more times to finish at 4-8 and in fifth place in the Eastern Conference, leading to the replacement of Hugh Devore as head coach by Buck Shaw. Cleveland, on the other hand, lost only once more to top the conference at 9-2-1, although the Browns lost badly to Detroit in the NFL Championship game.

Sonny Jurgensen started five games as a rookie and showed promise as he completed 33 of 70 passes for 470 yards with five touchdowns and eight interceptions. The arrival of veteran star Norm Van Brocklin from the Rams in 1958 relegated the young quarterback to the bench and he would not re-emerge until 1961, the year after “The Dutchman” guided the team to the league title and then retired. However, Jurgensen broke out in a big way in ’61 on his way to a Hall of Fame career with the Eagles and Redskins.

Billy Barnes also had an impressive first year, gaining selection to the Pro Bowl as he rushed for 529 yards on 143 carries (3.7 avg.) and caught 19 passes for 212 more. Jim Brown outdid the rest of the rookie class, however, as he led the NFL in rushing with 942 yards on the way to becoming the league’s dominant rusher over the course of a brilliant nine-year career that, like Jurgensen's, led to enshrinement in Canton.