Christmas Crystal Ball: The Most Important Game in NFL History
Published continually since 1994
My friends, THE GURU wishes you and yours a very Merry Christmas. No, I didn’t have time to buy you a gift but how about discussing the most important NFL game ever played instead?
The date was December 28, 1958 - please stick with me here, folks - and it was NFL Championship Sunday. On tap was a game so impactful that it has long been referred to as “The Greatest Game Ever Played,” in NFL circles, and beyond.
In the 12-team league, the title game pitted the Western Division champions, the Baltimore Colts (9-3), against the Eastern Division-winning New York Giants (10-3). The impetus for today’s story? Well, the same two teams meet this weekend with the Colts (7-8, 3-5 away) visiting the Giants (2-13, 0-8 home) though, surely, there is no ring up for grabs.
The playoffs weren’t really a thing in the 1950s as the postseason amounted to one game with the two divisional champs playing one another. But the 1958 campaign was a bit different as the Giants and Cleveland Browns tied for the Eastern Division’s best won-loss record, necessitating a playoff to determine the East champ. New York won the game, 10-0, and the stage was set for the season finale.
It was no shocker to see the Giants playing for the title as they were then one of the league’s pillars, playing in their 11th championship game in 34 seasons as a franchise. But the Colts, in just their sixth year, were a new entrant on football’s biggest stage with a record of 23-36-1 entering 1958.
Led by head coach Weeb Ewbank and a young quarterback named Johnny Unitas, Baltimore owned the Western Conference that season, outscoring opponents to the tune of 381-203. Yes, they lost the last two games on their schedule for the second straight year, but they were clearly the best the West had to offer.
After ending with those two defeats - road games at San Francisco and Los Angeles - the Colts were set to play the championship game away from home too. It would be their second 1958 visit to Yankee Stadium, following a 24-21 November loss when Giants kicker Pat Summerall drilled a 28-yard field goal for the win.
That said, the Colts played that game at less than full strength with their leader, Unitas, hospitalized after suffering three broken ribs and a punctured lung against Green Bay the previous week. George Shaw, the man Unitas replaced at QB in 1956, filled in capably but to no avail.
With Unitas now healthy, the football world was ready for the championship game. Attendance was 64,185, temperatures were in the 40s and, for the first time, a pro football game would be televised nationally, with NBC doing the honors.
It was a see-saw affair with the Giants taking a 3-0 lead on a first-quarter Summerall field goal before the Colts surged ahead with a pair of second-quarter touchdowns: a two-yard run by the Iron Horse, Alan Ameche, and a 15-yard pass from Unitas to star wideout Raymond Berry, one of the great pass catchers in NFL history and the coach who led the Patriots to Super Bowl XX1.
The Giants pulled closer in the third quarter when Mel Triplett scored on a one-yard TD run and took the lead in the final period when Charlie Conerly hit future Hall of Famer Frank Gifford from 15 yards out. Summerall added the extra point, and it was 17-14, New York.
Watching nervously on the sideline: Baltimore captain - and 1972 Hall of Fame inductee - Gino Marchetti, the star defensive end who broke his leg in the fourth quarter but refused to leave the field, instead sitting on a small stretcher until the game’s conclusion.
Look at the photo below. The only thing missing is a Schlitz and a cigarette. That’s a man’s man, right there.
With less than two minutes remaining, things looked dire for Baltimore, which took possession at its own 14-yard line. But things were never out of reach with Unitas at QB, who hit Berry three straight times for 62 yards, with the last connection a 22-yard play to New York’s 13-yard line.
The peerless Berry finished the game with a postseason-record 12 catches for 178 yards, good for second best in league history2. Slight of build with bad eyesight and one leg shorter than the other, he was nonetheless elite on this day and so many others.
Thanks to the Unitas-to-Berry heroics, the Colts were in field goal range and kicker Steve Myhra drilled a 20-yarder through the uprights to tie it at 17. Next up was the first overtime period in league history and, after stopping the Giants on New York’s first - and only - OT possession, Baltimore earned the title when the aforementioned Ameche scored from a yard away.
The final was 23-17 and the most important game in league history was in the books. It was the championship game between two great franchises. In Yankee Stadium. On television. Plus, it took an overtime period, something folks had never seen before.
It launched pro football into the national consciousness and put the sport on the path to surpass baseball as our national pastime. And that, folks, is no understatement.
The cherry on top? It was a signature performance by Unitas, who threw for an NFL postseason record 349 yards while leading two of the most famous drives in league history. The man was the Montana, Brady, etc. of his day and remains on the Mount Rushmore of QB greats.
Fast forwarding to today, Johnny U. isn’t walking through that door for the Colts, but then again, they likely won’t need him. I’ll take Indy (7-8, 3-5 away) to throttle New York (2-13, 0-8 home) at MetLife Stadium as the Giants finish winless at home for the second time3. Hang in there, BROTHER BLUENIK.
The Week Sixteen record was 10-6 (.625), moving the season mark to 154-87 (.639). Let’s go to the games, beginning with two tilts today.
CHRISTMAS DAY
At 1 pm on Netflix, I’ll take the Chiefs (14-1, 6-1 away) at the Steelers (10-5, 5-1 home). I’m done picking against Kansas City even though I hate to go against Mike Tomlin and think Pittsburgh has an excellent chance to win…
…at 4:30 pm, I like the Ravens (10-5, 5-3 away) at the Texans (9-6, 5-2 home). I just love Lamar to come up big here. This one is also on Netflix.
THURSDAY
8:15 PM – PRIME VIDEO
Take the Seahawks (8-7, 5-1 away) at the Bears (4-11, 4-4 home). It will be an offseason of reckoning in Chicago which, sadly, has become the norm.
SATURDAY
1 PM – NFL Network
I’m picking the Chargers (9-6, 4-3 away) to win at the Patriots (3-12, 1-5 home). If you want to dredge up San Diego’s nightmare loss to New England in the ‘06 playoffs, you’ll have to read elsewhere, folks.
4:30 PM – NFL Network
The Broncos (9-6, 4-4 away) fall at the Bengals (7-8, 2-5 home). Denver badly needs this game to secure a playoff spot, but I’ve got a feeling that Joe Burrow and Jamarr Chase will have something to say about that. Enjoy the day, SIR STRIPES.
8 PM – NFL Network
I can’t take the Cardinals (7-8, 2-5 away) at the Rams (9-6, 4-3 home). Arizona’s loss at Carolina was brutal last week and will be a defeat the team rues heading into the offseason.
SUNDAY
1 PM, CBS
The Bills (12-3, 7-0 home) hammer the visiting Jets (4-11, 2-6 away)…
…Carolina (4-11, 1-5 away) beats the host Bucs (8-7, 3-4 home), ending Tampa’s playoff hopes. Dave Canales has this Panthers outfit playing some very competitive football…
…the Titans (3-12, 2-6 away) fall at the Jaguars (3-12, 2-5 home). This game seems rife for a tie but, in the end, fans of both teams will be fit to be tied.
1 PM, FOX
Las Vegas (3-12, 1-7 away) drops one at the Saints (5-10, 3-5 home). New Orleans wins this one for Derek Carr, who has an outside chance to return from that broken left hand this weekend…
…the Cowboys (7-8, 5-2 away) shock the Eagles (12-3, 6-1 home) at the Linc. Dallas has been one of the best teams in the league over the past month with a 4-1 record and a one-score loss to Cincinnati. Don’t look now but Cooper Rush may be earning himself a contract somewhere.
4:05 PM, CBS
The Dolphins (7-8, 2-5 away) topple the Browns (3-12, 2-5 home) in Cleveland. Miami should be just fine in 2025, but the jury is out on what’s next for the Browns. I’d keep Coach Stefanski, cut DeShaun Watson and sign Kirk Cousins as my QB.
4:25 PM, FOX
The Packers (11-4, 5-2 away) lose a tight one at the Vikings (13-2, 7-1 home). This may be the game of the week.
8:20 PM, NBC/Peacock
I’ll take My Beloved Commies (10-5, 6-2 home) to beat the Falcons (8-7, 4-3 away) in Landover. But it won’t come easy. I’m just glad Cousins isn’t starting this game.
MONDAY
8:15 PM, ESPN/ABC/ESPN+
The visiting Lions (13-2, 7-0 away) drop the Niners (6-9, 4-5 away). Look for Dan Campbell & Co. to take 11 months of frustration out on San Fran.
New England famously lost to the Bears, 46-10 but getting that Pats team to the Bowl was a Herculean effort by Berry. The franchise hadn’t won a playoff game since 1963 prior to that ‘85 season.
H/T Pro Football Reference. LA’s Tom Fears held the record with 198 yards in a 1950 game against the Bears.
The first winless year? An 0-7 performance in 1974. H/T New York Post.