1954 NFL Semifinal-Philadelphia Eagles-17, Cleveland Browns-0

Pete Pihos, All-Pro End

January 2, 1955

Weather-47 degrees, 17 mph WNW

Philadelphia's defense came up big for the second consecutive week and earned the Eagles a berth in the NFL Championship Game, 17-0. Cleveland struggled to establish any offense, managing only 129 yards offense for the game. Browns QB struggled with a constant wind that gusted to over 20 mph all afternoon. Graham completed only 8 of 19 passes and was sacked 5 times. Cleveland was held to 18 net yards passing.

Eagles QB Adrian Burk led the offense by throwing for 148 yards and 2 TD in the steady wind. Philadelphia struggled to run the ball, but Pete Pihos was able to make plays against the Cleveland secondary, catching 5 balls for 82 yards and a TD.

Philadelphia Eagles.(9-4-1)-7-10-0-0-17
Cleveland Browns........(9-4)-0-0-0-0-0

Phi-Walston 8 pass from Burk (Walston Kick)
Phi-Pihos 11 pass from Burk (Walston Kick)
Phi-Walston 21 FG

Rushing (season totals in parentheses)
Phi-Parmer-14-26-0 (151-505-2), Williams-7-12-0 (65-234-2), Ledbetter-2-7-0 (88-256-1), Giancanelli-6-6-0 (43-57-0), Burk-4-1-0 (20-18-0)
Cle-Bassett-16-61-0 (160-649-6), Jones-7-50-0 (58-281-0), Renfro-6-8-0 (35-159-0), Graham-3-0-0 (66-114-8), Hanulak-5-(-8)-0 (64-288-4)

Passing
Phi-Burk-24-11-148-2-0 (281-147-2,042-25-18), Thomason-2-0-0-0-0 (174-85-1,260-10-13)
Cle-Graham-19-8-53-0-1 (259-150-2,145-11-18)

Receiving
Phi-Pihos-5-82-1 (71-1,007-11), Walston-2-27-1 (37-680-12), Williams-2-16-0 (48-701-3), Luft-1-23-0 (4-82-0), Giancanelli-1-0-0 (18-225-4)
Cle-Lavelli-5-36-0 (52-838-7), Brewster-1-11-0 (43-687-4), Hanulak-1-4-0 (7-84-0), Jones-1-2-0 (20-349-2)

1954 NFL Quarterfinal-Philadelphia Eagles-24, San Francisco 49ers-8

Jim Parmer ran for 71 yards and 2 TD

December 26, 1954

Weather-52 degrees, 16 mph N

The Philadelphia defense pitched a shutout in the second half on the way to a 24-8 win. Jim Parmer led the Eagles ground attack by running for 71 yards and a pair of first half touchdowns. Philadelphia QB Adrian Burk threw for 154 yards. The Niners were led by RB John Henry Johnson, who ran for 124 yards on just 12 carries. Joe Perry, the NFL's leading rusher in 1954, was held to just 30 yards on 16 carries.

Philadelphia was able to force passing situations on third down, and San Francisco QB Y.A. Tittle, who was accurate all season, failed too often to convert. Tittle would complete only 8 of 21 passes for 87 yards. The Eagles advance to the NFL Semifinals, where they will travel to Cleveland's Municipal Stadium to face the defending champion Browns.


Philadelphia Eagles.(8-4-1)-7-7-3-7-24
San Francisco 49ers..(7-5-1)-6-2-0-0-8

SF-Soltau 23 FG
Phi-Parmer 17 run (Walston Kick)
SF-Soltau 17 FG
Phi-Parmer 4 run (Walston Kick)
SF-Safety, Hantla sacks Burk in end zone
Phi-Walston 24 FG
Phi-Williams 17 run (Walston Kick)

Rushing (season totals in parentheses)
Phi-Parmer-18-71-2 (137-479-2), Williams-11-39-1 (58-222-2), Ledbetter-5-8-0 (86-249-1), Giancanelli-4-4-0 (37-51-0), Burk-1-(-1)-0 (16-17-0)
SF-Johnson-12-124-0 (141-805-9), Perry-16-30-0 (189-1,079-8), McElhenny-4-22-0 (68-537-6), Tittle-1-4-0 (29-72-4)

Passing
Phi-Burk-26-13-154-0-1 (257-136-1,894-23-18), Thomason-2-2-18-0-0 (172-85-1,260-10-13)
SF-Tittle-21-8-87-0-1 (316-178-2,292-9-10)

Receiving
Phi-Pihos-6-53-0 (66-925-10), Walston-4-72-0 (35-653-11), Giancanelli-3-30-0 (17-225-4), Williams-2-17-0 (46-685-3)
SF-Soltau-3-46-0 (25-362-2), Wilson-3-25-0 (63-855-5), McElhenny-1-16-0 (9-178-0), Johnson-1-0-0 (29-183-0)

1954 NFL Quarterfinal-New York Giants-41, Chicago Bears-0

Eddie Price scored 3 TD for the Giants
 

December 26, 1954

Weather-46 degrees, 14 mph SSW, rain

The Giants dominated in all phases of the game on their way to a 41-0 shutout of Chicago and a berth in the NFL Semifinals. New York rolled up 210 yards on the ground, led by 92 yards and 3 rushing touchdowns from Eddie Price. New offensive coordinator Vince Lombardi has emphasized the running attack in his first year with the club, and the strategy paid dividends today.

The Bears used big plays in the passing game to get to the postseason in 1954, but the Giants defense took the pass away, leading to a 3 for 25 performance from Chicago QB George Blanda. Blanda managed more completions to the Giants DB, who had 4 interceptions on the day, including one each from Emlen Tunnell and Tom Landry. Landry's defense held the Bears to 148 yards and sacked Blanda 4 times.

The Giants will travel to Tiger Stadium next Sunday to face the Lions in the NFL Semifinals.

New York Giants.(8-5)-7-14-3-17-41
Chicago Bears......(8-5)-0-0-0-0-0

NY-Price 9 run (Agajanian Kick)
NY-Price 1 run (Agajanian Kick)
NY-Topp 19 pass from Conerly (Agajanian Kick)
NY-Agajanian 10 FG
NY-Price 35 run (Agajanian Kick)
NY-Gifford 7 run (Agajanian Kick)
NY-Agajanian 11 FG

Rushing (season totals in parentheses)
NY-Price-17-92-3 (152-647-5), Gifford-10-60-1 (76-428-3), Rote-7-52-0 (37-111-0), Conerly-6-5-0 (30-112-1), Clatterbuck-1-1-0 (20-(-20)-1)
Chi-Stone-9-51-0 (88-357-3), Jagade-17-43-0 (174-541-3), Blanda-3-13-0 (22-54-0), Hoffman-3-1-0 (42-179-1)

Passing
NY-Conerly-29-12-160-1-1 (239-115-1,599-18-12)
Chi-Blanda-25-3-67-0-4 (306-134-1,996-15-21)

Receiving
NY-Rote-3-47-0 (32-598-2), Schnelker-3-34-0 (33-584-8), MacAfee-3-34-0 (27-472-8), Price-2-26-0 (30-378-3), Topp-1-19-1 (7-109-4)
Chi-Hill-1-39-0 (46-1,163-12), Dooley-1-19-0 (35-677-7), Jagade-1-9-0 (25-181-0)

The 1954 Season

The Playoff Seeds for 1954...

#6 seed-New York Giants (7-5)
Last Playoff Appearance...1952, lost NFL Semifinal
Playoff Record...8-5, 2 NFL Championships (1950, 1951)
Pro Bowl-FB Eddie Price, LH Frank Gifford, RH Kyle Rote, LG Bill Austin, LDT Ray Krouse, LDH/P Tom Landry, LS/PR Emlen Tunnell

The Giants are back in the postseason after a one-year absence. New York's defense led the way, allowing the second fewest points in the NFL and leading the league with 33 interceptions, led by 8 each from Emlen Tunnell and Tom Landry. The Giants opened 4-1 before barely surviving the second half of the schedule to earn a playoff berth.

#5 seed-Philadelphia Eagles (7-4-1)
Last Playoff Appearance...1953, lost NFL Semifinal
Playoff Record...9-6, 2 NFL Championships (1944, 1945)
Pro Bowl-RT Lum Snyder, RE Pete Pihos, MG Bucko Kilroy, RDE Norm Willey, LLB Chuck Bednarik, RLB Wayne Robinson, P/QB Adrian Burk

Philadelphia got off to a hot start, winning their first 4 games and looking like one of the best teams in the league. Eventually, the difficulties the Eagles had running the ball caught up with them, and they struggled to qualify for the postseason.

#4 seed-San Francisco 49ers (7-4-1)
Last Playoff Appearance...1953, lost NFL Quarterfinal
Playoff Record...4-7
Pro Bowl-QB Y.A. Tittle, FB Joe Perry, LH John Henry Johnson, RG Bruno Banducci, RE Billy Wilson, MG Al Carapella, RS Jim Cason

The 49ers ground attack paced one of the best offenses in the NFL. San Francisco survived a 3-game losing streak in midseason to advance to the playoffs. Joe Perry gained over 1,000 yards on the ground and Y.A. Tittle completed 58 percent of his passes for the Niners.

#3 seed-Chicago Bears (8-4)
Last Playoff Appearance...1951, lost NFL Quarterfinal
Playoff Record...2-10
Pro Bowl-LE Harlon Hill, MG Bill George, RDT Bill Bishop, RDE Ed Sprinkle, FB/KR Chick Jagade

The Bears were 4-4 after 8 games and looked like they would be left out of the postseason chase, but they regrouped and won their last 4 games to qualify as the 3rd seed. Chicago's passing attack was led by receiver Harlon Hill, who averaged 25 yards a catch and scored 12 touchdowns.

#2 seed-Cleveland Browns (9-3)
Last Playoff Appearance...1953, NFL Champions
Playoff Record...11-5, 3 NFL Championships (1946, 1948, 1953)
Pro Bowl-QB Otto Graham, LG Abe Gibron, RE Dante Lavelli, RDT Don Colo, RDE Len Ford, K/LT Lou Groza

The Browns had the best defense in the NFL in 1954, leading the league in fewest yards, points, rushing yards and passing yards allowed. Cleveland had an 8-game winning streak that led them to the playoffs. The Browns are attempting to win their fourth championship in nine seasons.

#1 seed-Detroit Lions (9-2-1)
Last Playoff Appearance...1953, lost NFL Championship
Playoff Record...4-3, 1952 NFL Champions
Pro Bowl-LT Lou Creekmur, LLB Joe Schmidt, RLB LaVern Torgeson, LDH Jim David, RDH Bill Stits, K Doak Walker, LS/PR Jack Christiansen

The Lions had the highest-scoring offense in the NFL in 1954. Detroit started the season at 8-1 and never looked back on their way to the postseason, as the road to the championship now leads through Tiger Stadium.

1954 Playoffs

December 26, 1954
New York Giants at Chicago Bears, 3 pm
Philadelphia Eagles at San Francisco 49ers, 6:30 pm

January 2, 1955
highest seed at Cleveland Browns, 3 pm
lowest seed at Detroit Lions, 6:30 pm

January 9, 1955
NFL Championship, 6:30 pm