NFL Championship: New York Giants travel to face Chicago Bears at Wrigley Field for the league title. Winner is the NFL champion for the season. Loser's year ends.
New York Giants at Chicago Bears for the 1933 league title. The NFL Championship is the season's final game in this era, the one that decides which franchise's name goes on the championship ledger. For Chicago Bears, the home field at Wrigley Field is asked to be a player; for New York Giants, the road environment is supposed to be the test that breaks lesser teams. Coaches will lean on what worked all year. Players will lean on what their bodies have left in them.
New York Giants and Chicago Bears have outlasted everyone else in the league this 1933 season. One walks out of Wrigley Field with the title; the other walks out with a brutal what-if. Pre-Super Bowl era: the NFL Championship is the title game itself. There is no next round.
New York Giants versus Chicago Bears in the NFL Championship. The teams who reach this round have already proven they survive a long schedule; the stats that matter most now are the ones that compress: scoring differential, red-zone efficiency, turnover margin. At this stage of the year, the simple math is that defenses tighten and the team that protects the ball wins more often than the team that scores the most. Whichever side of New York Giants-Chicago Bears cleans up the careless plays first usually walks out with the result. Conservative-game expectations should not surprise the reader; both staffs know exactly what worked all season and will lean hard on what travels. The early answer is the kicking game, where any swing of field position compounds.
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| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Giants | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 07142121 |
| Chicago Bears | 3 | 3 | 10 | 7 | 36162323 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Bears | Jack Manders 16 yard field goal | 0-3 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Bears | Jack Manders 40 yard field goal | 0-6 |
| Giants | Red Badgro 29 yard pass from Harry Newman ( Ken Strong kick) | 7-6 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Bears | Jack Manders 28 yard field goal | 7-9 |
| Giants | Max Krause 1 yard rush ( Ken Strong kick) | 14-9 |
| Bears | Bill Karr 8 yard pass from Bronko Nagurski ( Jack Manders kick) | 14-16 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Giants | Ken Strong 8 yard pass from Harry Newman ( Ken Strong kick) | 21-16 |
| Bears | Bill Karr 19 yard pass from Bronko Nagurski ( Carl Brumbaugh kick) | 21-23 |
| Giants | Bears | |
|---|---|---|
| Team totals | ||
| First Downs | 13 | 12 |
| Total Yards | 307 | 311 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 1 |
| Passing | ||
| Comp/Att | 14/20 | 7/16 |
| Pass yards | 208 | 150 |
| Pass TD | 2 | 2 |
| Interceptions | 1 | 1 |
| Rushing | ||
| Rushes | 25 | 49 |
| Rush yards | 99 | 161 |
| Rush TD | 1 | 0 |
| Discipline | ||
| Penalties | 3 | 8 |
| Penalty yards | 15 | 40 |
| Player | C/A | Yds | TD | Int | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NYG | |||||
| Harry Newman | 13/19 | 209 | 2 | 1 | |
| Ken Strong | 1/1 | -1 | 0 | 0 | |
| CHI | |||||
| George Corbett | 2/3 | 79 | 0 | 0 | |
| Bronko Nagurski | 2/2 | 42 | 2 | 0 | |
| Keith Molesworth | 2/5 | 24 | 0 | 0 | |
| Gene Ronzani | 1/4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
| Carl Brumbaugh | 0/2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Player | Att | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NYG | ||||
| Kink Richards | 5 | 40 | 0 | 0 |
| Ken Strong | 8 | 35 | 0 | 0 |
| Harry Newman | 5 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| Stu Clancy | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Dale Burnett | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Max Krause | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| CHI | ||||
| Gene Ronzani | 12 | 73 | 0 | 0 |
| Bronko Nagurski | 13 | 64 | 0 | 0 |
| Red Grange | 6 | 24 | 0 | 0 |
| Jack Manders | 6 | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| Keith Molesworth | 7 | -7 | 0 | 0 |
| George Corbett | 5 | -9 | 0 | 0 |
| Player | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NYG | ||||
| Dale Burnett | 5 | 94 | 0 | 0 |
| Red Badgro | 2 | 38 | 1 | 29 |
| Ray Flaherty | 2 | 28 | 0 | 0 |
| Kink Richards | 1 | 16 | 0 | 16 |
| Max Krause | 1 | 13 | 0 | 13 |
| Glenn Campbell | 1 | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| Ken Strong | 1 | 8 | 1 | 8 |
| Harry Newman | 1 | -1 | 0 | -1 |
| CHI | ||||
| Carl Brumbaugh | 3 | 88 | 0 | 67 |
| Bill Karr | 1 | 39 | 2 | 19 |
| Gene Ronzani | 1 | 15 | 0 | 15 |
| Keith Molesworth | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Bill Hewitt | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
Chicago Bears defeated New York Giants 23-21 at Wrigley Field in the NFL Championship. The final scoring play was Bears: Bill Karr 19 yard pass from Bronko Nagurski ( Carl Brumbaugh kick). The result came down to the final possession; Chicago Bears won by 2. Top line of the day: Harry Newman: 209 pass yards on 13-of-19, 2 TD, 1 INT. Chicago Bears are crowned NFL champions for 1933.
Chicago Bears walked out of Wrigley Field as the team that survived an NFL Championship New York Giants will replay in its head for the entire offseason. The scoreboard says 23-21. The game stayed within 2 points throughout, the kind of contest where every drive felt like a referendum and every defensive stop carried twice its usual weight. The final scoring play came from Bears: Bill Karr 19 yard pass from Bronko Nagurski ( Carl Brumbaugh kick). Whether it was the game-decider or just the period at the end of the sentence depends on what the camera caught earlier. Chicago Bears are league champions.
Chicago Bears 23, New York Giants 21. Round: NFL Championship. Attendance: 26000. Q1: 1 scoring play. Q2: 2 scoring plays. Q3: 3 scoring plays. Q4: 2 scoring plays. Top performers: - Harry Newman: 209 pass yards on 13-of-19, 2 TD, 1 INT - Gene Ronzani: 73 rush yards on 12 carries - Dale Burnett: 5 catches for 94 yards
NFL Championship, played at Wrigley Field. Final: New York Giants 21, Chicago Bears 23, with Chicago Bears taking the result by 2. **First quarter**
- Bears: Jack Manders 16 yard field goal
**Second quarter**
- Bears: Jack Manders 40 yard field goal - Giants: Red Badgro 29 yard pass from Harry Newman ( Ken Strong kick)
**Third quarter**
- Bears: Jack Manders 28 yard field goal - Giants: Max Krause 1 yard rush ( Ken Strong kick) - Bears: Bill Karr 8 yard pass from Bronko Nagurski ( Jack Manders kick)
**Fourth quarter**
- Giants: Ken Strong 8 yard pass from Harry Newman ( Ken Strong kick) - Bears: Bill Karr 19 yard pass from Bronko Nagurski ( Carl Brumbaugh kick)
**Top performers**
- Harry Newman: 209 pass yards on 13-of-19, 2 TD, 1 INT - Gene Ronzani: 73 rush yards on 12 carries - Dale Burnett: 5 catches for 94 yards
A 2-point margin in NFL Championship is the kind of result that defines reputations on both sidelines.