NFL Championship: Baltimore Colts travel to face New York Giants at Yankee Stadium for the league title. Winner is the NFL champion for the season. Loser's year ends.
Baltimore Colts at New York Giants for the 1958 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 New York Giants, the home field at Yankee Stadium is asked to be a player; for Baltimore Colts, 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.
Baltimore Colts and New York Giants have outlasted everyone else in the league this 1958 season. One walks out of Yankee Stadium 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.
Baltimore Colts versus New York Giants 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 Baltimore Colts-New York Giants 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.
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Browns | 9-3 | L1 |
| New York Giants | 9-3 | W4 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 7-4-1 | W1 |
| Washington Redskins | 4-7-1 | W1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 2-9-1 | L4 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Colts | 9-3 | L2 |
| Chicago Bears | 8-4 | W2 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 8-4 | W3 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 6-6 | W2 |
| Detroit Lions | 4-7-1 | L2 |
| Green Bay Packers | 1-10-1 | L7 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Colts | 0 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 014141723 |
| New York Giants | 3 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 33101717 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Giants | Pat Summerall 36 yard field goal | 0-3 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Colts | Alan Ameche 2 yard rush ( Steve Myhra kick) | 7-3 |
| Colts | Raymond Berry 15 yard pass from Johnny Unitas ( Steve Myhra kick) | 14-3 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Giants | Mel Triplett 1 yard rush ( Pat Summerall kick) | 14-10 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Giants | Frank Gifford 15 yard pass from Charlie Conerly ( Pat Summerall kick) | 14-17 |
| Colts | Steve Myhra 20 yard field goal | 17-17 |
| OT | ||
| Colts | Alan Ameche 1 yard rush | 23-17 |
| Colts | Giants | |
|---|---|---|
| Team totals | ||
| First Downs | 27 | 10 |
| Total Yards | 452 | 266 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 4 |
| Passing | ||
| Comp/Att | 26/40 | 12/18 |
| Pass yards | 349 | 200 |
| Pass TD | 1 | 1 |
| Interceptions | 1 | 0 |
| Sacks taken | 4 | 3 |
| Sack yards lost | 35 | 22 |
| Net pass yards | 314 | 178 |
| Rushing | ||
| Rushes | 38 | 31 |
| Rush yards | 138 | 88 |
| Rush TD | 2 | 1 |
| Discipline | ||
| Fumbles | 2 | 6 |
| Fumbles lost | 2 | 4 |
| Penalties | 3 | 2 |
| Penalty yards | 15 | 22 |
| Player | C/A | Yds | TD | Int | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BAL | |||||
| Johnny Unitas | 26/40 | 349 | 1 | 1 | |
| NYG | |||||
| Charlie Conerly | 10/14 | 187 | 1 | 0 | |
| Don Heinrich | 2/4 | 13 | 0 | 0 | |
| Player | Att | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BAL | ||||
| Alan Ameche | 14 | 65 | 2 | 23 |
| L.G. Dupre | 11 | 30 | 0 | 10 |
| Lenny Moore | 8 | 23 | 0 | 10 |
| Johnny Unitas | 6 | 20 | 0 | 15 |
| NYG | ||||
| Frank Gifford | 12 | 60 | 0 | 38 |
| Alex Webster | 9 | 24 | 0 | 8 |
| Mel Triplett | 5 | 12 | 1 | 8 |
| Charlie Conerly | 2 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Phil King | 3 | -13 | 0 | 4 |
| Player | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BAL | ||||
| Raymond Berry | 12 | 178 | 1 | 25 |
| Lenny Moore | 6 | 101 | 0 | 60 |
| Jim Mutscheller | 3 | 46 | 0 | 32 |
| Alan Ameche | 3 | 17 | 0 | 10 |
| L.G. Dupre | 2 | 7 | 0 | 4 |
| NYG | ||||
| Kyle Rote | 2 | 76 | 0 | 62 |
| Bob Schnelker | 2 | 63 | 0 | 46 |
| Alex Webster | 2 | 17 | 0 | 9 |
| Mel Triplett | 2 | 15 | 0 | 9 |
| Ken MacAfee | 1 | 15 | 0 | 15 |
| Frank Gifford | 3 | 14 | 1 | 15 |
Baltimore Colts defeated New York Giants 23-17 at Yankee Stadium in the NFL Championship. The final scoring play was Colts: Alan Ameche 1 yard rush. Top line of the day: Johnny Unitas: 349 pass yards on 26-of-40, 1 TD, 1 INT. Baltimore Colts are crowned NFL champions for 1958.
Baltimore Colts walked out of Yankee Stadium as the team that survived an NFL Championship New York Giants will replay in its head for the entire offseason. The scoreboard says 23-17. A one-score game throughout. The decisive points came on the fewest possible margin, which is how these matchups usually resolve. The final scoring play came from Colts: Alan Ameche 1 yard rush. Whether it was the game-decider or just the period at the end of the sentence depends on what the camera caught earlier. Baltimore Colts are league champions.
Baltimore Colts 23, New York Giants 17. Round: NFL Championship. Attendance: 64185. Q1: 1 scoring play. Q2: 2 scoring plays. Q3: 1 scoring play. Q4: 2 scoring plays. OT: 1 scoring play. Top performers: - Johnny Unitas: 349 pass yards on 26-of-40, 1 TD, 1 INT - Alan Ameche: 65 rush yards on 14 carries - Raymond Berry: 12 catches for 178 yards
NFL Championship, played at Yankee Stadium. Final: Baltimore Colts 23, New York Giants 17, with Baltimore Colts taking the result by 6. **First quarter**
- Giants: Pat Summerall 36 yard field goal
**Second quarter**
- Colts: Alan Ameche 2 yard rush ( Steve Myhra kick) - Colts: Raymond Berry 15 yard pass from Johnny Unitas ( Steve Myhra kick)
**Third quarter**
- Giants: Mel Triplett 1 yard rush ( Pat Summerall kick)
**Fourth quarter**
- Giants: Frank Gifford 15 yard pass from Charlie Conerly ( Pat Summerall kick) - Colts: Steve Myhra 20 yard field goal
**Overtime**
- Colts: Alan Ameche 1 yard rush
**Top performers**
- Johnny Unitas: 349 pass yards on 26-of-40, 1 TD, 1 INT - Alan Ameche: 65 rush yards on 14 carries - Raymond Berry: 12 catches for 178 yards