1961 NFL Season Recap

By Zane Miller

On Sunday, December 31st, 1961, the Green Bay Packers defeated the New York Giants 37-0 in the 1961 NFL Championship Game to win the 42nd championship in NFL history. It was the seventh championship for the Packers franchise. The game was held at City Stadium in Green Bay.

The Detroit Lions defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 38-10 in the 1961 Playoff Bowl on Saturday, January 6th, 1962 to claim third place in the overall standings. The game was held at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida.

Green Bay Packers halfback Paul Hornung won the 1961 MVP Award with 8 rushing touchdowns and 597 rushing yards.

Out of Playoffs: Cleveland Browns (8-5-1), Chicago Bears (8-6), Baltimore Colts (8-6), San Francisco 49ers (7-6-1), St. Louis Cardinals (7-7), Pittsburgh Steelers (6-8), Dallas Cowboys (4-9-1), Los Angeles Rams (4-10), Minnesota Vikings (3-11), Washington Redskins (1-12-1)

Most passing touchdowns: #9 Sonny Jurgensen (Eagles)- 32 TD

Most rushing touchdowns: #31 Jim Taylor (Packers)- 15 TD

Most receiving touchdowns: #25 Tommy McDonald (Eagles)- 13 TD

Most interceptions: #22 Dick Lynch (Giants)- 9 INT

Best field goal percentage (min. 11 attempts): #76 Lou Groza (Browns)- 16 for 23, 69.6%

Scoring Summary