1947 NFL season

1947 National Football League season

Regular season
East Champions	Philadelphia Eagles
West Champions	Chicago Cardinals
Championship Game
Champions	Chicago Cardinals

The 1947 NFL season was the 28th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded the regular season by one game from eleven games per team to twelve, a number that remained constant for fourteen seasons, through 1960.

The season ended when the Chicago Cardinals defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFL Championship Game on December 28.

Major rule changes

• A fifth official, the Back Judge, is added to the officiating crew.
• When a team has less than 11 players on the field prior to a snap or kick, the officials are not to notify them.
• An illegal use of hands penalty will be called whenever a defensive player uses them to block the vision of a receiver during any pass behind the offensive team's line.
• During an unsuccessful extra point attempt, the play becomes dead as soon as failure is evident.
• Roughing the kicker will not be called if he kicks after recovering a loose ball or fumble on the play.
• All teams are required to use prescribed standard yardage chains, down boxes, and flexible shaft markers.
• Games are no longer played on Tuesdays.

Division races

Starting in 1947, the NFL teams played a 12 game schedule rather than 11 games. The twelfth game proved to be crucial for the Steelers, Eagles, Cardinals and Bears. In the Eastern Division, Pittsburgh took a half-game lead over Philadelphia after a 35–24 win in Week Five. On November 30, the Eagles won the rematch, 21–0, to take a 7–3–0 to 7–4–0 lead. The same day, the Cardinals lost to the Giants, 35–31, while the Bears beat Detroit 34–14; the 7–3–0 Cards were a game behind the 8–2–0 Bears in the Western Division.

In Week Twelve, the Cardinals beat the Eagles, 45–21. Pittsburgh beat Boston 17–7, while the Bears lost to the Rams, 17–14. The result was that the Steelers finished at 8–4, and the 7–4 Eagles had to win their last game. The Cardinals and Bears were both at 8–3, and the Western title would go to the winner of their December 14 season-closer. A crowd of 48,632 turned out at Wrigley Field to watch. The Cardinals won the game, 30–21, and the right to host the championship. The same day, Philadelphia beat Green Bay, 28–14, to force a playoff with Pittsburgh.

Final standings

W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT= Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against Note: The NFL did not officially count tie games in the standings until 1972

Eastern Division
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
Philadelphia Eagles	8	4	0	.667	308	242
Pittsburgh Steelers	8	4	0	.667	240	259
Boston Yanks	4	7	1	.364	168	256
Washington Redskins	4	8	0	.333	295	367
New York Giants	2	8	2	.200	190	309

Western Division
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
Chicago Cardinals	9	3	0	.750	306	231
Chicago Bears	8	4	0	.667	363	241
Green Bay Packers	6	5	1	.545	274	210
Los Angeles Rams	6	6	0	.500	259	214
Detroit Lions	3	9	0	.250	231	305

Playoffs

See: 1947 NFL playoffs

Home team in capitals

Eastern Division Playoff Game

• Philadelphia 21, PITTSBURGH 0

NFL Championship Game

• CHI. CARDINALS 28, Philadelphia 21

League leaders

Statistic	Name	Team	Total
Passing Yards	Sammy Baugh	Washington Redskins	2938
Completion Percentage	Sammy Baugh	Washington Redskins	.593 (210-for-354)
Touchdown Passes	Sammy Baugh	Washington Redskins	25
Rushing: Yards	Steve Van Buren	Philadelphia Eagles	1008
Receiving: Yards	Mal Kutner	Chicago Cardinals	944
Receiving: Catches	Jim Keane	Chicago Bears	64
Receiving: Touchdowns	Ken Kavanaugh	Chicago Bears	13
Total Points Scored	Pat Harder	Chicago Cardinals	102
Punting: Average	George Gulyanics	Chicago Bears	44.8
Interceptions	Frank Reagan	New York Giants	10
	Frank Seno	Boston Yanks	10

References

• NFL Record and Fact Book (ISBN 1-932994-36-X)
• NFL History 1941–1950 (Last accessed December 4, 2005)
• Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (ISBN 0-06-270174-6)