Thanksgiving 1957 Green Bay at Detroit

[LeonardRachiele]

Green Bay came into this game with a 3-6 and Detroit was 5-4. This was an odd statistical game that sent the Lions to the Western Conference title and Green Bay to a last place finish. The Lions won and the Packers lost the balance of their games.

Turnovers for this game-three for Green Bay and five for Detroit.

Green Bay did nothing rushing but had some decent passing yards. Yet for all their efforts, the Packers got just two field goals. Bart Starr completed 21 of 38 passes for 247 yards. The pass catchers broke down as follows:

Don McIhenny, four for 67 yards;
Howie Fergusson, seven for 66 yards;
Ron Kramer, four for 58 yards and
Bill Howton, five for 40 yards.

Detroit’s strength was on the ground with 215 yards rushing. John Henry Johnson, their number one runner, made a 62 yard touchdown run in the third quarter. In total, Johnson carried eight times for 105 yards.

The Lions had meager passing with just seven completions in 15 attempts for 134 yards.

Final record 3-9 for Green Bay and 8-4 for Detroit. The Lions won the NFL Championship.

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[RichardBak]

Here's John Henry churning through the mud and rain during that 1957 Turkey Day game.