1935 NFL season


The 1935 NFL season was the 16th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended when the Detroit Lions defeated the New York Giants in the NFL Championship Game.
Were it not for a cancellation due to heavy snow, this would have been the first season where all NFL teams played the same number of games. This standardization was formalized the following year and has continued ever since, with the number of games being slowly increased to sixteen by.

Major rule changes

This width lasted for ten seasons, through. The hashmarks were moved to 20 yards from the sidelines in, which lasted for 27 seasons. They were moved in to the width of the goalposts in.

Division races

In the Eastern Division, the key game took place on Thanksgiving Day at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, as the 5–4 Dodgers hosted the 6–3 Giants. A Brooklyn win would have tied the teams at 6–4, but New York won, 21–0, eventually finishing at 9–3. The same Thanksgiving Day saw the Lions and the Cardinals both win, giving them records of 6–3–2 and 6–3–1 respectively; ties did not count at the time. Three days later on December 1, the Lions beat Brooklyn 28–0; the Cardinals were losing to the Bears before tying them 7–7, but Detroit finished its season at 7–3–2 while the Cardinals were at 6–3–2. The Cardinals needed a win in order to have a chance for a playoff, and faced the Bears again on December 8. This time, the Bears won 13–0, and the Lions were the division champs.
Had the current system of counting ties as half a win and half a loss been in place in 1935, Green Bay would have required a playoff with the Lions for the Western Division, while the Bears would have finished third over the Cardinals after the December 8 win.

Final standings

P= Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT= Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against
Note 1: The NFL did not officially count tie games in the standings until 1972
Note 2: The November 17 Boston at Philadelphia game was canceled due to rain and snow.

NFL Championship Game

26, N.Y. Giants 7, at University of Detroit Stadium, in Detroit, Michigan, on December 15.

League leaders

Coaching changes