1953, the Lions clinched the NFL Western Division championship with a 27–16 victory over the New York Giants in front of 28,390 spectators at the Polo Grounds in New York. Bobby Layne threw two touchdown passes in the first half – a 25-yard completion to Leon Hart and a 34-yard completion to Doak Walker. Walker also ran 50 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter. The Giants mounted a comeback in the fourth quarter with a touchdown and a safety, closing the score to 20–16. The Giants threatened three more times in the fourth quarter, but the defense intercepted two passes and stopped Frank Gifford on a fourth-down play at the one-yard line. After a Bob Smith interception, Gene Gedman sealed the Lions' victory with a four-yard run touchdown run late in the fourth quarter. With five interceptions in the game, the Lions totaled 38 for the season – four behind the NFL record of 42. NFL Championship Game On December 27, 1953, the Lions played the Cleveland Browns in the 1953 NFL Championship Game at Briggs Stadium in Detroit. Playing before a crowd of 54,577, the Lions defeated the Browns, 17–16. The Lions took a 7–0 lead in the first quarter on a one-yard touchdown run by Doak Walker. Walker and Lou Groza both kicked field goals in the second quarter, and the Lions led, 10–3, at halftime. In the second half, the Browns scored 13 unanswered points and led, 16–10, with less than five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. The Lions drove 80 yards for a touchdown, capped by a 33-yard pass from Bobby Layne to Jim Doran with two minutes left in the game. On the ensuing drive, Carl Karilivacz intercepted an Otto Graham pass to clinch the victory. The Lions' defensive backfield as a whole contributed to the victory, limiting Graham, a Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, to two completions (and an equal number of interceptions) on 15 passes for a total of four passing yards. The Detroit Free Press called it Graham's "darkest day in eight years of pro ball." Awards, honors and league leaders Team awards At the end of the regular season, the Lions players voted offensive guard Dick Stanfel as the team's most valuable player. All-NFL honors The following eight Lions players won All-Pro honors from the Associated Press (AP), United Press International (UPI) and/or the New York Daily