that was more than 10,000 less than the average per game the previous year. These factors – combined with a war for players between the two leagues that raised salaries and ate into owners' profits – ultimately led to the dissolution of the AAFC and the merger of three of its teams, including the Browns, into the NFL in 1949. The NFL does not acknowledge AAFC statistics and records because these achievements – including the Browns' perfect season – did not take place in the NFL or against NFL teams, and not in a league fully absorbed by the NFL. Success and challenges in the NFL (1950–1956) The AAFC proposed match-ups with NFL teams numerous times during its four-year existence, but no inter-league game ever materialized. That made Cleveland's entry into the NFL in the 1950 season the first test of whether its early supremacy could continue into a more established league. The proof came quickly: Cleveland's NFL regular-season opener was against the two-time defending champion Philadelphia Eagles on September 16 in Philadelphia. The Browns lit up the Eagles' vaunted defense for 487 total yards—including 246 passing yards from Graham and his receivers—in a 35–10 win before a crowd of 71,237. This decisive win quashed any doubts about the Browns' prowess. Behind an offense that featured Graham, Groza, Motley, Lavelli and running back Dub Jones, Cleveland finished the 1950 season with a 10–2 record, tied for first place in the Eastern Conference. After winning a playoff game against the New York Giants, the Browns advanced to the NFL championship match against the Los Angeles Rams in Cleveland. The Browns won 30–28 on a last-minute Groza field goal. Fans stormed the field after the victory, carting off the goalposts, ripping off one player's jersey and setting a bonfire in the bleachers. "It was the greatest game I ever saw", Brown later said. After five straight championship wins in the AAFC and NFL, the Browns appeared poised to bring another trophy home in 1951. The team finished the regular season with 11 wins and a single loss in the first game of the season. Cleveland faced the Rams on December 23 in a rematch of the previous year's title game. The score was deadlocked 17–17 in the final period, but a 73-yard touchdown pass by Rams quarterback Norm van Brocklin to wide receiver Tom Fears broke the tie and gave Los Angeles