The Western Conference race started with Baltimore losing its opener at Minnesota, 34–24. After that, the Colts went on an 11-game winning streak, taking the lead on October 4 with their 35–20 win over the Rams, and clinching a spot in the title game on November 22. In the Eastern Conference, the Browns and the Cardinals played to a 33–33 tie on September 20, and were both 4–1–1 after six games. In Week Seven, Cleveland beat New York 42–20, while St. Louis fell to Dallas, 31–13. When the Cardinals beat the Browns 28–19 in Week Thirteen, they were only a game behind and needed a win and a Cleveland loss to have a chance for a playoff. St. Louis won, 36–34 in Philadelphia, but Cleveland also won, 52–20 over the Giants. The 1964 NFL championship game was held on December 27, 1964 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio before a crowd of 79,544. It was the first NFL title game to be televised by CBS.
The first half went scoreless, but Cleveland went on a 17-point run to take the lead into the fourth quarter. Johnny Unitas went for 12 of 20 passes for only 95 yards. Gary Collins set a title game record with three touchdown catches in one game. Frank Ryan, a quarterback who has arrived, threw those three passes in paving the way to the Browns' fourth NFL crown. Lou Groza kicked field goals of 42 and 10 yards. Jim Brown carried the ball 27 times and gaining 114 yards, as the Browns would go on to win 27-0 and claim the 1964 NFL Championship. The Browns' win was the most recent major professional sports championship for the city of Cleveland.