After the 1934 NFL season, the Cincinnati Reds and the St. Louis Gunners folded and the NFL was reduced to a total of nine teams.  Were it not for a cancellation of the game between the Boston Redskins and the Philadelphia Eagles as a result of 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 in 1936, and has continued ever since, with the number of games being slowly increased to sixteen. 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. In the Western Division, the same Thanksgiving Day saw the Lions and the
Cardinals both win, giving them records of 6–3–2 and 6–3–1 respectively, and ties didn't count. Three days later on December 1, the Lions beat Brooklyn 28–0; the Cardinals and the Bears fought to a 7-7 tie, but Detroit finished its season at 7–3–2 while the Cards were at 6–3–2. The Chicago 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. The 1935 NFL Championship game was held on December 15, 1935 at University of Detroit Stadium (also known as Titan Stadium) in Detroit. The champion of the Western Division was the Detroit Lions (7–3–2) and the
champion of the Eastern Division was the New York Giants (9–3). The Giants (coached by Steve Owen) were attempting to win two consecutive championships while the Lions (coached by George Clark) were attempting to win their first, three years removed from their nailbiting loss in the 1932 NFL Playoff Game to the Chicago Bears. The weather in Detroit for the NFL Championship game was gray, wet, and windy. The field at the University of Detroits Titan Stadium was sloppy. The Lions took the opening kickoff and drove down field. They were helped by two long passing plays, including one from Gutowsky that hit Danowski, playing defense, in the chest and was caught by end Ed
Klewicki. Gutowsky capped the 61-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown run and Presnell kicked the extra point for the 7-0 lead. After another Lions touchdown, the Lions had a 13-0 lead, but the Giants cut the lead to 6 with a touchdown of their own in the second quarter.  However, two touchdowns in the fourth quarter sealed the victory for the Lions, giving them their first NFL Championship.