The 1946 NFL season was the 27th regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, Elmer Layden resigned as NFL Commissioner and Bert Bell, co-founder of the Philadelphia Eagles, replaced him. Meanwhile, the All-America Football Conference was formed to rival the NFL, and the Rams became the first NFL team based on the West Coast after they relocated from Cleveland, Ohio, to Los Angeles, California. A regular season game was played on Tuesday, the last until the 2010 season, on October 1, between New York and Boston. The season ended when the Chicago Bears defeated the New York Giants in the NFL Championship Game.

Draft

The 1946 NFL draft was held on January 14, 1946, at New York City's Commodore Hotel. With the first pick, the Boston Yanks selected quarterback Frank Dancewicz from the University of Notre Dame.

Major rule changes

Division races

In the Eastern Division, the Giants, Eagles, and Steelers all had 4-2 records in Week Seven of an 11-week season, while in the Western Division, the Bears' 10–7 win over the Packers on November 3 put them a game ahead of the Rams. In Week Eight, the Giants beat the Eagles 45–17, the Steelers lost to Detroit 17–7, and the Bears beat the Rams 27–21 to widen their lead. Week Nine saw Giants tie with Boston, 28–28, putting them at 5–2–1, while the Steelers beat the Eagles 10–7 to be a half-game behind at 5–3–1. The teams met in New York in Week Ten, and the Giants' 7–0 win put them in front again. The final week of the season had the 6–3–1 Giants hosting the 5–4–1 Redskins: a Washington win would have given them both 6–4–1 records and forced a playoff. That became a moot point with New York's 31–0 win in front of 60,337 at the Polo Grounds: more than the 58,346 that went there for the Championship Game a week later.

Final standings

NFL Championship Game

Chicago Bears 24, New York Giants 14, at the Polo Grounds in New York City on December 15, 1946

League leaders

Awards

Coaching changes

Stadium changes

The relocated Los Angeles Rams moved from Cleveland's League Park to Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

Deaths

January

February

April

May

June

July

September

August

October

November