Jump to content

List of NFL tied games

Edit links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 130.218.10.1 (talk) at 21:13, 12 October 2014 (→Tied games (2012 to present)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

In the National Football League (NFL), a tied game occurs when a regular season game ends with both teams having an equal score.[1] If a game is tied after regulation (60 minutes, divided into four quarters of 15 minutes), a 15-minute sudden-death overtime period is held. Under current overtime rules adopted in 2012, "teams . . . have the opportunity to possess the ball at least once in the extra period unless the team that receives the [first] overtime kickoff scores a touchdown on its first possession". The game can also automatically end on a safety. If the team that received the first opening kickoff instead scores a field goal, the other team has an opportunity to tie or surpass that score.[2] Prior to the rule change, any score by either team in overtime would end the game.[3] Ties have counted as a half-win and half-loss in league standings since 1972; before that, ties were not counted in the standings at all.[4]

Tie games were once frequent in the NFL, but have become uncommon because of a rule change in 1974 that extended the existing sudden-death overtime for post-season games into the regular season.[5] Only seven ties have occurred since the 1989 season, a statistic that has been attributed to the increasing accuracy of kickers.[6] Unlike in association football (soccer), where teams routinely play for ties because of the benefit of a point in the standings, NFL teams never play for ties; the sudden-death overtime system does not provide for an easy way to finish in a tie. Instead, ties are almost always the result of mishaps or mistakes from the teams involved. Tied games are considered to be the least desired outcome a football game can produce, in part because of an American cultural aversion to ties.[7] Because of the rarity of tied games, some players (such as former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb) that have participated in one have recounted that they did not think a tie was a possible result for an NFL game.[1][8] A tie has been recorded in both seasons since the introduction of the new overtime rules in 2012. These rule changes were originally implemented in 2010 to only playoff games in response to statistics that showed that since 1994, teams that won the coin toss won overtime 59.8 percent of the time, and won 34.4 percent of the time on the first possession on a field goal;[9] they were later extended to all regular season games.[10]

From 1920 to 1973, the NFL had a total of 258 tied games. Only three seasons (1934, 1950, 1952) went without a tied game, while five seasons (1920, 1923, 1926, 1929, 1932) had at least ten ties. The most ties, 17, occurred in the 1920 season.[11] Since 1974, there have only been 20 tied games, the most recent occurring in the 2014 season when the Carolina Panthers and Cincinnati Bengals played to a 37–37 draw; this was also the highest-scoring tie in NFL history. The Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Seattle Seahawks are the only current NFL teams that have never recorded a tied game; the New England Patriots have never recorded a tie in an NFL game, but recorded nine ties as members of the American Football League (AFL). The Chicago Bears have played to 42 ties, the most of any NFL team,[12] while the Green Bay Packers have recorded the most ties since the 1974 introduction of overtime with five.

Tied games (1920 to 1973)

List of tied games per season from 1920 to 1973
Season No. of ties
1920[A][11] 17
1921 7
1922 9
1923 13
1924 7
1925 9
1926 14
1927 6
1928 6
1929 10
1930 7
1931 3
1932 10
1933 5
1934 0
1935 4
1936 2
1937 3
1938 3
1939 3
1940 4
1941 2
1942 1
1943 3
1944 3
1945 1
1946 3
1947 2
1948 1
1949 3
1950 0
1951 3
1952 0
1953 3
1954 2
1955 3
1956 2
1957 1
1958 3
1959 1
1960 5
1961 3
1962 4
1963 5
1964 6
1965 2
1966 5
1967 9
1968 4
1969 5
1970 9
1971 8
1972 5
1973 7

Tied games (1974 to 2011)

Key
Symbol Meaning
Team (X) Denotes the number of times the team has tied a game since 1974.
List of tied games from 1974 to 2011
No. Date Home team Away team Score Note(s)
1 September 22, 1974 Denver Broncos Pittsburgh Steelers 35–35 First regular-season overtime game in NFL history as well as the highest-scoring tie game under modern rules.[6]
2 September 19, 1976 Minnesota Vikings Los Angeles Rams 10–10
3 November 26, 1978 Green Bay Packers Minnesota Vikings (2) 10–10 Both teams finished the season with an 8–7–1 record. Minnesota won the NFC Central over Green Bay by virtue of a 1–0–1 head-to-head record.[7]
4 October 12, 1980 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Green Bay Packers (2) 14–14
5 October 4, 1981 Miami Dolphins New York Jets 28–28
6 December 19, 1982 Baltimore Colts Green Bay Packers (3) 20–20 Baltimore, which eventually finished its season at 0–8–1,[B] overcame a 20–6 fourth-quarter deficit to force overtime. Packers' Jan Stenerud missed wide right from 47 yards with 2:00 left to seal the draw.[15]
7 October 24, 1983 St. Louis Cardinals New York Giants 20–20 Only overtime tie to date on Monday Night Football.Cite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page). Cardinals' Neil O'Donoghue missed three field-goal attempts in the extra period from 45, 20 and 42 yards, the last two in the final 66 seconds.[16]
8 November 4, 1984 Detroit Lions Philadelphia Eagles 23–23
9 October 19, 1986 Atlanta Falcons San Francisco 49ers 10–10
10 December 7, 1986 Philadelphia Eagles (2) St. Louis Cardinals (2) 10–10
11 September 20, 1987 Green Bay Packers (4) Denver Broncos (2) 17–17
12 October 2, 1988 New York Jets (2) Kansas City Chiefs 17–17
13 November 19, 1989 Cleveland Browns Kansas City Chiefs (2) 10–10
14 November 16, 1997 Baltimore Ravens Philadelphia Eagles (3) 10–10 Each team had an unsuccessful field-goal attempt in the overtime; Ravens' Matt Stover missed wide right from 53 yards with 2:21 remaining, Eagles' Chris Boniol also wide right from 40 yards on the last play of the match.[17]
15 November 23, 1997 Washington Redskins New York Giants (2) 7–7 Only overtime tie to date on a Sunday night and lowest-scoring one under modern rules. Redskins' Gus Frerotte injured himself by headbutting a stadium wall while celebrating his team's lone touchdown.[18]
16 November 10, 2002 Pittsburgh Steelers (2) Atlanta Falcons (2) 34–34 Atlanta mounted a 17-point comeback to force overtime. Pittsburgh wide receiver Plaxico Burress was stopped a yard short of the end zone on the final play of overtime.[19]
17 November 16, 2008 Cincinnati Bengals Philadelphia Eagles (4) 13–13 Bengals kicker Shayne Graham missed a 47-yard field goal with seven seconds left in overtime.[20]

Tied games (2012 to present)

List of tied games from 2012 on
No. Date Home team Away team Score Note(s)
1 November 11, 2012 San Francisco 49ers (2) St. Louis Rams (2) 24–24 St. Louis had a game-winning field goal taken away because of a penalty. Both teams missed field goal attempts in the overtime period.[21]
2 November 24, 2013 Green Bay Packers (5) Minnesota Vikings (3) 26–26 The Packers scored 16 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 23 and force overtime. Both teams scored a field goal in the overtime period, resulting in a final score of 26–26. First tied game in which both teams converted field goal attempts in the extra period.[22]
3 October 12, 2014 Cincinnati Bengals (2) Carolina Panthers 37-37 1st tie since October 2, 1988 to not occur in the month of November

|align=center|3 !scope="row"|October 12, 2014 |Carolina Panthers |Cincinnati Bengals |align="center"|37–37 |Graham Gano of the Carolina Panthers kicked a 44-yd field goal in the last seconds of the 4th quarter to tie the game and force overtime. Both teams scored a field goal in the overtime period, resulting in a final score of 37–37. Second tied game in which both teams converted field goal attempts in the extra period.[23] |}

Notes

Notes
  1. ^ No official standings were recorded throughout the 1920 season and teams played games against opponents outside of the league.[13]
  2. ^ The 1982 season was reduced from 16 to 9 games because of a 57-day players' strike.[14]
Footnotes
  1. ^ a b Campbell, Dave (November 13, 2012). "Rams-49ers tie likely not enough to alter NFL rule". The Huffington Post. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  2. ^ "NFL overtime rules". NFL.com. March 28, 2012. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
  3. ^ Chase, Chris (March 28, 2012). "NFL passes new overtime rules for regular-season games". Shutdown Corner. Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
  4. ^ Piascik, Andy (2005). "Old and New Style: Winning Percentages" (PDF). The Coffin Corner. 27 (5). Professional Football Researchers Association. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  5. ^ Jonsson, Patrick (November 12, 2012). "First NFL tie since 2008, between Rams and 49ers: What is this, soccer?". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  6. ^ a b Chase, Chris (November 12, 2012). "All recent NFL ties have happened in mid-November and other interesting facts". USA Today. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  7. ^ a b Graham, Bryan Armen. "An argument in favor of tie games". Fan Nation. SI.com. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  8. ^ Farrar, Doug (November 12, 2012). "49ers and Rams players fail the test when asked about overtime rules". Shutdown Corner. Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  9. ^ "Rules proposal passes on 28–4 vote". ESPN. March 24, 2010. Archived from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved March 27, 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ "NFL passes overtime rules to reflect postseason, all turnovers now reviewed". CBS Sports. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
  11. ^ a b "1920 APFA Weekly League Schedule". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
  12. ^ "All-Time Records of Current NFL Franchises" (PDF). Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved November 25, 2013.
  13. ^ "NFL Champions". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved January 15, 2013.
  14. ^ "NFL History by Decade: 1981-1990". NFL.com Baltimore finished with zero wins, eight losses, and one tie. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
  15. ^ Christopulos, Mike. "Packers blow lead; Colts earn 20–20 tie," Milwaukee Sentinel, Monday, December 20, 1982.
  16. ^ Litsky, Frank. "Mistakes Hurt Giants in Tie," The New York Times, Wednesday, October 26, 1983.
  17. ^ "Eagles 10, Ravens 10," Chicago Tribune, Monday, November 17, 1997.
  18. ^ Schremmer, Mak (November 13, 2012). "Redskins Pro Bowler remembered for bizarre celebration". The Joplin Globe. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
  19. ^ Bouchette, Ed (November 11, 2012). "Steelers settle for tie as Vick rallies Atlanta from 17-point deficit in fourth quarter". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  20. ^ Eagles QB Donovan McNabb infamously stated at the post-game press conference that he didn't know games could end in a tie. "Eagles, Bengals play to NFL's first tie in six years at 13-13". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  21. ^ Gregory, Sean (November 12, 2012). "Unusual Ending: How the NFL Got a Tie Game". Time Magazine. Retrieved February 25, 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  22. ^ "NFL roundup: Patriots refuse to quit, ties still happen, and the Buccaneers are... good?". Statesman Journal. November 24, 2013. Retrieved November 25, 2013.
  23. ^ "Carolina Panthers vs. Cincinnati Bengals - Box Score - Oct. 12, 2014 - ESPN". October 12, 2014. Retrieved October 12, 2014.

General references

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_NFL_tied_games&oldid=629352724"