Most Points Scored In NFL Game And Ties In The History Of American Football

Publish date: 2024-06-12

Most points in NFL history single game is 113 in 1966 in the game Giants vs. Redskins. Most points scored by one team is 72 by Washington Redskins in 1966.

The match was played between Washington and the Giants in week twelve of that season. In the match, there were sixteen touchdowns which include a fumble return, an interception return, and a punt return which was by the team Washington.

The most common score in National Football League history is 20-17 which occurred for the first time in 1944.

The match between both of the teams is recorded as the highest scoring but it is not the only match that got over 100 points in the National Football League. The games securing over 100 points have occurred six times in total.

Table of Contents

NFL Game With Most Points By A Team

Most points scored in NFL game by one team is 72 points by The Washington Redskins. The score was 72-41 against New York Giants.

Both teams got a total of 113 points on November 27, 1996, in Washington, D.C.

It was a regular season tournament where Redskins beat the Giants by 72-41. A total of 16 touchdowns were made, where ten were by the Redskins and six by the Giants.

Kicker Charlie Gogolak of Washington’s team made the field goal when only seven seconds remained.  

At the beginning of the match, Washington was in the lead by 34-7, and in the second half, the Giants came back with four touchdowns, which were insufficient as Washington completed the match with a 72-41.

The fourteen balls were lost to the stands in the tournament as it was played before setting the nets behind the goalpost.

One was lost when Brig Owens threw it into the crowd, and thirteen were lost because of the extra points.

The other highest points scored by teams in NFL history are:

  • 70 score (Los Angeles Rams vs. Baltimore Colts) 1950 by Los Angeles
  • 65 score (Los Angeles Rams vs. Detroit Lions) 1950 by Los Angeles
  • 65 score (Chicago Cardinals vs. New York Bulldogs) 1949 by Chicago Cardinals
  • 64 score (Philadelphia Eagles vs. Cincinnati Reds) 1934 by Philadelphia Eagles
  • 63 score (Pittsburgh Steelers vs. New York Giants) 1952 by Pittsburgh Steelers

    • NFL Game With The Highest Score

    Highest scoring NFL game in history was held in 1996 between the New York Giants and Washington Redskins. The highest score which was recorded combining both teams was 113 points.

    #ThrowbackThursday to the highest scoring game in NFL history with the final score being Washington @redskins, 72, and the New York @giants, 41. The combined score of the game was an impressive 113 points. #NFLAlumni #NFLHistory #NFL #Football #Redskins #Giants #FootballHistory pic.twitter.com/FJ7KpxjbBR

    — NFL Alumni (@NFLAlumni) April 4, 2019

    The second highest scoring was between the Cincinnati Browns and Cincinnati Bengals with 106 points. It was held on November 28, 2004. The Bengals won over the Browns by a score of 58-48. 

    The competition was held between Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Rams on November 19, 2018, with 105 points. Los Angeles defeated the City Chiefs by a score of 54-51. It is the only team in the National Football League history to secure 50 points by each team.

    The top five games with the highest score in NFL includes:

  • 113 points (New York Giants vs. Washington Redskins, 1966)
  • 106 points (Cincinnati Browns vs. Cincinnati Bengals, 2004)
  • 105 points (City Chiefs vs. Los Angeles Rams, 2018)
  • 101 points (New Orleans Saints vs. New York Giants, 2015)
  • 101 points (Oakland Raiders vs. Houston Oilers, 1963)

    • How Many NFL Games In History?

    A total of 15,790 games have been played in NFL history. NFL first game was held on October 3, 1920.

    The Dayton Triangles organized the first NFL tournament against the Columbus Panhandles at Triangle Park, and the score was 14-0.

    In the beginning, National Football League did not make any schedule, and the teams used to play less than eight events or as many as sixteen events against independent professionals, college, or with beginner teams.

    The team played eleven to fourteen matches per season from 1926 to 1946, depending upon the number of league’s teams.

    Every National Football League team played twelve tournaments per season from 1947 to 1960. In 1960 the American Football League started playing and set a balanced schedule of 14 matches per team over a 15-week season in which each of the eight teams played with each other two times and one bye week.

    The league increased and followed suit with 14 tournaments scheduled in 1941 due to the competition from the new league. From 2021-present, there are 17 regular season matches in eighteen weeks.

    The number of regular season games per team in NFL history is mentioned below:

  • 1935-1936 (12 games)
  • 1937-1942, 1946 [11 games (12 weeks)]
  • 1943-1945 [10 games (12 weeks)]
  • 1947-1960 [12 games (variable weeks)]
  • 1961-1965, 1967-1977 [14 games (14 weeks)]
  • 1966 [14 games (15 weeks, odd number of teams)]
  • 1978-1981, 1983-1986, 1988-1989  [16 games (16 weeks)]
  • 1982 [9 games (17 weeks, strike)]
  • 1987 [15 games (16 weeks, strike)]
  • 1990-1992, 1994-2000, 2002-2020 [16 games (17 weeks)]
  • 1993 [16 games (18 weeks, additional bye week)]
  • 2001 [16 games (18 weeks)]
  • 2021-present [17 games (18 weeks)]

    • How Often Do Ties Happen In The NFL?

    Ties in NFL history are rare but seem to happen. After the initiation of overtime in 1974, there have been 29 tied games.

    Ties took place when the match ended with an equal score by both teams after overtime. There were no overtime rules in the regular season of the NFL from 1920 to 1973. At that time, there were 256 tied matches.

    The overtime was initiated in 1974, with 29 tied matches. After the initiation of overtime, five seasons, like in 1986, 1997, 2016, 2018, and 2022, have had two ties in each season.

    On December 4, 2022, the current tie match was held between the New York Giants and Washington Commanders by a 20-20 draw. The only current team that has not a tied match is Jacksonville Jaguars. The team got associated with the NFL in 1995.

    The New England Patriots have recorded nine-tied tournaments as a member of the American Football League but never had a tied match in the National Football League.

    The National Football League’s all-time record for most ties is held by Chicago Bears, which played 42 tied games before 1974. The Green Bay Packers have recorded the most ties, with six tied tournaments since overtime was announced in 1974. 

    The tied games from 2018 to the present are:

  • 21-21 Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cleveland Browns (2018)
  • 29-29 Minnesota Vikings vs. Green Bay Packers (2018)
  • 27-27 Detroit Lions vs. Arizona Cardinals (2019)
  • 23-23 Cincinnati Bengals vs. Philadelphia Eagles (2020)
  • 16-16 Detroit Lions vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (2021)
  • 20-20 Indianapolis Colts vs. Houston Texans (2022)
  • 20-20 Washington COmmanders vs. New York Giants (2022)

    • Football Game With The Highest Score

    Highest scoring football game by one team is Georgia Tech. The team defeated Cumberland by 222-0.

    The team securing 100 points by a single team has mostly been rare in college football since 1940. On October 7, 1916, Georgia Tech won over Cumberland by 222-0, making the records for the most points obtained by a single team and the most unbalanced final score in college football history.

    The other teams who have obtained 200 points are King College, now King University, which won over Lenoir 206-0 in 2022, and St. Viator College, which won over Lane College (IL) 205-0 in 1916.

    Other fifteen programs have won the tournament by obtaining at least 150 points. It includes Albion, Arizona, Bowling Green, Central Oklahoma(two times), Dayton, Georgia Tech, etc.

    The top five scores in football games include:

  • 183-0 (Central Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma City) 1916
  • 179-0 (Oklahoma vs. Kingfisher) 1917
  • 178-0 (Albion vs. River Rough NTS) 1919
  • 167-0 (Arizona vs. Camp Harry Zones) 1920
  • 162-0 (Stevens vs. CCNY) 1885

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