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Before the merger, many 0-0 scores were recorded in the NFL.
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The lowest-scoring NFL games in the Super Bowl era converge on a 3-0 scoreline.
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In 2023, the latest entry to the lowest-scoring NFL games club was recorded between the Vikings and Raiders.
There are so many ways that a team can score in the NFL; whenever the ball’s in play, regardless of possession, either team could put up points.
While the highest-scoring NFL games are more exciting, there’s also a special place in the record books for the lowest-scoring NFL games, where one team just manages to battle their way to the all-important win.
Here, we’re delving into the lowest-scoring NFL games ever recorded, from the scoreless ties before the end of World War II to the Super Bowl era’s collection of single-score games.
Has an NFL Game Ever Finished 0-0?
NFL games have ended 0-0, but not since 1943. The last was on 7 November 1943 between the New York Giants and Detroit Lions.
Records of the game are sparse, but those in the know say that the field must have been terrible, with the two kickers missing a combined four field goal attempts.
That game in 1943 was the most recent of a grand total of 73 NFL games to finish tied at 0-0 when time expired. By contrast, the under-over lines in the NFL odds now generally hover around the 45-point mark.
What is the Lowest-Scoring NFL Game Ever?
In the Super Bowl era, which began in 1970, seven games have earned the joint title for being the lowest-scoring NFL game ever. Each saw a team walk away with a 3-0 win.
Now, you’ll get very long odds in sports betting markets for under ten points to be scored, let alone under 3.5, but it wasn’t that long ago that the most recent 3-0 game was recorded in the NFL.
Bookending the record lowest-scoring NFL games collection to date are the Minnesota Vikings. Already the owners of some unenviable pieces of NFL history, at least in these games, the Vikings came out on top.
The first Super Bowl era 3-0 win was earned by the Vikings on 14 November 1971 against the Green Bay Packers. On 10 December 2023, the Vikings came out on top by three points to nil again – this time against the Las Vegas Raiders.
In between the two 3-0 wins for the Vikings, the other lowest-scoring NFL games came in 1977 (Buffalo vs Atlanta), 1979 (Tampa Bay vs Kansas City), 1982 (New England vs Miami), 1993 (New York Jets vs Washington), and 2007 (Pittsburgh vs Miami).
What is the Lowest-Scoring Super Bowl?
The lowest-scoring Super Bowl the NFL has ever seen took place in 2019 for Super Bowl LIII, in which the New England Patriots edged the Los Angeles Rams 13-3.
With only 16 points scored, the game undercut the 21 put up between the Miami Dolphins and Washington Redskins at Super Bowl VII (1973).
On offence, the Pats could call upon Tom Brady, Julian Edelman, Rob Gronkowski, and Sony Michel, while the Rams featured Jared Goff, Todd Gurley II, and Brandin Cooks. Yet, only one touchdown was scored.
What is the Lowest-Scoring NFL Playoff Game?
To lay down your Super Bowl credentials, you’ll want to put up some impressive scores in the playoffs, so it won’t come as a surprise that there aren’t many particularly low-scoring games in the NFL’s postseason.
In the whole history of the NFL, only three playoff games have ended with fewer than ten points on the board, and the lowest of the bunch was on 26 December 1970 – a 5-0 win for the Dallas Cowboys against the Detroit Lions.
A 2018 wild card game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Buffalo Bills, which ended 10-3 to the Jags, is the most recent entry to the collection of the lowest-scoring NFL games in the playoffs.
*Credit for the photos in this article belongs to Adobe*
