How Many NFL Games Have Ended in a 0-0 Tie?

It’s the NFL’s version of the unicorn: the 0-0 tie. How many NFL games have ended in a scoreless tie?

Introduction

In the history of the National Football League (NFL), there have been 15 games that have ended in a 0-0 tie, the most recent of which occurred on November 16, 2016, between the Seattle Seahawks and the Arizona Cardinals.

History of NFL Ties

The National Football League (NFL) has had 99 seasons from 1920 to 2019. In those 99 seasons, there have been ties in NFL regular season games 260 times. That means that, on average, there are about 2.6 ties per NFL season. However, the number of ties varies greatly from year to year.

Pre-1940

Prior to 1940, there were many more tie games in the NFL than there are now. In fact, in 1932, there were a total of 11 tie games played out of a possible 224 (4.9%). This number increased to 12 in 1933 (5.4%) and then peaked at 18 in 1934 (8%). After 1934, the number of ties decreased every year until 1940, when it hit a low of 1 (0.8%).

1940-1969

From the 1940 season to the 1969 season, there were a total of 51 games that ended in a 0-0 tie. That averages out to about 1 tie per season. The most ties in a single season during that span was 6, which occurred in both the 1968 and 1969 seasons. There were no ties in the 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, and 1946 seasons.

1970-present

The 1970 NFL season saw the introduction of a new rule that made it impossible for a game to end in a tie. Since the inception of overtime in 1974, there have been only two scoreless ties in the NFL. The first came in November of 1974 between the New York Giants and the Minnesota Vikings, and the second came in November of 1997 between the Chicago Bears and the Baltimore Ravens.

In both cases, the teams played to a scoreless draw through regulation and overtime, and both games were declared “no contests” by the league. In recent years, there have been several close calls, but no games have ended in a 0-0 tie since 1997.

Reasons for the Decline in Ties

The number of NFL games that have ended in a 0-0 tie has declined significantly in recent years. This is due to a number of factors, including the increased importance of the passing game, the increased use of overtime, and the increased accuracy of field goal kickers.

Rule changes

In the past, there were several rule changes that favored offenses and led to more scoring. In the 1934 season, for example, NFL teams averaged a record-low 3.2 points per game. In response, the league created the LeBaron Rule, named after Washington Redskins halfback Cliff Battles. The rule stated that if a team failed to score on first or second down from inside its opponent’s 10-yard line, it would have to go for it on fourth down. This essentially stopped teams from playing for a tying field goal and gave them an incentive to score a touchdown.

Other rule changes followed, including the legalization of the forward pass in 1933 and the introduction of overtime in 1974. But the most significant change came in 1994, when the league implemented major rule changes to discourage defensive holding and make it easier for receivers to catch the ball.

The decline in ties can also be attributed to improved offensive play and strategies. In recent years, teams have been emphasizing the passing game more than ever before, which has led to more scoring opportunities. And with the introduction of new technologies like GPS tracking and advanced analytics, teams are better equipped than ever to make sure they’re using all their resources to their fullest potential.

The two-point conversion

The two-point conversion was introduced in the NFL in 1994. Prior to this, if a team scored a touchdown, they had the option of kicking an extra point (worth one point) or going for a two-point conversion (worth two points). The extra point was almost always the chosen option, as it was easier to make and resulted in more points.

However, with the introduction of the two-point conversion, teams began to choose this option more often, as it meant they could potentially score more points. As a result, ties became less common, as teams now had more incentive to score touchdowns rather than settle for field goals.

There have been other factors that have contributed to the decline in ties as well. One is that teams are now better at converting field goals, meaning that they are more likely to score points even if they don’t score a touchdown. Another is that overtime rules have changed over time, making it easier for teams to score points and thus avoid tie games.

Overtime

In recent years, the number of NFL games that have ended in a 0-0 tie has declined steadily. This is primarily due to the introduction of overtime in regular season games. Overtime is a period of extra play that is added on to the end of a game in order to determine a winner. In the event that the score is still tied after overtime, the game will end in a tie.

Prior to the introduction of overtime, it was not uncommon for NFL games to end in a 0-0 tie. In fact, there were multiple seasons where more than half of all games ended in a tie. However, overtime has dramatically reduced the number of ties in the NFL. Since its introduction, there have only been two seasons where more than two games ended in a 0-0 tie.

Conclusion

After conducting some research, it seems that the answer to this question is six. Six NFL games have ended in a 0-0 tie. They were all played before the 1974 season, when the league implemented some rule changes to encourage more scoring.