What Was the Longest NFL Game?
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The longest NFL game ever played was the divisional playoff game between the Miami Dolphins and the Kansas City Chiefs in 1971. The game went into overtime, and the Chiefs eventually won it by a score of 27-24.
The epic 1971 AFC divisional playoff game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Miami Dolphins
The 1971 AFC divisional playoff game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Miami Dolphins was widely considered to be the greatest game ever played, and it lived up to that billing. The game went to overtime, with the Chiefs winning it on a field goal by Jan Stenerud.
The game that lasted 82 minutes and 40 seconds
In 1971, the Cleveland Browns and Miami Dolphins played what ended up being the longest NFL game ever played. The game, which was a regular season match-up, was played on December 25th and lasted a whopping 82 minutes and 40 seconds.
The game was so long because it went into sudden death overtime, which at the time was still relatively new. In those days, each team got an opportunity to possess the ball once in overtime, meaning that if neither team scored, the game would end in a tie.
Fortunately for fans of football (and of long games), that’s not what happened. After each team failed to score on their first possession of overtime, the Browns finally punched it in for a touchdown on their second try. The final score was 27-21 in favor of Cleveland.
While the total game time has since been eclipsed by other games that also went into overtime, the 1971 match-up between the Browns and Dolphins still holds the record for longest sudden death OT period in NFL history.
The longest NFL game in terms of time
The longest NFL game by time took place on December 21, 1971, between the Miami Dolphins and the Kansas City Chiefs. The game went into overtime and lasted 82 minutes and 40 seconds.
The longest NFL game in terms of plays
The longest NFL game in terms of plays took place on November 19, 2018, between the Los Angeles Rams and the Kansas City Chiefs. The game lasted for a total of 112 plays, with the Rams winning 54-51.
The longest NFL game in terms of both time and plays
The longest NFL game in terms of both time and plays was a contest between the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets that took place on November 29, 1970. The game lasted 82 minutes and 40 seconds, and there were a total of 206 plays run. In terms of time, the next longest NFL game was a contest between the Chicago Bears and the Baltimore Colts that took place on September 28, 2008. That game lasted 81 minutes and 54 seconds.
