List of NFL tied games
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In the National Football League (NFL), a tied game occurs when a regular season game ends with both teams having an equal score after one 10-minute overtime period.[1][2] 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.[3] NFL teams rarely play for ties. In general, tied games in the NFL are frowned upon by both teams and fans.[4] Tied games in the NFL were fairly common until a 1974 rule change added one 15-minute sudden death overtime period to regular-season games if they were tied after regulation.[5] Under the original overtime rules, any score by either team in overtime would win the game.[6][7][8] The rules were modified in 2012 to prevent a field goal from the team that won the kickoff from ending the game,[9] and in 2017 to shorten the extra period from 15 minutes to 10 minutes for preseason and regular season games.[10][11]
Tie games were once frequent in the NFL, but have become increasingly uncommon due to a rule change in 1974 that extended the existing sudden-death overtime for post-season games into the regular season.[5] Unlike in soccer, where teams routinely play for ties due to the benefit of a point in the standings, NFL teams never play for ties; ties are most often 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.[4] From 1920 to 1973, there were a total of 256 tied games. Only three seasons prior to the rule change (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.[12] Since overtime was introduced in 1974, there have been 29 tied games. Five seasons (1986, 1997, 2016, 2018, and 2022) have two ties since the introduction of overtime. The most recent tie game occurred on December 4, 2022, when the New York Giants and Washington Commanders played to a 20–20 draw.[13]