Who is to Blame for the Scoreless Game?

 There are two types of scoreless games in the NFL, a tie game and a 0-0 game. A tie game is one in which both teams have scored an equal number of points at the end of four quarters. A scoreless game is one in which neither team has scored any points by the end of regulation play. If no overtime is played, the game ends in a tie.

Has There Ever Been a Scoreless NFL Game

Yes, there have been two official scoreless NFL games. They were played on November 11, 1921 and October 15, 1940.

No NFL games have gone longer without scoring than the 1921 scoreless tie between the Buffalo All-Americans and Cleveland Indians. The game began at 11:50 am in front of somewhere around 2,000 fans in a snowstorm.

The temperatures were below 20 degrees, but it was likely much colder on the field with the wind chill factor. The standing-room only crowd was likely even smaller at that time of day.

The conditions were so bad, Buffalo refused to kick off because Cleveland would have had the wind at its back. Instead of scrimmaging, referee Charles Johnston tossed a coin on the field for possession of the ball. Even though both teams wanted it, Cleveland won the toss and deferred possession until the second half.

The only scoring opportunity came in the third quarter, when Cleveland drove to a first down at the Buffalo 10-yard line. But the Indians were stopped short on fourth down and turned it over to Buffalo with a turnover on downs. The All-Americans, though, couldn't capitalize on their good fortune.

The only points of the game came when Buffalo drove to a first down at Cleveland's 21-yard line in the fourth quarter, but then punted from there into a strong wind that pushed it off target. The last play was an interception by a Buffalo back who ran it back 20 yards before being caught from behind and tackled by a Cleveland player.

From that point, both teams turned it over on downs and the game ended scoreless after 15 minutes of extra time. Since no points were scored in regulation time, the game officially ended in a 0-0 tie.

The second scoreless NFL game was played between Detroit and Chicago on October 15, 1940 at Wrigley Field.

It was another game played in terrible conditions, with the temperature hovering around 20-25 degrees and a 15 mph wind that made it feel like 10 degrees. It also started at 11:30 am to avoid playing during Cubs game times when there would be more spectators.

The poor weather kept attendance for this Sunday game in Chicago to only 12,034.

The Bears scored the only points of the game in the second quarter with a safety when Detroit's Tommy Hughitt fumbled and Chicago recovered in the end zone.

Aside from that one play, neither team threatened to score throughout regulation time or 15 minutes of overtime. The two teams then played another 15 minutes without scoring before ending the game in a scoreless tie.

Explanation: How No Scoring Games Actually Happen

In most cases, a scoreless tie or a nearly scoreless 0-0 game is the result of offensive stagnation. There are usually very few scoring chances by both teams due to solid defense and/or poor offense.

The conditions may also play a role in keeping down the points total for each team. In some cases, one team scores more than the other, but still fails to reach the end zone.

There are three levels of scoreless ties in NFL history:

1) End-of-regulation, no overtime tie games where teams each scored at least one touchdown; This is what actually happened in 1921 and 1940, when conditions were so bad that scoring chances were low.

2) End-of-regulation, no overtime tie games where teams did not each score a touchdown; This is what happened in many of the early scoreless ties, but it's a misnomer that all NFL games which ended with no scoring were scoreless ties.

3) No ending regulation time due to one team winning by forfeit or something other than a score; This happened in two games, but there was no scoring in the other NFL games which ended with both teams not scoring.