Tie Games in the NFL

The NFL has done a very good job of limiting the number of tie scores to which teams play, from sudden death overtime instituted in 1974, to two point conversions (adopted in 1994). Since 1974, the most tie scores in a season has been 2 - in 1986 and 1997. In the 1973 season, there were 7 such scores with the Browns, Chiefs, Broncos, and Packers playing to a draw twice each. Since 1990, there have been only 3 ties played, an average of 18.7 a year. Since 1974, the average number of tie scores is .5 yearly.

When a regular season NFL game ends in a tie score, a fifth 15-minute period is played. The winner is the first team to score any points and it ends in a tie if time expires without points having been scored. For purposes of determining playoff spots and division rankings, a tie is calculated as .5 win, .5 loss. So, for instance a team is 10-5-1 at the end of the season, its winning percentage would be .645 (or 10/15.5) as opposed to .625 (or 10/16).

The Jacksonville Jaguars, Carolina Panthers, Seattle Seahawks, and Houston Texans are the only franchises without a tie in their history. It is not surprising given these are four of the six newest franchises in the NFL; the other two "new" franchises, the Baltimore Ravens and Tampa Bay Buccaneers each have one. Of the 28 teams with a tie score in their history, the New England Patriots have the longest run without one. That tie was in week 5 of the 1967 season against the San Diego Chargers. Final score: 31-31. The most recent tie in the NFL occurred in Week 10 of the 2002 NFL Season, when the Falcons and Steelers played to a 34-34 draw in Pittsburgh; it was the first NFL tie in 5-years. Most ties, though, seem to be lower scoring affairs: of the last ties for each franchise, 10-10 is the most frequent score.

The Chicago Bears have the most draws in the NFL with 42, followed by the Chicago/St.Louis/Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals with 38. The Packers have 36.

The only thing keeping the 1982 Colts from having a "perfect" strike shortened season, was a tie with the Green Bay Packers; the Colts finished the season 0-8-1, just one tie away from perfect futility.

If you're looking to compare the coaching records of those who have coached in the history of the NFL, you should be aware that a tie is not necessarily counted the same way. According to the Cold Hard Football Facts, there are in fact, three different ways ties get calculated into a head coaches winning percentage. If your man was coaching before the 1972 season, they're completely disregarded; If your man started coaching NFL ball in the 1972 season or later, they're counted in the same way ties are in the teams record - half win/half loss. HOWEVER, if your man coached through the 1971 season and into 1972 or beyond, there's a third calculation - ties before 1971 are disregarded, ties in 1972 and later are counted using the 50/50 split. Kissing your sister, indeed.

Coach Erdelatz apparently thought better of coining that phrase: In a January 1954 edition of the New York Times, he says he was proud of the quip, until he saw it in print and it didn't "look as gay, as flippant or as innocent as I meant it to be." Some half century later, he may well have thought better about that clarification.