# NFL Week 17 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [January 1, 2012, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-17/608031 "2012-01-01T12:33:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-17/608031/101 "2012-01-03T02:50:23Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > I’d pick the Broncos to beat the Steelers 2-0. Not 1-0? That could happen if the Steelers decide to just not show up. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-17/608031/102 "2012-01-03T02:51:41Z")
Really? The NFL gives you a point for the other team’s no-show? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-17/608031/103 "2012-01-03T02:57:10Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > Really? The NFL gives you a point for the other team’s no-show? That’s what I learned as a kid. However, consulting the rulebook these days indicates that a forfeit is now scored 2-0. :o > [@](#): > > 2- The NFL scores forfeits 2-0 > According to the official NFL rulebook, a forfeit occurs: “… when a game is not played because of the failure or refusal of one team to participate. In that event, the other team, if ready and willing to play, is the winner by a score of 2-0” (the points earned in a safety). Why a two-point safety? Because those points are the league’s only scores that are not credited to any one player. > > This little-discussed rule is even less frequently applied, since dating back to 1920 there has been just one forfeit. Specifically, December 4, 1921, when the Rochester Jeffersons lost by forfeit to the Washington Pros/Senators. Since the league was just a year old and this rule was not yet established, the referee scored the game 1-0. No word on whose stats got padded with the point. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-17/608031/104 "2012-01-03T03:23:06Z")
That’s interesting. I don’t think I understand why it has to be two points to avoid crediting one player though. How are 2 points allocated then? But I think 2-0 in OT would be more fitting. Broncos lose the toss, each team turns it over a couple of times until there is a perfect punt and a safety. Cut between shots of Tim Tebowing and Ben crying. Fireworks, confetti. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-17/608031/105 "2012-01-03T04:15:29Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > How are 2 points allocated then? They’re not allocated to any player, since the team scoring the points for a safety don’t have possession of the ball. If the offense snaps the ball back through the end zone it’s a safety, and no one on the defense (the team that gets the points) was even involved in the play. > [@](#): > > But I think 2-0 in OT would be more fitting. Broncos lose the toss, each team turns it over a couple of times until there is a perfect punt and a safety. Cut between shots of Tim Tebowing and Ben crying. Fireworks, confetti. I’m not sure where a perfect punt enters into this, as a punt is an unlikely way to earn a safety. It usually occurs when the QB is sacked in the end zone. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-17/608031/106 "2012-01-03T04:19:17Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > I’m not sure where a perfect punt enters into this, as a punt is an unlikely way to earn a safety. It usually occurs when the QB is sacked in the end zone. Tell that to Green Bay. Anyway, I think he meant downing the punt at the 1, setting up an easy safety. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-17/608031/107 "2012-01-03T04:40:16Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > They’re not allocated to any player, since the team scoring the points for a safety don’t have possession of the ball. If the offense snaps the ball back through the end zone it’s a safety, and no one on the defense (the team that gets the points) was even involved in the play. Seems kind of pointless. There’s not going to be a stat book, so why don’t they just score it 1-0 and move on? ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-17/608031/108 "2012-01-03T05:45:22Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > They’re not allocated to any player, since the team scoring the points for a safety don’t have possession of the ball. If the offense snaps the ball back through the end zone it’s a safety, and no one on the defense (the team that gets the points) was even involved in the play. But they aren’t safety points, they are forfeit points, right? Why can’t it be just one, allocated to no players? ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-17/608031/109 "2012-01-03T06:01:52Z")
Wasn’t there a forfeit in a preseason game at Philly several years ago? I want to say the turf was so bad, the ref ruled it unplayable… ---
**Author:** ![Jules\_Andre](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jules_andre/32/9334_2.png) [@Jules\_Andre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jules_Andre)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-17/608031/110 "2012-01-03T08:51:43Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Wasn’t there a forfeit in a preseason game at Philly several years ago? I want to say the turf was so bad, the ref ruled it unplayable… The game was called and canceled (and never rescheduled due to it being preseason and there being little opportunity for replaying the game), but not forfeited. Ahhh, Veteran’s Stadium. ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-17/608031/111 "2012-01-03T17:54:53Z")
Ahh, another season of the **New York Football Giants** sticking it to their favorite foe, the Dallas Cowboys. This NEVER gets old! I know Jason Garrett isn’t going anywhere… 8-8 isn’t terrible for a newbie head coach. Is Romo sticking around? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-17/608031/112 "2012-01-03T17:59:05Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > But they aren’t safety points, they are forfeit points, right? Why can’t it be just one, allocated to no players? I’m guessing something to do with Elias Sports Bureau’s records being fucked if there is nobody to attribute a point to or something like that. > [@Agent\_Foxtrot](#): > > I know Jason Garrett isn’t going anywhere… 8-8 isn’t terrible for a newbie head coach. Is Romo sticking around? He’s under contract through 2013 at a relatively reasonable cap number. ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-17/608031/113 "2012-01-03T20:10:37Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I’m guessing something to do with Elias Sports Bureau’s records being fucked if there is nobody to attribute a point to or something like that. > > He’s under contract through 2013 at a relatively reasonable cap number. Right, but my miniscule understanding of NFL contracts tells me that a contract doesn’t guarantee a player a starting position. They could bench Romo for the whole year in favor of the second string and still be within the terms of the contract, right? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-17/608031/114 "2012-01-03T20:22:22Z")
> [@Agent\_Foxtrot](#): > > Right, but my miniscule understanding of NFL contracts tells me that a contract doesn’t guarantee a player a starting position. They could bench Romo for the whole year in favor of the second string and still be within the terms of the contract, right? No, a contract would never guarantee something like that. And contracts in the NFL aren’t guaranteed anyway. But I think his point is that Romo is still under contract, so he’s not going to walk, and his salary isn’t overly exorbitant (he’s making around $11 million a year). I imagine they’ll be looking for a better backup but I don’t know what their options will be. ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-17/608031/115 "2012-01-04T00:46:24Z")
> [@Hamlet](#): > > the Dallas D collapse with the other Ryan :dubious: Um, right. With no major roster changes between seasons: PPG: 2011 – 21.7 2010 – 27.3 YPG: 2011 – 343.2 2010 – 351.8 The biggest issue you see this season with the Cowboys’ defense is their inability to hold late leads (three blown double-digit fourth-quarter leads this year), which has more to do with their awful secondary than anything else. If they’d had more double-digit leads last year, they would have blown more. If Jones fires Ryan–after giving Sensabaugh a contract extension, no less–he’s a moron. Wait, he gave Sensabaugh a contract extension? Forget it–he’s just a moron, period. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-17/608031.md?page=5)