# What is the most common number of points scored by a football team? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [February 2, 2013, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-common-number-of-points-scored-by-a-football-team/649147 "2013-02-02T21:21:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2018, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-common-number-of-points-scored-by-a-football-team/649147/41 "2018-11-21T09:23:59Z")
OK. My friend was a big bettor and may have gotten “special deals” from his bookies. How big a bettor was he? He once offered me a salary just to live in Las Vegas and place bets for him! (This is one of many interesting offers I’ve had that I now regret turning down.) ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2018, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-common-number-of-points-scored-by-a-football-team/649147/42 "2018-11-21T10:02:22Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > Back in the day when I used to bet, a two-team (or team + over/under) parlay paid 12:5. So if I bet $50 and lost I’d owe $50 but if I won I’d get paid $120. (No vig on a parlay, mainly because the payout itself makes it a sucker’s bet.) When the (spread-adjusted) game score is a toss-up you get your $11 back. but not so on a parley, right? And the over-under has similar behavior? _ **When those adjustments are considered** _ I’m not sure the 12:5 is too different from 10:11 compounded. ---
**Author:** ![Kimble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kimble/32/19185_2.png) [@Kimble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimble)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2018, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-common-number-of-points-scored-by-a-football-team/649147/43 "2018-11-21T10:22:56Z")
The top 13 scores in history as of right now compared to the list earlier in the thread, presumably right before Super Bowl XLVII: 17: unchanged 24: up 2 14: down 1 20: up 2 10: unchanged 07: down 3 21: up 1 13: up 1 00: down 2 27: unchanged 31: unchanged 23: up 1 28: down 1 Oddly enough, the next 12 scores (16, 3, 6, 34, 30, 38, 19, 35, 26, 9, 37, 41) are in the exact same order they were in back at the end of the 2012 season. (Technically, 26 has moved up into a tie with 35, but I’ll let that slide for the neat trivia.) The full list, as of 54-51 Monday night: 7: 2298 24: 1945 14: 1932 20: 1925 10: 1841 7: 1829 21: 1557 13: 1544 0: 1509 27: 1506 31: 1180 23: 1131 28: 1066 16: 975 3: 885 6: 845 34: 825 30: 719 38: 587 19: 578 26: 541 35: 541 9: 437 37: 377 41: 328 33: 320 22: 309 12: 298 42: 250 45: 239 29: 237 15: 212 25: 185 18: 135 44: 125 36: 123 40: 119 32: 116 48: 111 49: 86 43: 63 39: 54 52: 50 47: 49 8: 45 51: 45 11: 44 2: 37 56: 31 55: 26 5: 20 46: 18 50: 16 59: 13 54: 10 62: 9 53: 8 58: 8 57: 7 61: 5 63: 3 66: 2 60: 2 65: 2 72: 1 4: 1 73: 1 64: 1 70: 1 ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2018, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-common-number-of-points-scored-by-a-football-team/649147/44 "2018-11-21T12:39:25Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > When the (spread-adjusted) game score is a toss-up you get your $11 back. but not so on a parley, right? And the over-under has similar behavior? _ **When those adjustments are considered** _ I’m not sure the 12:5 is too different from 10:11 compounded. When I used to bet, I just called to book bets without any money changing hands. Once the bet was resolved, I’d either collect my winnings or pay my losses, so there was never anything to get back. Vigs only applied to losses, so on a $50 straight bet I’d either collect $50, pay $55, or if it pushed no money changed hands at all. ($50 minimum for straight bets and teases, $25 minimum for parlays.) You’re right that parlays don’t push, or at least they didn’t with my guy. If either side of the parlay pushed, the whole parlay lost. And yes, same with straight bets on the Over/Under. But that makes sense: If I bet “Over 40” and the total points scored was 40, that’s not over 40. Note that this makes the compounded straight bets even better compared to parlays. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2018, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-common-number-of-points-scored-by-a-football-team/649147/45 "2018-11-21T14:07:42Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > Note that this makes the compounded straight bets even better compared to parlays. :smack: You’re right — I got that backwards. My brain isn’t what it used to be (and maybe it never was!) Anyway, my friend may have been speaking of a 12:5 payoff that was still very advantageous for him because of the way the two parts of the parley correlated. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2018, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-common-number-of-points-scored-by-a-football-team/649147/46 "2018-11-21T14:34:59Z")
What kind of idiot bookie accepts action on a game after it’s already finished? “Here’s $100. I’d like you to wait until the game is over, and then put it on whichever team won.” And I thought that the official spreads always included a half-point, so the score+spread couldn’t possibly be a tie? ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2018, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-common-number-of-points-scored-by-a-football-team/649147/47 "2018-11-21T16:47:21Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > What kind of idiot bookie accepts action on a game after it’s already finished? “Here’s $100. I’d like you to wait until the game is over, and then put it on whichever team won.” > > And I thought that the official spreads always included a half-point, so the score+spread couldn’t possibly be a tie? I think you’ve misunderstood the parley offered my friend by the bookie. And, although I’m not sure how to read [this table](http://www.vegasinsider.com/nfl/odds/las-vegas/), some of the numbers have a ½ and some don’t. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2018, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-common-number-of-points-scored-by-a-football-team/649147/48 "2018-11-21T19:29:29Z")
In 1925, Northwestern University beat Michigan 3-2 at Soldier Field in Chicago. Due to inclement weather the field was a literal mudpit, and after scoring a field goal on their first possession NU took an intentional safety to secure favorable field position and the 3-2 lead. Neither team managed to move the ball for the rest of the game, and that ended up being the only points scored against Michigan the entire season. ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2018, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-common-number-of-points-scored-by-a-football-team/649147/49 "2018-11-26T03:36:32Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > It has happened in the NCAA, as recently as 2013. > > Dennis True, but that was a slightly different scenario than what has been mentioned. The previous mentions refer to the defense getting a one-point safety, a pretty much impossible situation. The kicking team will be awarded a one-point safety if the defense recovers the failed conversion and retreats into their own end zone where the ball becomes dead for any reason. It’s rare, but possible. But a losing team scoring only one point is for all intents an purposes impossible. Because to realistically get a one-point safety, you have to have scored a 6-point touchdown first. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2018, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-common-number-of-points-scored-by-a-football-team/649147/50 "2018-11-26T07:31:44Z")
> [@Hoopy\_Frood](#): > > But a losing team scoring only one point is for all intents an purposes impossible. Because to realistically get a one-point safety, you have to have scored a 6-point touchdown first. I thought the defensive team could intercept a 2pt conversion attempt and run it back 98 yards for 1 point. Now that I stop to think about it, I have no idea why I thought that, so I could have just made it up. Is that possible, or no? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2018, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-common-number-of-points-scored-by-a-football-team/649147/51 "2018-11-26T15:04:51Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > I thought the defensive team could intercept a 2pt conversion attempt and run it back 98 yards for 1 point. Now that I stop to think about it, I have no idea why I thought that, so I could have just made it up. Is that possible, or no? It’s two point in the NFL since 2015 and two in NCAA since 1988. I believe it was just ruled dead at the recovery before that/failed attempt, no points. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2018, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-common-number-of-points-scored-by-a-football-team/649147/52 "2018-11-26T16:02:07Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > It should be noted that the scores by the two teams are not independent events, so you can’t assume that the most common square will be the intersection of the two most common individual team scores. How close the game is will influence whether the coaches make risky decisions like going for it on 4th down (and possibly getting a touchdown) or settling for a field goal, or going for 2 vs. 1 after a touchdown. I thought exactly the same and, while the observation is true, it does turn out, according to **Omniscient** ’s link, that 20-17 is the most common NFL score by a pretty good margin. Most common score: 20-17, 263 games 2nd most common: 27-24, 204 games 3rd most common: 17-14, 195 games (Feel free to check my work. I just manually scanned the chart. I didn’t see a way to order them by games and score.) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2018, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-common-number-of-points-scored-by-a-football-team/649147/53 "2018-11-26T17:19:16Z")
I note that all three of those are three-point margins, which leads me to suspect tied games where, since all that was needed was a field goal, the coaches were quick to settle for it instead of going for a touchdown. In other words, those are common game scores because of the effects that contribute to non-independence, and 20 and 17 are common team scores because they show up in the common game scores. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2018, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-common-number-of-points-scored-by-a-football-team/649147/54 "2018-11-27T19:11:37Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > It’s two point in the NFL since 2015 and two in NCAA since 1988. I believe it was just ruled dead at the recovery before that/failed attempt, no points. The interesting thing is that if a safety occurs somehow during a 2 point conversion attempt, it’s called a “conversion safety” and is worth one point. > **[NFL may see its first one-point safety](https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/nfl-may-see-its-first-one-point-safety)** > > A little-noticed aspect of the NFL's new extra point rule is that we could see, for the first time in league history, a one-point safety. It’s so rare that it has never happened in the NFL. It has happened in college (it happened in the 2013 Fiesta Bowl) but it’s rare there too. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2018, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-common-number-of-points-scored-by-a-football-team/649147/55 "2018-11-27T19:21:45Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > I think [this website](https://nflscorigami.com/) pretty much kills this zombie thread for good. No, because the data is binary. It only says whether a particular game outcome happened or not. It doesn’t say anything about how many times a given team score has occurred, which was the thread-starting question. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2018, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-common-number-of-points-scored-by-a-football-team/649147/56 "2018-11-27T20:22:40Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > No, because the data is binary. It only says whether a particular game outcome happened or not. It doesn’t say anything about how many times a given team score has occurred, which was the thread-starting question. But it does do exactly that. Click on “show count” at the top. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2018, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-common-number-of-points-scored-by-a-football-team/649147/57 "2018-11-27T20:46:42Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > But it does do exactly that. Click on “show count” at the top. Dang, missed that. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2018, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-common-number-of-points-scored-by-a-football-team/649147/58 "2018-11-27T21:08:18Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Dang, missed that. Thanks. I swear I wasn’t just making up numbers for my post #52. 🙂 (It took me a couple seconds to find it. It’s a pretty cool resource. You can even click on the number, and it will show you all the games that make up that number. The only game with a “4” as a result was a 10-4 game between the Racine Legion and the Chicago Cardinals, played in good ol’ Comiskey Park all the way back on 11/25/1923. Looks like the Cards had safeties in the second and fourth quarters, while the legion had a field goal in the third and a touchdown with PAT in the fourth. Interestingly enough, at least to me, the Chicago Cardinals were involved in one of the two 3-2 games, this time on the winning end, back on 10/24/1926 against the Milwaukee Badgers.) ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2018, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-common-number-of-points-scored-by-a-football-team/649147/59 "2018-11-27T23:55:10Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > The interesting thing is that if a safety occurs somehow during a 2 point conversion attempt, it’s called a “conversion safety” and is worth one point. Okay, hypothetical time: Imagine the Jets kick the opening kickoff to the Giants, who return it for a TD. The Giants go for 2 because Shurmur is loopy, but Barkley fumbles it and a Jets DB (let’s say Morris Claiborne) picks it up and starts running it the other way. Sterling Shepard pulls a Don Beebee and runs down Claiborne 95 yards to knock the ball out of the guy’s hands at the 5. Shepard picks it up at the 2, runs sideways trying to get away from Claiborne, then does a dopey spin move backwards to try and cut it the other way. But Claiborne doesn’t fall for it and after another 10 yards sideways running the other way, Claiborne tackles him in the endzone. That’s a safety for the Jets, yes? Now let’s imagine the general incompetence of both teams means nobody scores another point for the rest of the game. Is that a Giants win with a final score of 6-1? ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2018, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-common-number-of-points-scored-by-a-football-team/649147/60 "2018-11-28T00:30:02Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > Okay, hypothetical time: > > Imagine the Jets kick the opening kickoff to the Giants, who return it for a TD. The Giants go for 2 because Shurmur is loopy, but Barkley fumbles it and a Jets DB (let’s say Morris Claiborne) picks it up and starts running it the other way. > > Sterling Shepard pulls a Don Beebee and runs down Claiborne 95 yards to knock the ball out of the guy’s hands at the 5. Shepard picks it up at the 2, runs sideways trying to get away from Claiborne, then does a dopey spin move backwards to try and cut it the other way. But Claiborne doesn’t fall for it and after another 10 yards sideways running the other way, Claiborne tackles him in the endzone. That’s a safety for the Jets, yes? > > Now let’s imagine the general incompetence of both teams means nobody scores another point for the rest of the game. Is that a Giants win with a final score of 6-1? That is pretty much the scenario described in the video from the site linked by **Omniscient**. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-common-number-of-points-scored-by-a-football-team/649147.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-common-number-of-points-scored-by-a-football-team/649147.md?page=4)