Defense is the key to success in any sport, especially in the National Football League. It can be the most dangerous and feared unit on the field when executed to perfection. However, when it comes to the highest-scoring regular season games in the league’s history, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Of the top-scoring games, five have eclipsed the 100-point plateau. Of course, there were a couple of good defensive plays throughout these games, in some cases to seal a victory, but from beginning to end, offense reigned supreme. Offensive games can be some of the most fun to watch and these five high-scoring matchups had plenty of touchdowns to go around.
Top 5 Highest-Scoring Regular Season Games in NFL History
5. Oakland Raiders 52, Houston Oilers 49; December 22, 1963 (101 Points)
This game between the then-Oakland Raiders and the then-Houston Oilers was actually played in the American Football League (AFL) back in 1963. It was after the NFL-AFL merger that the NFL officially recognized this game in their history books. The matchup had everything except defense. Raiders quarterback Tom Flores threw for a whopping 407 yards and six touchdowns while Oilers quarterback George Blanda threw for 342 yards and five touchdowns. Receivers Art Powell and Willard Dewveall both had four touchdowns for their respective teams, with Powell having 247 yards for Oakland and Dewveall having 137 yards for Houston.
In all of the offensive explosion, it was the special teams unit that won the game for the Raiders as Mike Mercer hit the eventual game-winning field goal with just under five minutes left for the Oakland victory.
4. New Orleans Saints 52, New York Giants 49; November 1, 2015 (101 Points)
The November 1st game in 2015 with the New Orleans Saints and New York Giants also saw a total of 101 points, ending in a 52-49 final. It took a historic day from Drew Brees to pull this one out for the Saints as he tied an NFL record with seven touchdown passes while also throwing for 505 yards. On the other side, Eli Manning threw six touchdowns and 350 yards. The 13 touchdown passes between the two quarterbacks set an NFL record. Eli became the first quarterback to pass for six touchdowns and no interceptions in a loss. There were three 100-yard receivers, two of them on the Saints but Odell Beckham Jr. had the best day of the trio as he caught eight passes for 130 yards and three touchdowns for New York.
In this one, Kai Forbath made a 50-yard field goal in the final second to win it for New Orleans.
3. Los Angeles Rams 54, Kansas City Chiefs 51; November 19, 2018 (105 Points)
In what many are calling one of if not the best regular season games in NFL history, the Los Angeles Rams defeated the Kansas City Chiefs by the score of 54-51. Both headed into this game 9-1 in what seemed like a Super Bowl preview. It shook out that way for the Rams as they went onto the big game but the Chiefs fell short in the AFC Championship Game. Nevertheless, this matchup saw Jared Goff throw for 413 yards and four touchdowns (also ran for one). On the other side, Patrick Mahomes threw for 478 yards and six touchdowns but was the victim of three interceptions, one to seal it for the LA win, and two lost fumbles. Like typical high-scoring games, there were multiple 100-yard receivers but in this one, Tyreek Hill finished the game with 215 yards to go along with two touchdowns.
The fourth quarter alone made it historic, as both teams scored 35 combined points with six lead changes. Before the game-ending INT of Mahomes, the final points of the game came via a 40-yard bomb from Goff to Gerald Everett with under two minutes left to go for the eventual Rams win. This 2018 game was the highest-scoring game in Monday Night Football history and the first time both teams scored 50 points in a game.
2. Cincinnati Bengals 58, Cleveland Browns 48; November 28, 2004 (106 Points)
Despite Cleveland Browns quarterback Kelly Holcomb throwing for 413 yards with five touchdowns and Antonio Bryant‘s 131 receiving yards, it wasn’t enough to outlast the strong all-around performance from the Cincinnati Bengals offense. In the Bengals’ 58-48 victory, Carson Palmer threw 251 yards and four touchdowns while wide receiver Chad Johnson caught 10 passes for 117 yards and a touchdown. What really put the Bengals over the edge was Rudi Johnson‘s 202 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
What capped the game off was defense, when Deltha O’Neal had a 31-yard pick-6 to end the Browns’ hopes. That was one of five interceptions thrown in the game combined (3 by Palmer, 2 by Holcomb) so while the offense reigned supreme, there was some defense mixed in that played a big factor.
1. Washington Redskins 72, New York Giants 41; November 27, 1966 (113 Points)
November 27, 1966, was the date for the highest-scoring game in NFL history between the then-Washington Redskins and the New York Giants. While it may have been the highest-scoring, it wasn’t close as Washington put up 72 points to the Giants’ 41. Also despite the points, neither of the three quarterbacks in this game tallied more than 165 yards through the air and no running back had more than 74 yards on the ground. However, Washington did have a 100-yard receiver while New York had three guys with 82 or more yards. Even with the lack of yardage, there were plenty of touchdowns to go around on offense.
By the score, you wouldn’t know it but defense was a contributor in this game. No team surpassed 400 total yards in the game and there were eight total turnovers. Six of those turnovers were created by Washington and two of them were returned for a touchdown. The late 69-41 lead wasn’t enough for Washington as they wanted to break the 70-point plateau. That’s when Charlie Gogolak kicked a 29-yard field goal in the final seconds to put the final touches on this game. 70 points by a team wouldn’t be seen again until the 2023 Miami Dolphins scored 70 against the Denver Broncos.
Main Image: CHUCK KIRMAN/THE STAR
