Nobody wanted Minnesota Vikings kicker Greg Joseph to make his 36-yard field goal with 1:57 left in the Vikings’ game against the Las Vegas Raiders. Because if Joseph had missed, and nobody scored after that, we would have had the first 0-0 tie in a professional football game since November 7, 1943 in a game between the New York Giants and the Detroit Lions.
As it stood, the Vikings and Raiders kept the scoreboard clean just about as long as two NFL teams have done in the Super Bowl era. Per our friends at Quirky Research, only the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Miami Dolphins came closer to that beautiful 0-0 score.
Latest NFL game has been 0-0, 1948-now:
0:17 4Q: 2007 Steelers-Dolphins
3:21 4Q: 1974 Browns-49ers
~4:00: 1953 Washington-Eagles
4:02: 1971 Vikings-Packers
4:40: 1982 Patriots-Dolphins
5:02: 1976 Chargers-49ers
8:50: 1979 Bucs-Chiefs
9:48: 1987 Bills-Giants— Quirky Research (@QuirkyResearch) December 10, 2023
That game happened on November 7, 2007, and it was a game played in a weather disaster — Heinz Field was described as a “quagmire.” The Dolphins were trying to break an 0-10 record, but kicker Jeff Reed kicked a 24-yard field goal with 17 seconds left, and that was that. Five different high school and college games had been played on that field in the week leading up to the game, and the attempt to re-sod the field — combined with a lightning delay — led to a complete mess.
“Those conditions, whew, they were horrendous,” Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward said after daylong rain and new sod created awful playing conditions. “The footing was bad, all of a sudden you’d hit a water puddle and sink down. Some of defensive backs were scared about falling down and giving up a big play.”
The Vikings and Raiders had no such excuses, as their game was played in the relative comfort of Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium.