Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2012 September 26

= September 26 =

Only safeties scored in an American football game?
Has there ever been a college or pro game of American or Canadian football in which only safeties were scored? How about if I also stipulate that there had to be more than one of them scored in the game? Duoduoduo (talk) 12:37, 26 September 2012 (UTC)


 * According to Pro Football Reference, in the NFL there have been five games in which the final score was 2-0. There as never been a game with a score of 2-2, 4-0, 4-2, 4-4 or 6-4. In the only two games that ended 6-2, one was a touchdown with a missed extra point, while the other was two field goals, so they don't count. I did not check 6-0, 6-6 or beyond, but for both teams to have three safeties each is highly unlikely. Therefore, I would conclude that the only NFL games with only safeties were the five that ended 2-0. They were:
 * American Football ball.svg 29 November 1923, Buffalo All-Americans 0 at Akron Pros 2
 * American Football ball.svg 21 November 1926, Kansas City Cowboys 2 at Buffalo Rangers 0
 * American Football ball.svg 29 November 1928, Green Bay Packers 0 at Frankford Yellow Jackets 2
 * American Football ball.svg 16 October 1932, Green Bay Packers 2 at Chicago Bears 0
 * American Football ball.svg 18 September 1939, Chicago Bears 2 at Green Bay Packers 0.
 * → Michael J Ⓣ Ⓒ Ⓜ 16:18, 26 September 2012 (UTC)
 * Aha! I found in our article on safety that there have been only 37 games in which one team has had only safeties, so I checked the games in which the other team had an even number of points (obviously, an odd number would preclude only safeties) and none apply, so for the NFL, only the five 2-0 games meet your criteria.  → Michael J Ⓣ Ⓒ Ⓜ 16:57, 26 September 2012 (UTC)

US college football -- final score of 6-1
Of course this would never happen, but is it within the rules of US college or high school football for a team to end up with just one point, as follows? -- Team A scores a touchdown and attempts to kick the point-after-touchdown. The kicked is blocked and is returned by Team B. When the player on team B with the ball gets near the opposite endzone, he drop kicks the ball through the goal posts and over the crossbar, earning one point instead of the two that would have come from running it into the endzone. (Actually this conceivably could happen without perverse behavior -- maybe near the end of the play there's a lot of sideways running, and the runner ends up seeing his way to the endzone obstructed by Team A's players.) Like I said, never going to happen, but possible according to the rules? Duoduoduo (talk) 12:58, 26 September 2012 (UTC)
 * I don't think a defensive player can attempt a drop kick, even if its off an interception since a drop kick has to be attempted behind the line of scrimmage. I'm pretty sure the only way to score one point in college football is to get a safety on a PAT. Livewireo (talk) 13:14, 26 September 2012 (UTC)
 * As livewireo notes, you can have a score of "1" in college football if you score a saftey on a PAT. That would, of course, mean somehow managing to drive the offense backwards 97 yards on the attempt, but it is at least technically possible, and is the only way for a team to get a score of exactly "1".  I don't know that this has ever happened in history, but there is a provision in the rules for it.  In the NFL, the defense cannot score on a PAT under any circumstances, so the lowest number a score can be in the NFL is "2".  -- Jayron  32  17:19, 26 September 2012 (UTC)