Oddsmakers across the country set the over/under on Sunday’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Los Angeles Rams game at 50.5 points. Boy, were they ever wrong.
The Bucs and Rams combined to score an amazing 95 points in a classic shootout that ended with Tampa Bay upsetting LA 55-40.
It wasn’t the top-scoring game in NFL history, but it is tied for a spot in the top ten. It shares the tenth spot with the 48–47 thriller the Green Bay Packers and Washington Redskins played in 1983.
The top-scoring game in NFL history actually saw the Redskins and New York Giants combined for a whopping 113 points in November 1966. With no real records available, it’s hard to say what oddsmaker set the over/under at. But considering it remains one of just five games that broke the 100-points mark, it’s doubtful it was anywhere near that.
Three of those 100-point games have come in the past 15 years. With a 99 and 96 point game also put up over that span of time, Sunday’s Tampa Bay at Los Angeles tilt marks the sixth-highest game in the NFL over the past 15 years.
The over certainly came in as the Bucs and Rams came close to doubling the line set by US oddsmakers this week. Here’s a look at exactly what happened in the top five NFL overs of the past 15 years:
#5 Cleveland Browns 51 Cincinnati Bengals 45 (96 Points) September 16, 2007
The Bengals were a touchdown favorite and the over/under sat at a paltry 41.5 going into the game. However, these two teams did combine to score over 100 points a few years earlier (more on that down the page).
Browns QB Derek Anderson (Who?) went 20 for 33 for 328 yards and five touchdowns. However, Browns RB Jamal Lewis was the true star, rushing for 216 yards and a touchdown. Then-Bengals star QB Carson Palmer went 33 for 50 for an outstanding 401 yards and six touchdowns to help the two teams more-then double the over.
However, the Browns took the lead on an Anderson to Kellen Winslow 25-yard TD pass late in the second quarter and never relinquished it.
#4 Denver Broncos 51 Dallas Cowboys 48 (99 Points) October 6, 2013
The over/under was set at a rather big 56 points, but the Broncos and Cowboys laid that to waste.
Denver was a nine-point home favorite but failed to cover despite QB Peyton Manning going 33 for 42 for 414 yards and four touchdowns. Mostly because QB Tony Romo kept Dallas close going 25 for 36 for an incredible 506 yards and five touchdowns.
A classic shootout, Dallas took a 41-38 lead at the start of the fourth quarter, but the Broncos tied it up. Dallas took the lead again, but Denver tied it again and eventually won it with a 28-yard field goal as time expired.
#3 New Orleans Saints 52 New York Giants 49 (101 Points) November 1, 2015
Oddsmakers were bang-on with the Saints favored by 3-points, but they missed badly on the 49.5 over/under. The Saints and Giants doubled that with New Orleans QB Drew Brees throwing for 505 yards and 7 touchdowns.
Giants QB Eli Manning tossed six TDs and threw for 350 yards himself. That included a 50-yard bomb to Odell Beckham to tie the game at 28 at the start of the third quarter. Plus, a 20-yard TD to Dwayne Harris to tie it at 42 in the fourth. The Giants even took the lead after Trumaine McBride took an interception back 63-yards for a TD in the fourth.
However, the Saints tied it up with 36 seconds left and kicked a game-winning 50-yard field goal as time expired.
#2 Los Angeles Rams 54 Kansas City Chiefs 51 (105 points) November 19, 2018
Many thought this was a Super Bowl preview last season but the Chiefs couldn’t get past the New England Patriots in the AFC.
Once again, oddsmakers were perfect setting the point spread at Los Angeles -3. They were even respectful of the two teams offensive capability setting the over/under at a massive 63.5 points.
Little did they know Rams QB Jared Goff would throw for 413 yards and four TDs. Or, that Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes would do even more throwing for 478 yards and six touchdowns.
The Chiefs took the lead 44-40 to start the fourth when Mahomes hit Tyreek Hill on a 73-yard TD pass and Allen Bailey recovered a fumble at the 2-yard line and scored.
The teams then traded TDs, but Goff hit Gerald Everett with another 40-yard TD pass in the final two minutes to win it.
#1 Cincinnati Bengals 58 Cleveland Browns 48 (106) November 28, 2004
The highest-scoring game of the past 15 years happened 15 years ago, but it remains the second-highest scoring NFL game of all time.
The Bengals were 6-point favorites and covered, but the over/under was set at just 37.5 points. Ohio‘s two NFL teams combine to almost triple that.
Browns QB Kelly Holcomb (Who?) threw for 413 yards and five TDs. Bengals star QB Carson Palmer threw for just 251 yards but managed four TD passes. Instead, it was Bengals RB Rudi Johnson who stole the show rushing for 202 yards on 26 carries. Johnson also scored two rushing TDs.
The Bengals led until the Browns stole the lead with a Holcomb to Steve Heiden TD pass five minutes into the fourth. However, the Bengals finished the scoring. They took the lead back with Johnson’s second rushing TD and then ending it when Deltha O’Neal took an interception 31-yards to the house.
