In recent seasons, the NFL has become all about offense. Top-tier quarterbacks, pass-heavy schemes and offense-friendly officiating have allowed players to flourish on that side of the ball and create some of the most explosive, high-scoring games in league history.
The 2023 NFL season is reminding many, however, that defense is still important in competing for a championship.
Scoring has been down across the board. There are a myriad of reasons for this — from injuries to star quarterbacks to innovative defensive schemes that have limited some of the best passers in the league — and as a result, there have been some very low-scoring contests.
The most recent example came in Week 14, when the Vikings and Raiders combined to score a whopping three points. That led many to wonder where that ranked among the lowest-scoring games in NFL history.
That game did not set the NFL's mark for offensive futility. That was last achieved in 1943. But it did tie match a record making it one of the lowest-scoring games of the post-merger days.
Here's what to know about the NFL's lowest-scoring games.
MORE: History of 0-0 ties in the NFL
Lowest-scoring NFL games in history
There have been 73 NFL games in the history of the sport during which zero points were scored. All of those scoreless ties occurred during the sport's early history, as the last one occurred in 1943 when Steve Owen's Giants and Gus Dorais' Lions fought to a scoreless tie in a Nov. 7 game in Detroit.
Additionally, there have been several NFL games where the only score was a safety. Five such 2-0 games have occurred in the game's history, but the most recent example of that occurred in a 1938 game between the Packers and Bears.
Since the NFL and AFL merger in 1970, the fewest total points in a game is three. There have been seven 3-0 games played with the most recent coming in Week 14 of the 2023 NFL season between the Vikings and Raiders.
Minnesota and Las Vegas both started backup quarterbacks in that contest. Each struggled, as Aidan O'Connell completed 20 of 31 passes for 142 yards and an interception while Joshua Dobbs completed 10 of 23 passes for 63 yards before being benched for Nick Mullens.
Ultimately, Mullens was able to get the Vikings into field goal range late in the fourth quarter to break the 0-0 tie. That was enough to grant Minnesota its seventh win of the season.
— NFL (@NFL) December 11, 2023POINTS!!!!!
📺: #MINvsLV on FOX
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/pWMED8S30C pic.twitter.com/Z5apdYVHRZ
Before that result, it had been 16 years since an NFL game had ended with a 3-0 result. That came in a 2007 Steelers-Dolphins clash that was played amid a soaking rain that left Heinz Field beat up and muddy.
Neither Ben Roethlisberger nor John Beck could get much going amid the wind and rain during the "Monday Night Football" game, but the Steelers eventually got it close enough for Jeff Reed to hit a game-winning field goal in the final moments. That would be the only score of the game.
Jeff Reed wins the Mud Bowl against the Dolphins on Monday Night Football in 2007. #Steelers #NFL pic.twitter.com/8RCddZ6McA
— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) October 23, 2022
To see the full highlights of the "Monday Night Mud Bowl," click here.
NFL WEEK 14 PICKS:Straight up|Against the spread
List of lowest-scoring NFL games since the merger
Below are the details of the six games since the NFL merger in which only three combined points were scored.
| Date | Matchup/Result | Location |
| Dec. 10, 2023 | Vikings 3, Raiders 0 | Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas, Nev.) |
| Nov. 26, 2007 | Steelers 3, Dolphins 0 | Heinz Field (Pittsburgh, Pa.) |
| Dec. 11, 1993 | Jets 3, Redskins 0 | RFK Stadium (Washington, D.C.) |
| Dec. 12, 1982 | Patriots 3, Dolphins 0 | Schaefer Stadium (Foxboro, Mass.) |
| Dec. 16, 1979 | Buccaneers 3, Chiefs 0 | Tampa Stadium (Tampa, Fla.) |
| Oct. 16, 1977 | Bills 3, Falcons 0 | Rich Stadium (Orchard Park, N.Y.) |
| Nov. 14, 1971 | Vikings 3, Packers 0 | Metropolitan Stadium (Bloomington, Minn.) |
MORE: How Tyrod Taylor, Tommy DeVito made history in Giants loss vs. Jets
Lowest-scoring games in NFL history
Throughout the NFL's entire history, which dates to 1920, there have been a total of 123 games where three or fewer points have been scored. Below is a breakdown of those games by point total, per Stathead.
| Total points | No. of games |
| 0 | 73 |
| 2 | 5 |
| 3 | 46 |
