5 Biggest Blowouts in NFL History

There have been plenty of blowouts throughout the course of

NFL

history, but just to make things clear from the get-go, we’re only going to discuss those that have taken place since 1950.

With no disrespect to the Akron Pros, who defeated the Oorang Indians by a score of 62-0 in 1922, or the Rock Island Independents, who routed the Evansville Crimson Giants 60-0 that same year, let’s get real here. Not many people are interested in teams that no longer exist.

Also, to once again be crystal clear at the start, we’re also going to only focus on games that happened during the regular season, which actually eliminates the biggest blowout in NFL history. For those wondering, that was a 73-0 win by the

Chicago Bears

over the team now known as the

Washington Commanders

in the 1940 NFL Championship Game.

So, while you may not hear about the

Philadelphia Eagles

‘ 64-0 win over the Cincinnati Reds in 1934 or the

Chicago Cardinals

‘ 60-point victory over the Rochester Jeffersons in 1923, you will hear about five games where the deciding margin was at least 57 points.

Here is a list of the NFL’s biggest blowouts since 1950.

1

Cleveland Browns 62, Washington Commanders 3

The Cleveland Browns dominated on both sides of the ball in a 62-3 victory over Washington in 1955

On November 7, 1955, nine players shared in the scoring as the

Cleveland Browns

trounced Washington by a score of 62-3. It took the Browns’ offense a little while to get rolling, but once it did, Cleveland couldn’t be stopped.

Two Lou Groza field goals accounted for the early scoring in the opening quarter as the Browns took a 6-0 lead before Otto Graham’s 5-yard touchdown run late in the frame. After Washington’s Vic Janowicz booted a 37-yard field goal to make it 13-3, it was nothing but 49 points worth of Cleveland scoring the rest of the way.

Quarterback George Ratterman threw three straight touchdown passes to help the Browns build a 41-3 lead in the third quarter. Graham also added a touchdown pass to Pete Brewster to give the Browns a 55-3 lead early in the fourth.

Fred Morrison and Maurise Bassett each had touchdown runs for the Browns in the blowout, and Ken Gorgal closed the scoring by returning an interception 53 yards for a touchdown to account for the final margin.

While the offense rolled for the Browns, the defense was stellar as well, as Washington was held to 33 yards on the ground. Starting quarterback Al Dorow was just 3-for-14 for 33 yards and was intercepted three times. The Browns improved to 4-2, while Washington fell to 1-6.

2

Los Angeles Rams 59, Atlanta Falcons 0

The Los Angeles Rams exploded for 59 points in a rout over the Atlanta Falcons in 1976

While the

Los Angeles Rams

dominated the

Atlanta Falcons

from start to finish on December 4, 1976, it’s clear they didn’t try to run up the score in a 59-0 victory.

Los Angeles starting quarterback Pat Haden never threw a touchdown pass in the game and only had 21 attempted passes during the game, completing 13 of them for 214 yards. However, the Rams generated 210 yards on the ground, led by running back Lawrence McCutcheon, who had 20 carries for 121 yards and three touchdowns.

Rams backup quarterback James Harris threw the only touchdown pass of the game, connecting with Dwight Scales on an 80-yard pass in the fourth quarter. Harris also added a 2-yard touchdown run in the final quarter. Cullen Bryant’s 3-yard touchdown run closed the scoring.

The Rams’ defense held Falcons quarterbacks Kim McQuilken and Scott Hunter to 72 yards passing and recorded a pair of interceptions. Los Angeles improved to 9-3-1, while the Falcons fell to 4-9.

3

New England Patriots 59, Tennessee Titans 0

Tom Brady threw six TD passes as the New England Patriots trounced the Tennessee Titans 59-0 in 2009

The

New England Patriots

faced the winless

Tennessee Titans

on a snowy Sunday in Foxborough in mid-October during the 2009 season and showed no mercy in a 59-0 victory.

The Patriots scored 35 unanswered points in the second quarter to grab a 45-0 halftime lead, and they kept throwing in the second half. Quarterback

Tom Brady

hit wide receiver Randy Moss with a 9-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter for his sixth touchdown pass of the game, tied for his career-high, and gave New England a 52-0 advantage.

Even when Brady headed to the bench in the third quarter, the Titans still had trouble stopping the Patriots. Backup quarterback Brian Hoyer, who was making his NFL debut, scored on a 1-yard touchdown run in his first series, and ultimately went 9-for-11 through the air for 52 yards.

Brady completed 29 of his 34 passes for 380 yards and Wes Welker was his favorite target that day, catching 10 passes for 150 yards and two touchdowns. Running back Laurence Maroney had 16 carries for 123 yards and a touchdown.

Vince Young was Tennessee’s leading passer with zero yards, going 0-for-2. Kerry Collins completed just two of his 12 passes for minus-7 yards. The lone bright spot for the Titans was running back Chris Johnson, who rushed for 128 yards on just 17 carries but obviously didn’t find the end zone.

The Patriots improved to 4-2, while the Titans fell to 0-6.

4

Seattle Seahawks 58, Arizona Cardinals 0

Marshawn Lynch scored three times and the defense took care of the rest for the Seattle Seahawks in a 58-0 rout of the Cards in 2012

Everything fell right into place for the

Seattle Seahawks

on December 9, 2012, against the Arizona Cardinals.

Rookie quarterback

Russell Wilson

completed just seven passes and was pulled in the third quarter, but he wasn’t sent to the sidelines because of poor play. His day ended early because his Seahawks held a 45-0 lead early in the third quarter.

Running back Marshawn Lynch’s third rushing touchdown of the game gave Seattle the 45-0 cushion. A pair of Stephen Hauscka field goals and a Leon Washington 3-yard rushing touchdown closed out the scoring.

Seattle also was flawless on defense. Richard Sherman returned an interception 19 yards for a touchdown, and Malcolm Smith also had a fumble recovery in the end zone.

Simply put, the ball bounced Seattle’s way all game.

“I’ve never been involved in anything where the ball falls your way every single time. It seemed like if the ball was going to come out it was going to fall our way,” Sherman said, per ESPN. “Even on the fumble where I fell on it and got the recovery, it just kept bouncing around. I was like, ‘There is no way this ball is going to bounce right to me’ and it did.’ ”

Lynch was Seattle’s offensive star, rushing 11 times for 128 yards and three touchdowns. Wilson was 7-for-13 for 148 yards and a touchdown.

5

Chicago Bears 57, Baltimore Colts 0

When it came to scoring, the Chicago Bears spread the wealth in a 57-point win over the Baltimore Colts in 1962

Eight Chicago Bears players scored touchdowns, and quarterback Billy Wade threw three TD passes, as they rolled to a 57-0 victory over Johnny Unitas and the

Baltimore Colts

on November 25, 1962.

Wade completed 23 of 32 passes for 328 yards and three touchdowns. Angelo Coia was the lone Chicago player with two touchdowns, catching a 15-yard touchdown pass from Wade to open the game’s scoring, and then hauling in a 65-yarder from Rudy Bukick in the fourth quarter.

The Bears held a 20-0 lead at halftime and then poured it on with 37 points in the second half. Wade, Joe Marconi, Rick Casares, and Charlie Bivins all had rushing touchdowns for the Bears, who improved to 7-5. The Colts fell to 5-6.

Unitas completed 11 of 24 passes for 91 yards for the Colts. The future Hall of Famer threw one interception and was sacked three times.

All stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference unless stated otherwise.