Upcoming Match-ups

Odds on Number of NFL Games Ending in a Tie in 2019 After Week 1

Robert Duff

by Robert Duff in NFL Football

Updated Apr 8, 2020 · 11:36 AM PDT

Matthew Stafford passing
The Detroit Lions blew a 24-6 lead and settled for a 27-27 tie with the Arizona Cardinals during Week 1 of the NFL season. Photo by kdoebler [CC BY-SA 2.0]
  • The Detroit Lions and Arizona Cardinals battled to a 27-27 tie during Week 1 of the NFL season
  • The Over/Under on tied games in the remainder of the season is 1.5, with the under heavily favored
  • There were two ties during the 2018-19 NFL season

A tie game to open the NFL season? Yes, for the second year in succession, there was a saw-off recorded as the NFL got the regular season underway.

The Detroit Lions blew a 24-6 lead and settled for a 27-27 deadlock with the Arizona Cardinals.

Last season, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns opened with a 21-21 tie.

Betting sites have posted on prop on the number of ties in the rest of the season. They o/u has been set at 1.5, but the under is sizable chalk.

Total Tie Games In Remainder of 2019 NFL Regular Season

Total Over/Under
Over 1.5 +200
Under 1.5 -300

Odds taken 9/12/19.

Note that this wager does not include the Lions-Cardinals tie game. It’s based on how many tie games will be recorded after Week 1 of the NFL season.

You have to go all the way back to 1973 – the last campaign without regular-season overtime – to find an NFL season with more than two games that ended a in draw.

That year, there were seven ties during the NFL season. The season is in need of two more draws in order to make this a winning wager. Do you really want to bet on something happening this season that hasn’t happened in 46 years?

Play: Under 1.5 (-300).

The Tie Used To Suit The NFL

Since the NFL introduced regular-season overtime for the 1974 season, there’s never been more than two ties posted during a single season.

Last season was the fourth time it’s occurred. There were also two tied games in 1986, 1997, and 2016.

NFL Regular Season Tie Games Since 2012

Season Games Played Tied Games Percentage
2012 256 1 0.39
2013 256 1 0.39
2014 256 1 0.39
2015 256 0 0.00
2016 256 2 0.78
2017 256 0 0.00
2018 256 2 0.78

From the birth of the NFL in 1920 through 1973, just three seasons – 1934, 1950 and 1952 – didn’t feature at least one draw. There were a record 17 ties in 1920.

The 1963 Steelers tied three of their 14 games.

On September 23rd, 1973, the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants finished 23-23 and the Lions and Green Bay Packers concluded 13-13.

It’s the most recent time in NFL history that there were two tie games on the same day.

Changing The Format

It took just two weeks after regular-season OT was introduced by the NFL for a game to go to the extra period. But it turned out that the Steelers and Denver Broncos were fit to be tied that day. At the conclusion of OT, the final score was 35-35.

In 2012, the NFL opted to tweak its overtime format. The new system allowed both teams to get one possession should the team receiving the opening kickoff boot a field goal on their initial possession.

Two years ago, the OT system was again altered. The extra period of play was reduced from 15 to 10 minutes.

The NFL is the only one of the four North America major pro sports that still permits games to end tied.

It’s Still A Longshot

There was one other tie game during the 2018-19 NFL campaign. It came during Week 2 when the Packers and Minnesota Vikings knotted up at 29-29. Still, odds are strongly against it happening again this season.

Will There Be A Tie Game In Week 2 of 2019-20 NFL Regular Season?

Outcome Odds
Yes +2000
No -5000

There are 256 games during the course of an NFL regular season. Last season, two ended up deadlocked. That works out to 0.781 percent of a season’s games concluding without a winner being determined.

The NFL has contested 10,636 regular-season games since introducing OT in 1974. Only 25 games finished without a winner being determined.

That’s a meager 0.235 percent of games finishing dead even.

Play: No (-5000

Author Image