Greatest scoring offenses, all of NFL history

Cold, Hard Football Facts for Mar 23, 2008

Click here for a look at the greatest scoring offenses of the Super Bowl Era

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Here's a look at the most prolific scoring offenses in NFL or AFL history, included all 46 teams that averaged 30.0 PPG or more over the course of an entire season.

The 2007 Patriots finished with the second most productive offense in the history of the game, averaging 36.81 PPG. Only the 1950 Rams scored more (38.83 PPG).

It should be noted that just 12 of these 46 teams won an NFL or AFL championship. As always, balance in many areas is more importance than dominance in one single area.

Anytime you see a statistical anomaly, such as an all-time record, there are usually extenuating circumstances involved. And the scoring record of the 1950 Rams is no exception.

The NFL in 1950 absorbed three teams from the All-America Football Conference, the Browns, Baltimore Colts and 49ers. The AAFC's N.Y. Bulldogs, meanwhile, merged with the NFL's N.Y. Yankees and were renamed the N.Y. Yanks for the 1950 season.

The Yanks, Colts and 49ers each ended up in the newly renamed National Conference with the Rams. The Yanks and Colts proceeded to field two of the worst defenses in the entire history of the NFL. The Colts surrendered 462 points that season. The Yanks surrendered 367. The 49ers, in their first year in the NFL, struggled to a 3-9 record and fielded the worst offense in football that year (213 points).

The Rams played five of their 12 games against these three teams.

The Colts were so bad that they folded immediately after the 1950 season (but returned in 1953). The Yanks folded after the 1951 season, never to return to the NFL.

GREATEST SCORING OFFENSES (all of NFL history)

	Team	Games	Points	PPG	Record	Result
1	1950 Rams	12	466	38.83	9-3	Lost NFL title game
2	2007 Patriots	16	589	36.81	16-0	Lost SB XLII
3	1961 Oilers (AFL)	14	513	36.64	10-3-1	Won AFL title
4	1941 Bears	11	396	36.00	10-1	Won NFL title
5	1998 Vikings	16	556	34.75	15-1	Lost NFC title game
6	1942 Bears	11	376	34.18	11-0	Lost NFL title game
7	1983 Redskins	16	541	33.81	14-2	Lost SB XVIII
8	2000 Rams	16	540	33.75	10-6	Lost NFC wildcard
9	1967 Raiders (AFL)	14	468	33.43	13-1	Lost SB II
10	1948 Cardinals*	12	395	32.92	11-1	Lost NFL title game*
11	1999 Rams	16	526	32.88	13-3	Won SB XXXIV
12	1951 Rams	12	392	32.67	8-4	Won NFL title
13	2004 Colts	16	522	32.63	12-4	Lost div. playoff
14	1968 Raiders (AFL)	14	453	32.36	12-2	Lost AFL title game
15	1984 Dolphins	16	513	32.06	14-2	Lost SB XIX
16	1963 Giants	14	448	32.00	11-3	Lost NFL title game
17	1966 Chiefs	14	448	32.00	11-2-1	Lost SB I
18	1982 Chargers	9	288	32.00	6-3	Lost div. playoff
19	1966 Cowboys	14	445	31.79	10-3-1	Lost NFL title game
20	1958 Colts	12	381	31.75	9-3	Won NFL title
21	1994 49ers	16	505	31.56	13-3	Won SB XXIX
22	2001 Rams	16	503	31.44	14-2	Lost SB XXXVI
23	1948 Eagles	12	376	31.33	9-2-1	Won NFL title
24	1998 Broncos	16	501	31.31	14-2	Won SB XXXIII
25	1948 Bears	12	375	31.25	10-2	Missed playoffs
26	1959 Colts	12	374	31.17	9-3	Won NFL title
27	1953 49ers	12	372	31.00	9-3	Missed playoffs
28	1968 Cowboys	14	431	30.79	12-2	Lost div. playoff
29	2006 Chargers	16	492	30.75	14-2	Lost div. playoff
30	1987 49ers	15	459	30.60	13-2	Lost div. playoff
31	1964 Colts	14	428	30.57	12-2	Lost NFL title game
32	1950 NY Yanks	12	366	30.50	7-5	Missed playoffs
33	1953 Rams	12	366	30.50	8-3-1	Missed playoffs
34	1949 Eagles	12	364	30.33	11-1	Won NFL title
35	1991 Redskins	16	485	30.31	14-2	Won SB XXVI
36	2000 Broncos	16	485	30.31	11-5	Lost AFC wildcard
37	1943 Bears	10	303	30.30	8-1-1	Won NFL title
38	1947 Bears	12	363	30.25	8-4	Missed playoffs
39	1956 Bears	12	363	30.25	9-2-1	Lost NFL title game
40	2003 Chiefs	16	484	30.25	13-3	Lost div. playoff
41	2004 Chiefs	16	483	30.19	7-9	Missed playoffs
42	1960 Browns	12	362	30.17	8-3-1	Missed playoffs
43	1965 49ers	14	421	30.07	7-6-1	Missed playoffs
44	1949 Rams	12	360	30.00	8-2-2	Lost NFL title game**
45	1949 Cardinals	12	360	30.00	6-5-1	Missed playoffs
46	1975 Bills	14	420	30.00	8-6	Missed playoffs

* After scoring nearly 33 PPG in 1948, the Cardinals were actually shutout in the NFL title game, 7-0, by the Eagles. The 1948 Eagles also appear on this list, with the No. 22 offense of all time.

** The 1949 Rams were also blanked in the NFL title game by the Eagles, 14-0. The 1949 Eagles, like their 1948 counterparts, also appear on this list, at No. 33.

By Kerry Byrne

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