The NFL has plenty of records to talk about and some of them are really impressive. The league has a rich history and there are plenty of good anecdotes that fans can discover to know more about football, one of the best sports ever created.
You can talk about big and low scores, games full of emotions, great defensive and offensive performances and more. NFL games last a certain amount of time but back in the day, they could last a lot more.
Today, we’re going to take a look at the longest game played in NFL history. It is very hard to see this happening nowadays, so you know this game was and is still very special for the NFL, the fans and players.
What is the longest game played in NFL history
Back in the 1971/72 NFL season, the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs squared off in a memorable game. It looked like everything was set for this game to be a great match between two historical teams in the league.
On December 25, 1972, the Dolphins visited the Chiefs at Municipal Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. The game ended with a 27-23 win for Miami in the last game the Chiefs played at that venue.
The duel lasted 82 minutes, 40 seconds (in-game time) and needed two overtimes to define the winner. Kansas City scored 10 points in the first quarter before Miami did the same in the 2nd one. Both teams scored 7 points in the 3rd and 4th quarter of the game, respectively, ending regular time with 24 points.
Contrary to what happens in the regular season, you can’t have a tie in the postseason, so this game lasted what it needed to last before defining the winner. Miami kicker Garo Yepremian kicked the winning 37-yard field goal after 7:40 of the second overtime period to put the definite number on the scoreboard.
Miami would go to play in the Super Bowl, where the Dallas Cowboys defeated them with a 24-3. Miami would make history the next season, becoming the first and only team to finish an NFL season unbeaten and untied. That team was accustomed to do historical things and this game was one of them.
