Starting back in 1920, the NFL and football itself have had a rich history, containing great victories, terrible losses, and some very weird facts about football. Did you know there was a third-place game between 1960 and 1969? Or that the Cowboys never won a game in Lambeau Field until 2008? Learn about a completely different side of the NFL and football with these twelve weird facts about football.
12. The Chicago Bears have never had a 4,000 yard passer
Twelfth on our weird facts about football list concerns the Chicago Bears. Even with the new age of high-flying offenses over running the ball, the Bears have never had a 4,000-yard passer. While Sid Luckman was a star for the team in the 1940s, he never broke that barrier. Even teams that have struggled with quarterbacks, like the Cleveland Browns and the New York Jets, each have at least one. Both Erik Kramer in 1995 and Jay Cutler in 2014 came close, neither broke the elusive 4,000-yard mark.
11. The goalpost was once on the goal line
Next up on our list of weird facts about football is the previous position of the goalpost. While we all know that the goal back is located at the back of the end zone today, this was not always the case. Originally, the goalpost was on the goal line itself, which posed a safety risk when players tried to catch touchdown passes. Also contributing to disruption in plays, the post was moved to the back of the end zone.
10. Detroit Lions have had two separate 30 year stretches without a playoff win
The Detroit Lions have finally broken out as one of the major hitters in the NFL, having a shot this year in the Super Bowl, but this wasn’t always the case. Our tenth selection of weird facts about football concerns this misfortune. In 1957, the Lions won the NFL Championship but wouldn’t win a playoff game again until 1991. Then, another 33 years would pass before the Lions would win in 2024 against the Rams, making two 30-year stretches between playoff wins.
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9. An NFL commissioner once died in the stands during a game
Ranking ninth on our weird facts about football list is a tragedy. It was October 11th at Philadelphia’s Franklin Field, and NFL Commissioner Bert Bell was attending a game between the Eagles and the Steelers. While details are muddled on what exactly happened, late in the fourth quarter, the Eagles scored a touchdown to seal the game, and Bell suffered a fatal heart attack in the stands. Some say the touchdown caused the heart attack, while others say the frantic crowd reaction distracted the Steelers defense. Either way, the event was tragic to say the least.
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8. WWII resulted in position specialization
Coming in at eighth on our weird facts about football list is a flashback to World War II and its unexpected impact on the NFL. Before WWII, football was played with one team that was both the offense and the defense, with no substitutions. During the war, many men who would have played were drafted, resulting in frequent roster changes. The rules were changed to allow substitutions, continuing after the war and morphing into the offensive and defensive players we know today, along with the addition of special teams.
7. The New England Patriots were almost the Bay State Patriots
Seventh on our weird facts about football list is about the Patriots and how they almost had a very different name. When the Patriots moved from Boston to Foxborough, the owners wanted a name more fitting of the entire region than just Boston. The first name proposed to the NFL was not New England, but instead, Bay State which was all fine and dandy until ownership shortened the name to the BS Patriots. I’m sure you can see why the NFL was not too fond of the idea. Thus, the New England Patriots were born, and have been known as such ever since.
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6. It wasn’t until 2021 that a NFL team played a Super Bowl in their home stadium
Out of all the weird facts about football we have, this is one of the most surprising. Every year the venue for the Super Bowl changes, and it’s very rare to have a team make it to the Super Bowl and play in their home stadium. This finally happened in 2021, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers playing in their home stadium, led by Tom Brady, so they not only played at home, they won Super Bowl LV.
5. Since its creation every NFC South team has finished last in the division and gone to the Super Bowl
While some divisions have periods of dominance, such as the recent six-year run of AFC West titles going to the Chiefs, that doesn’t seem to be true for the NFC South, which instead lives in volatility. This has changed in recent years with the New Orleans Saints winning the NFC South title from 2017-2020, all teams still fluctuate greatly throughout the season, and it’s anyone’s game for the title.
For Super Bowl appearances, the Buccaneers reached Super Bowl XXXVII and LV in 2002 and 2021 respectively, winning both. The Falcons have a lone loss in Super Bowl LI from 2016. The Panthers also fell short in Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2003 and Super Bowl 50 in 2015, while the Saints managed to win their lone Super Bowl appearance in 2009 for Super Bowl XLIV.
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4. Cowboys never won a game in Lambeau Field until 2008
Both the Dallas Cowboys and the Green Bay Packers are NFL teams with rich histories, which have created one of our weird facts about football. The first meeting between the two teams was in 1960 at Lambeau Field, creating the starting point for this startling fact. It took ten trips by the Dallas Cowboys to the frozen tundra of Lambeau to grab a victory, earning it in Week 3 of 2008 during Aaron Rodgers’ first season as the starter of the Green Bay Packers.
Since that historic win, the Cowboys have played in Lambeau five more times, winning just once more. For a franchise as popular and powerful as the Cowboys, their Achilles heel seems to come in the form of Lambeau field.
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3. Sammy Baugh played QB, punted 81 yards, and had four interceptions as a DB in one game
Sammy “Slingin” Baugh created history in 1943 as he played for Washington, completing a feat unimaginable by today’s standards. Days have long since passed since the idea of the two-way player, though we occasionally see defensive players lining up on the offense, or receivers lining up on a Hail Mary defense.
Our third selection for weird facts about football happened partly because of roster depletions due to World War II. Sammy Baugh played quarterback, defensive back, and punter during the 1943 season, and put all the positions together for a memorable game on November 14, 1943. Playing against the Detriot Lions, Baugh was able to get four scoring passes, four interceptions, and even an 81-yard punt to get a 42-20 victory.
2. From 1960-1969 the NFL had a third-place game
Jumping into our second selection for weird facts about football, third-place games are unheard of in the NFL, except if you played between 1960-1969. When the AFL burst onto the football scene in 1960, Pete Rozelle created yet another way to keep viewers entertained with the NFL for as long as possible. To celebrate the life of Bert Bell who had recently passed, Rozelle created the “Bert Bell Benefit Bowl” pitting two conference runners up against each other for third place.
Plenty of NFL teams played in the game, and nearly all of them hated it too. Vince Lombardi had some choice words, and even All-Pro defensive lineman Roger Brown despised the game during his time in both Detroit and Los Angeles. Guess what team had the most Benefit Bowl victories? The Lions, which should tell you all you need to know about the game.
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1. Footballs were never made out of pigskin
For our number one selection for weird facts about football, we had to bring up the idea of the “pigskin.” Though the football is commonly referred to as a “pigskin” they are not actually made out of that material, and likely never were. In the very early and unofficial days of the game, some of the balls may have been made from an inflated pig’s bladder. But by the 1860s, most teams were playing with a ball that was made from a leather cover and a rubber bladder. Today, NFL and college-level footballs are covered in cowhide and a synthetic rubber bladder.
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