The longest game in NFL history happened on Christmas Day of 1971. It clocked in at seven hours and eight minutes, with actual play time amounting to 82 minutes and 40 seconds. Prior to that, the Texans vs. Oilers duked it out in 1962 for 77 minutes and 54 seconds, just about five minutes shorter than the longest game ever. In more recent history, the Ravens and Bears played for five hours and 16 minutes in 2013. And we thought that game was long!
How would a game go this long? Isn’t there a limit for OT time? The overarching rule of OT in the NFL is that the rules must always change. The presence of overtime has been a source of hot debate since the NFL, and the rules have been inconsistent at best. At some points in NFL history, OT was nixed all together, and as you can see in the 1960s and 1970s, it was nearly limitless.
The Longest Game Shortest Deets
Hank Stram led the Kansas City Chiefs on home turf, battling it out against the Don Shula coached Miami Dolphins. In what feels like a nightmare during Christmas, the game lasted just over seven hours, with a little over 82 minutes of play time.
Christmas in Kansas City sounds like an incredibly cold experience – however, historical weather records indicate that it was unseasonably warm (and muddy). The high was 63, with lows of 37. That’s balmy for most cold-weather cities.
The longest game started at 4 p.m. ET, meaning it ended after 11 p.m. No Christmas leftovers from grandma for you! Interestingly, the longest game was the second NFL game ever scheduled on Christmas Day. The first was an NFC playoff game at 1 p.m. ET on the same day, with the Minnesota Vikings losing to the Dallas Cowboys.
We learned our lesson when the football gods made it clear that Christmas was a bad day to get on the gridiron by gifting us the longest game ever. Just kidding… now it’s commonplace.
Highlights Of The Longest Game
The game was being quarterbacked by two future Hall of Fame players: Len Dawson (see an article about him smoking in the locker room here) and Bob Griese. Coaches Don Shula and Hank Stram were some of the best coaches in their time (maybe ever). It was going to be a good game.
Kansas City Chiefs fans likely thought they were heading to the Super Bowl in the first quarter when they led by 10 points. The first touchdown of the game was a huge blow to the Dolphins – Linebacker Willie Lanier intercepted Griese’s ball. Len Dawson made quick work of the unexpected opportunity, passing to Ed Podolak for a 7-yard TD.
HOF Willie Lanier (Photo courtesy of African American Heritage Trail of Kansas City).
In what felt strangely predictive, the second half ended up in a tie, 10-10.
Things were neck and neck. Both teams got TDs and successful extra points (they must not have had a kicker like Jason Myers) in the third quarter.
For two strong opponents, there were definite mistakes. Dolphins linebacker Nick Buoniconti recovered a fumble. How did Griese repay the hard work of his defense? Throwing a pass that was intercepted by KC linebacker Jim Lynch. The positive momentum inspired Len Dawson, and he got a TD directly after.
Griese was probably embarrassed that he was completing so many passes to the other team, so he also got another TD in the 4th quarter with just 1:25 left. The game would be heading to OT with a score of 24-24.
Bob Griese in his spectacles (Photo courtesy of NBC Sports).
In the “first” OT, nothing happened. Or, should I say, nothing good happened. Thankfully, the teams seemed to notice the game was going a smidgen long, so they decided to make the first points halfway through the “second” OT. The Chiefs punted the ball, and Dolphins fullback Larry Csonka caught the ball, running 29 yards.
Coach Shula thought better of trying to run the ball in—that hadn’t been particularly effective in the first OT or the first half of the second overtime. Instead, kicker Garo Yepremian was facing a 37-yard field goal. This doesn’t seem particularly daunting, but Yepremian choked on a 52-yard field goal at the end of the first OT. He was likely feeling a little discouraged. For good reason. Just kidding; he got the points and ended the longest game ever. The Miami Dolphins were heading to the Super Bowl, winning 27-24.
Longest Game, Biggest Stats
There was ample opportunity to get strong stats in the longest game in the NFL. If you had the stamina. Willie Lanier was quoted as saying “You do not have the ability to quantify what tired means.”
So, what are some of the strongest stats in the longest game?
Ed Podolak – the star of the show (USA Today).
The aforementioned Ed Podolak has one of the best sets of stats in the NFL in a single game ever. The running back put up 350 all-purpose yards with eight receptions for 110 yards, 17 carries for 85 yards, two punt returns for a single yard, and three kickoff returns for 154 yards (along with a killer mustache). On the defensive side of the ball, the aforementioned Nick Buoniconti had 20 tackles. Ironically, both players were on the losing team.
Summary Of The Longest Game
The Miami Dolphins went on to bigger and better things. They made it to the playoffs in just the sixth year of their franchise. Shula didn’t lead his team to a Super Bowl victory in 1971; they lost against the Cowboys. However, they rallied and won the Super Bowl the following two seasons. They had a perfect NFL season, 17-0, in 1972.
Kansas City had different results. They wouldn’t be in another playoff game until 1986.
Coach Hank Stram lost the locker room after that game, according to many. Willie Lanier felt that Stram “lost the team” because he did not stand up for his kicker, Jan Stenerud. Miscommunications between players and the coach caused what was supposed to be a fake to become a poorly executed kick that Stenerud narrowly missed in the second quarter.
Jan Sterenud (Photo courtesy of Minnesota Vikings).
Stram never owned up to it and hurt his players, especially Stenerud. Allegedly, Jan never got over the incident and didn’t want to discuss it with people. We can’t blame him. The longest game was extra-long for some. Coach Hank Stram stuck around for a few more seasons, but things were never the same.
The Kansas City Chiefs are losing in another way, and not just in 1971; it may be one you were not expecting. Read all about it here!
