Games with deceptive final scores

[CSKreager]

Sometimes there are NFL game with close scores but it wasn't as close as the game really was (i.e. garbage time TD's).

There are also game with a not so close score that was closer than the game indicates (i.e. late TD's to bust open a close game)

Not all 7 point games or 10+ point games are created equally

What are some examples of these deceiving scores you can recall?

I'll start:

Game closer than final score: 1979 Oilers/Steelers AFC Championship Game (27-13). That was a 1 score game almost the entire way (heck Houston actually had an early lead) and Bleier's game winning touchdown didn't come until 1 minute left.

Game not as close as final score: 1993 Packers/Cowboys NFC Divisional Playoffs (27-17). Green Bay never led and it was 27-10 before Brett Favre threw a TD in the last 2 minutes

[Mark]

How about the two Lions-Redskins games from 1991?

The first was 45-0 which sounds bad enough but I think it could have easily been 70-0. The Lions seemed to be outclassed at every level.

At 41-10 the championship game sounds almost as bad but it was only 17-10 at halftime. Washington pulled away in the second half but the Lions' performance was FAR better than in the first game. No doubt having Barry Sanders back and a different QB helped.

[ChrisBabcock]

Speaking of the 1991 season, that season's Super Bowl immediately came to mind when reading the first post in this thread. The final score was 37-24 but the Bills really got their butts kicked by a far superior Redskins team. Two garbage time Bills touchdowns made it close... er.

[Brian wolf]

In the 1978 postseason, the Steelers got revenge on the Broncos with Bradshaw breaking the game open but the Broncos defense was hardhitting and kept the game close before their own offense gave it away. Alot closer than the final score indicated ...

[Crazy Packers Fan]

Just going with Super Bowls here (XXVI was a great example already given):

Super Bowl XXXI: Green Bay dominated the last three quarters of that game, but only won by 14. They missed a field goal that would have covered the spread, and they ended the game in field goal range. Watching the game again lately, it felt like the Packers won by 30, yet they only came out on top by two touchdowns.

Super Bowl XXXVII: Oakland closed within 13 points and had the ball late in this game. They missed 3 two-point conversions, that if they would have made them all, they would have had the chance to tie the game on the final drive. Instead, Rich Gannon threw two pick-sixes to make it a 48-21 loss.

Super Bowl XIII: The Steelers had a 35-17 lead midway through the fourth quarter. The Cowboys recovered an onside kick in a futile comeback effort, but all anyone saw was 35-31. Now, I will say that the game was outstanding even with the fact that the Steelers had that 18-point lead. A dropped pass in the end zone, and who knows if this game ends up in overtime.

Super Bowl VII: I think everyone here knows the story of this game, so I won't repeat it here, but the Dolphins dominated Washington so much in this game that it is astonishing that Washington had the ball with the chance to tie in the final two minutes.

[Brian wolf]

Looking at the final score from the 1959 NFL Championship game, it would seem Baltimore dominated but Conerly and the Giants led 9-7 going into the 4th Quarter ... Unitas broke it open over a 10 minute span ...

The Browns broke it open in the third quarter going up 17-0 after a scoreless first half of the 1964 NFL Championship game but the final ten points they scored in the 4th quarter, pissed off Gino Marchetti so bad, that he went after Browns QB Ryan relentlessly in the meaningless All-Star game where Ryan would hurt his shoulder ...

[Bryan]

Game closer than final score: 1979 Oilers/Steelers AFC Championship Game (27-13). That was a 1 score game almost the entire way (heck Houston actually had an early lead) and Bleier's game winning touchdown didn't come until 1 minute left.

The Steelers were clearly superior on that 79 AFC Championship game. The Steelers offense scored 3 TDs to Houston's offense 0. The Steelers could consistently move the ball, the Oilers couldn't run at all. Pastorini completed some miraculous passes, otherwise Houston had nothing going for them. The Steelers outgained Houston by over 100 yards, had twice as many first downs, and outrushed the Oilers 161 to 24. The Oilers were lucky the game was close.

[Brian wolf]

The 1980 Philly-Minn playoff game was closer than the final score but turnovers killed the Vikings.

For snow weather postseason game collectors, the 1990 Bills win over Miami was entertaining, with Marino never giving up and even cutting the Bills lead to only seven points but the Bills offense manhandled the Dolphins defense and could have put up 50 points had they wanted too

[CSKreager]

Game closer than final score: 1979 Oilers/Steelers AFC Championship Game (27-13). That was a 1 score game almost the entire way (heck Houston actually had an early lead) and Bleier's game winning touchdown didn't come until 1 minute left.

The Steelers were clearly superior on that 79 AFC Championship game. The Steelers offense scored 3 TDs to Houston's offense 0. The Steelers could consistently move the ball, the Oilers couldn't run at all. Pastorini completed some miraculous passes, otherwise Houston had nothing going for them. The Steelers outgained Houston by over 100 yards, had twice as many first downs, and outrushed the Oilers 161 to 24. The Oilers were lucky the game was close.

this is why I always say Oilers/Steelers was the most overrated rivalry of all time

Houston was a waste of a conference championship game spot not once but twice

All those upsets just to lay down and roll over at the sight of black and gold

Forget San Diego- 78 New England would have put up a better fight at 3 Rivers

[7DnBrnc53]

For snow weather postseason game collectors, the 1990 Bills win over Miami was entertaining, with Marino never giving up and even cutting the Bills lead to only seven points but the Bills offense manhandled the Dolphins defense and could have but up 50 points had they wanted too

I think that Dolphin LB Mike Reichenbach almost had a key INT early in the fourth quarter that could have changed the game somewhat, but the Bills offense was dominant. However, a key aspect of that game was that the Dolphins stayed close because they ran the ball 27 times for over 100 yards. Two years later, in the AFC Title Game, they only ran it 11 times, and they had a very disappointing performance.