Detroit Lions and New York Giants Played Scoreless Game in 1943

Published on November 30th, 2020 12:38 am EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


There have been all sorts of low scoring NFL games over the years.

3-0. 6-3. 7-0.

Has there ever been a scoreless 0-0 game?

The answer: yes. The 0-0 game happened once in the NFL on November 7th, 1943.

The 2-2 New York Giants travelled to Briggs Stadium (which would eventually become known as Tiger Stadium) to take on the 3-4 Detroit Lions.

16,992 people would take in a game that would end with a score of 0-0.

In total, there were just nine first downs in the game - the Detroit Lions got 6, while the Giants got the other 3.

The Quarterbacks in the game were absolutely terrible, as the Giants went 1-4 through the air for 3 yards, while the Detroit Lions were a bit better, going 5-12 for 28 yards.

In total, the teams combined for just over 200 yards of total offence.

There were four missed field goals in the game, with the Detroit Lions kicker (Augie Lio) missing a total of three times, including once from 15 yards out.

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There were a number of issues that likely contributed to this 0-0 result.

First off - weather. Given the outcome of the game, and the four missed field goals, it is almost certain that the weather was poor for this contest.

Second - World War II. The talent pool in the NFL was extremely thin in 1943, as many players were off fighting for the Allies in the War.

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Given the offensive talent that exists in the NFL these days, there is virtually no chance that we'll ever see a 0-0 result again.