There is a rare occurrence in the NFL, an undefeated season. This is when a team goes an entire season, including the championship, without a single defeat. So far in NFL history, there have only been 4 teams to accomplish this task, and 3 of them were pre-1932 when there was no playoff tournament bracket.
The idea of another undefeated season happening is one that anyone who follows NFL odds dreams of. In this article, we cover the 4 teams who have gone undefeated during a regular season.
1972 Miami Dolphins
The 1972 Miami Dolphins is possibly the most popular team to ever play football. They managed to achieve a perfect season where they won all their regular season games and tournament bracket style post season games, leading them to have a 17-long winning streak. Exhibition preseason matches don’t count toward a perfect season as the Miami Dolphins won 3 out of their 6 preseason games.
The team was led by their coach Don Shula who was the previous coach of the Baltimore Colts. The team he helped to create has been studied for its secrets since their impressive victories in 1972. Not only did they go undefeated in that season, but they also led the league in points scored and points allowed. Before their colossal season, their defensive line was called the ‘No-Name Defense’ due to their lack of high-profile players.
The 1972 season yielded the team 2 Pro Bowlers and 4 AP All-Pros, and the team was named the greatest team of all time by the NFL on its 100th anniversary.
1929 Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers is the only non-profit community-owned professional sports team in the U.S. and is the 3rd oldest franchise in the NFL dating back to 1919.
Their 1929 season ended with 12 victories and 1 tie. This tie was against the Frankford Yellow Jackets (now the Philadelphia Eagles) on November 28th, where neither team scored any points.
Led by player/coach Curly Lambeau, the Green Bay Packers won their first-ever National Football League Championship. In honor of this, the Packers’ current throwback uniform is based on the one from 1929.
1922 & 1923 Canton Bulldogs
The Canton Bulldogs got back-to-back undefeated seasons in 1922 and 1923. This led them to have a 25-game-long undefeated streak (including ties) which is still an NFL record to this day.
In 1922, they finished with 10 victories and 2 ties. Their 2 ties were on the 8th of October and the 10th of November against the Dayton Triangles and Toledo Maroons respectively, in both games no points were scored.
They managed to improve their record in 1923 with 11 victories to 1 tie. This tie happened on the 11th of November against the Buffalo All-Americans where both teams scored 3 points.
The coach during these 2 seasons was Guy Chamberlin who ended up having the best win percentage of any coach in NFL history at .759.
Due to the Canton Bulldogs’ early success in the NFL, the Pro Football Hall of Fame is located in Canton, Ohio.
1920 Akron Pros
In the franchise’s inaugural season, the Akron Pros ended the season with 8 victories, 0 losses, 3 ties, and 1 canceled game due to rain.
Their 3 ties were against the Cleveland Tigers on November 14th ending in 7-7, the next was on December 5th against the Buffalo All-Americans with a 0-point game, and finally against the Decatur Staleys on December 12th with no points being scored.
In week 11 of this season, the franchise saw its first-ever trade where the Akron Pros traded end Bob Nash to the Buffalo All-Americans in exchange for $300 and 5% of gate receipts.
Since the final match of the season was a tie, the victor was decided via a vote in a meeting. The Akron Pros were awarded the championship due to their 1.000 winning percentage as ties didn’t count toward the percentage back then.
The pros were coached to the first NFL victory by Elgie Tobin who would split coaching duties the following year with Fritz Pollard. By doing so, Pollard became the first-ever African-American head coach in the NFL. Pollard was also on the team during their 1920 victory.
The Akron Pros was a charting member of the American Professional Football Association in 1920, which would later be changed to the National Football League 2 years later. The team eventually folded in 1927 due to financial problems.
Final Thoughts
It is hard to get an undefeated season in the NFL, let alone a perfect one. Many teams have come close, losing their first game of the season during the championship game. So far there has only been one team in the over 100 years of NFL history to have an undefeated season with no ties.
While it is hard to achieve this status at a professional level, it is quite common to see it happen with college football teams. Recent college football perfect seasons include the UCF Knights in 2017, the Ohio State Buckeyes in 2012, and the Auburn Tigers in 2010.
Finally, consider that NCAA basketball is usually a 30+ game season, which includes having to march through the March Madness tournament bracket. Given more games to win, you would think it would be harder to achieve in college basketball, yet there have been 7 undefeated teams, including UCLA who did it 4 times!
