The Most MEANINGLESS Game in NFL HISTORY

[@anthony0358]

I respectfully disagree with a twitter post that meaningless games in week 18 should not go to overtime. Declaring those games a tie at the end of regulation would impact the draft order

[@PJ.Rob06]

The NFL should implement a draft lottery system to deincentivize tanking. It ruins the game. Me saying this as a jets fan is huge

[@theredscum4202]

​@@PJ.Rob06 crazy but you know the NBA manipulates who gets picks 1-3 right?

[@joeylawn36111]

No Ties. IMO that's one of the "nice things" about American Football - since there are different ways to score with different points awarded, ties are rare and can be eliminated altogether, unlike soccer and hockey.

[@tysonkrehnke2835]

​​@@PJ.Rob06The counter to that is the NBA where lucky teams (like the cavs) spring board their capital in 3 years and convince big names to come to town not based on merit cause them to win championships. And unlucky teams (like the pistons) literally rot forever. It's a little more complicated there because the pistons are also failing to trade and develop well but still only half the story. Then you get teams like the 76ers who want to tank to build a team, but because it's all luck based they had to tank for 10 years to get 3 good players rather than 3-4 years when picks are guaranteed. Just horrible viewing all around

[@chrisp679]

The NHL did eliminate ties.

[@Rockhound6165]

Fun Fact: That 27-2 game was a Scorigami and stands as the only game to finish with this score to this day.

[@catloverplayz3268]

Imagine nowadays getting that score, trying to get a Scorigami and then you realize it isn't

[@chasetemple3129]

Google Packers vs Broncos

[@christophertaylor9471]

Yup. I thought for sure the 31-2 Christmas game between Baltimore and Houston would be one; nope, it happened in 1936 or something like that.

[@markbrian7179]

I guarantee the players who were collecting a paycheck wouldn't have called this game meaningless.

[@Milo1974-Gbg]

Especially those looking for a statistic-based bonus.

[@banjoplayingbison2275]

When I first saw the thumb for this video, my first thought was “didn’t the NHL do this a few years ago during the pandemic?”

[@americanidol30]

The Canucks and Flames played those games to earn points in their standings to improve their chances at the NHL Draft Lottery.

[@marcus813]

It was also done to fulfill broadcasting obligations. The Flames' Sportsnet West crew worked 2 of those games before a Canadian national audience.

[@RetroJR3379]

NHL Playoff during Covid was both unique and out of whack they played a separate tournament to determine the seed and regular season during playoff LOL

[@joeylawn36111]

Hockey has those crazy standings like 34-22-11-14-6-1 😉🙃

[@RetroJR3379]

@joeylawn36111 I remember when it was W-L-T-OTL LOL

[@matthewshortle5274]

And then in Canada their playoffs started a week later because of Covid issues.

[@RetroJR3379]

@matthewshortle5274 Speaking of I loved how when NHL realigned that one year cause of Covid that they put all Canada team in one division

[@joeylawn36111]

@@RetroJR3379 Then there was that one NHL season with NO Canadian teams in the playoffs 😮😮😮 - How did Canada survive that? 😉

[@GamerKiller2347]

This reminds me of the 2021 game between Cal and USC. It was cancelled because of COVID and rescheduled during conference championship weekend, but both teams were 4-7 and had nothing to play for.

[@jackmessick2869]

They did have, throughout the 1960s, the consolation bowl in the NFL, where the second place teams from each conference, or the losers of the East and West conference championships, played a game in Miami. To determine third vs. fourth place. They are now considered exhibition games.

[@thechrisde]

What about 1954, where Detroit/Cleveland played in "Week 13" as the only regular season game, when it was already confirmed Detroit/Cleveland would be the championship game. So they played a meaningless regular season game, and the next week played the Championship Game.

[@MarshallYTGaming]

On paper, that definitely is meaningless. However for Detroit and Cleveland that's actually a perfect game for them since it's essentially a championship scrimmage for both teams. I also checked the box score, the Lions surprisingly did not sit/limit Bobby Layne's playing time unlike the Browns did with Otto Graham. He played the full game and this would end up helping the Browns a ton because in the aforementioned Championship game, he threw 6 interceptions and the Browns won 56-10.

[@fpjrzman]

This reminds me of a similar situation that happened during the 2021 season, after COVID butchered the Vancouver Canucks roster causing a 25 day pause in their schedule. As a direct result, some North Division games involving the Canucks were played after the the playoffs started for the rest of the league. In fact, there were games between the Flames and Canucks, played after the rest of the division started THEIR playoff games.

[@ParadiseCity1329]

11:02

[@fpjrzman]

@ParadiseCity1329 I was only part way through the video when I posted that. I honestly didn't think @jaguargator9 would mention it, but, credit where due

[@billtooke6642]

The Playoff Bowl always struck me as pointless

[@johndifool2985]

To the uninitiated, the NFL pre-merger during the 60's had their 2 divisional LOSERS play each other the week after the actual Championship game (not the Super Bowl note which of course was 2 weeks later), all played in the Orange Bowl in Miami. Vince Lombardi once had his Packers shanghai'ed into playing it, dismissively calling it the "Sh*t Bowl." [the Pack natch then won the next 3 NFL Championships] The whole idea was mercifully junked after the full 1970 merger, but when it was extant it did raise a lot of money for charity. It also indirectly helped Miami get the expansion AFL Dolphins.

[@FletchBrendanGood]

Lombardi famously said "it's a hinky-dink game, played by hinky-dink players, in a hinky-dink town. that's all 2nd place is: hinky-dink." he gave so little shit about the game that the one year the Packers played in it, they lost. To the Cardinals! he also cared so little that he didn't even get his own quote right. He said 2nd place was hinky-dink, but the game was for THIRD place, not second.

[@gcooper146]

I looked up that Steelers roster. They had Earl Morrall, Len Dawson, and Jack Kemp as QBs

[@Tubewings]

I see the helmets behind you are arranged in a certain way. The ones on the left are the AFC standings, with #1 on the left and #4 on the right, with the East on top, followed by the South, North, and finally the West. The same goes for the NFC on the right, while the helmets in the middle are the Wild Card Game setups, even if JG9's head is blocking some of them.

[@ShiloStigen]

He changes those helmets all the time, and he's got a BUNCH! He shows his mini helmet collection on his "Week in the Life" vid.

[@ParadiseCity1329]

Theres something else too, the top row changes based on what teams are involved in the video, for example, this one is about the Cardinals/Steelers and look what's on the top shelf. I thinks it's actually cool and fitting. He always does that on JG9 News, notice he always says, "Something something the team that is behind me, the *team*". Dude is an absurdly good collecter.

[@petercena9497]

The NFL was still a very regional game in the 50s.

[@Roll-Tide-99]

“Why play a regular season game during the postseason”. Things I say about the Army vs Navy game

[@maikotter9945]

Military is always wrong!

[@MrRockett88]

Well, we did have the Vikings and Lions this past week which was basically a playoff game.

[@BillHFA]

Imagine a 3-way tie for first in the division back then!

[@mrmoose6619]

Another thing you would never see today... home openers in late October. Mind you, they probably did this in deference to the Yankees baseball... but still.

[@Bruce12867]

And in deference to Mets Baseball as well. You can imagine the nightmare that took place in 1975, when four teams played at Shea that year.

[@Jason_Maier]

@@Bruce12867 That year, the Giants/Jets didn't play at home until late September. And because of having to fit in Jets and Giants playing at Shea; the Giants had to play two of their home games on Saturday.

[@jackmessick2869]

In the 1950s, they were likely thinking about ticket sales and not player injuries. And ticket prices probably meant you would go just to be entertained with a game in which your team is involved. Why do teams 25 games out in September in Major League Baseball still attract fans?

[@martinboser7059]

The other thing worth mentioning is the Hamlin precedent. If you're not going to replay a game with playoff implications it would be bizarre to replay a meaningless game during the playoffs if it couldn't be completed as scheduled for whatever reason.

[@Venom3254]

The future Super Bowl 43 match up

[@danielbowden6330]

My question is this: if the regular season game was in Chicago, why didn't they play at 1PM in Chicago and the Playoff game in San Fran at 4PM?

[@CTubeMan]

He showed a newspaper clipping saying those were the times.

[@christopherjohnson1873]

In 2021, the Flames and Canucks played TWO of these meaningless games while the playoffs were happening

[@matthewshortle5274]

I remembered the 2021 NHL season during Covid had all the Canadian teams playing in their own division and there are 3 separate divisions in the United States. By the time the playoffs began in the United States, there were still regular season games being played in Canada. Like the last regular season game that season was Flames-Canucks I think and neither team could make the playoffs. EDIT: JG9 mentioned it at 11:08

[@mgb4692]

I was at EWU during something similar in 2009. They played an impromptu game against St. Mary's the Friday before March Madness in a last ditch effort to get them (SMC) into the dance, didn't work--back to the NIT. Eastern was 12-17 and missed the Big Sky tournament (only six of nine made it), who thought this was a good idea?

[@cameronrose9902]

I can answer why they played the game. All there money came from stadiums! so they played all star teams back then and lots of other stuff. Lots of teams were losing money back then only the bears and giants made money back then!

[@RhinoXpress]

It would mean something for next seasons draft order. Which is why all games regardless if it's meaningless have to be played for that reason.

[@patrickkilduff4355]

There are still contracts to fulfill and stats to be added to your career sheet, etc. No game in the NFL is meaningless.

[@rslitman]

Something like this happened in college football a few years ago. It was a rare year in which Temple University made the postseason. The Owls played Navy in Annapolis. The visitors from Philadelphia won that game. But a week or two later, Navy made a visit to Philadelphia, this time to play its annual game against Army. The Army-Navy game was considered to be a regular season game, even though the Midshipmen had already played a postseason game.

[@mgb4692]

It just happened this past year too, with Army beating Tulane in the American title game then losing to Navy Not in favor of moving Army-Navy to week zero, but definitely to rivalry weekend

[@worldsgreatestdude1784]

I would watch the regular season game instead of the playoffs

[@CTubeMan]

This unofficial Official Jaguar Gator 9 historian will remind everyone you made a video about how George Halas demanded a rematch of the Chicago Cardinals against his Bears at the end of the 1922 season.

[@richbaritone67]

You are one dedicated troll. 😆

[@jeffw1267]

The game was certainly meaningful to the marginal players on both teams. They wanted to prove themselves in that "meaningless" game.

[@leavemanycredits]

I'll bet if that Bills / Bengals game that got halted due to the Damar Hamlin incident had been between two eliminated teams, they would have made up that game on Wild Card Weekend (though possibly on Thursday or Friday Night)

[@TheSonicsean]

So was there a plan in place for if the Steelers-Cardinals game could (though given the quality of the two teams, almost certainly wouldn't) cause a tie for the NFL East title, thus necessitating a tiebreaker game before the championship?

[@jnl7196]

a share of YES (Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network) is included in the what is now Fan Duel Sports deal. As well as affiliation with MSG, and Marquee which serves as the home of the Chicago Cubs

[@martinboser7059]

The thing about the hockey example was that the North Division playoffs were intentionally delayed (arguably for no good reason as Calgary and Vancouver were both already eliminated) while the US Division playoffs were allowed to get underway.

[@diamonddog13]

They delayed the inevitable Leafs collapse

[@shakycameratheater]

In the modern era, there are so msny "tie-breamers" to determine conference standings, it may be redundant. Not many would consider the video tooic important.

[@AllMi3htykid]

The lions and browns in the superbowl just don't sound possible 😂

[@Whereyahidin]

1:57 the math isn't mathing 😂

[@jmlapedis49]

7:00 Why are the 10, 20, and 30 yard markers gathered on the sideline?

[@washingtonsportsden5365]

4:35 We pronounce the acronym "M-ah-sen"😂 Never heard "M-A-S-N" 😂😂😂😂

[@richardtherichard26]

It’s an acronym my brother. There’s not only 1 way to pronounce it. It’s not a proper noun. You can pronounce it however you want 😂😂😂🤡🤡🤡

[@washingtonsportsden5365]

@richardtherichard26 Did I say there was only one way? All I said was there's a commonly agreed upon pronunciation in the station's region (where I'm from). Hope this helps.

[@eoj6568]

Reminder that in 1969, because the AFL started its season a week earlier than the NFL, Week 14 of the NFL season was Week 1 of the AFL playoffs.

[@sparklerbc9898]

this is again one of those things where you have to appreciate that sports back then were less focused on winning titles and both players and fans were more invested in winning a single "meaningless" game then they are today. also, does the day its played on really just change its meaningfulness. not really. even today, if next weekend there was a left over regular season game that meant nothing, its just bizarre scheduling, the game doesnt actually mean any less than it would have the week before.

[@BigTiger_99]

Another interesting example, and I recall this vividly: 2012, Oregon State had scheduled a game against FCS Nicholls, that was set for September 1st, that game ended up being postponed after Hurricane Isaac struck Louisiana, and I’m guessing made it impossible for the Colonels to Travel. But instead of outright Cancelling it, or ringing up a different opponent, They played the Game on December 1st, Which was not only Conference Championship Weekend in the FBS, But it was during the Second Round of the FCS Playoffs. Nicholls lost 77-3 and finished that season 1-10, But can you imaging if the Colonels were actually good enough to get into the playoffs, What do you do then?

[@mgb4692]

I think there was a clause in there that the game would be cancelled if X made Y, because there were a few postponements from 9/11 that I remember that moved to their conference championship week Also there were a couple in the Pac 12 that were rescheduled due to either fires or COVID to that weekend, one of which was USC's last game pre-Lincoln Riley, at Cal in front of an obviously papered crowd in Dec 2021.

[@aaronholcomb237]

IIRC, Iowa State played a season finale against Drake because the FCS opponent they were supposed to play (that got moved from its original date due to a lightning storm in Ames) made it to the playoffs. I don't remember what year, but it was recent. I also don't remember who they were supposed to play.

[@mgb4692]

​@@aaronholcomb237 It was South Dakota State in 2018 they were originally set to play, that was out cause SDSU went to the playoffs. Then they went to Incarnate Word, but UIW went too. So they ended up with Drake, who as luck would have it, not only not went to the playoffs (finished like second or third in the PFC), but also had their week 1 opener postponed, and only had ten games. Interestingly enough, UIW lost in the first round to Montana State and would have been available to play, but the matchup with Drake was set by then.

[@Warpenguin55]

My pre-watch guess is that the game was supposed to have been played sooner, got canceled, neither team made the playoffs, and the league made them play it anyway or the 2 teams agree to play it anyway. EDIT: Not really, no

[@CTubeMan]

I almost thought this was inspired by my wacky idea from Sunday.

[@BallparkHunter]

Were you at the Colts game on Sunday?

[@OfficialJaguarGator9]

I was not

[@BallparkHunter]

@@OfficialJaguarGator9 Thanks, I live in Indy and bought a $7 ticket. I took some footage at the game, and your footage looked similar .

[@ShiloStigen]

​@@BallparkHunter $7 ticket?!? 😮

[@DolFan316]

@@ShiloStigen And here I was thinking a $20 ticket to the meaningless Steelers-Oilers season finale in '97 was cheap! 😳

[@BallparkHunter]

@@ShiloStigen Many Colts fans were angry that the team lost to the Giants the week before to knock them out of the playoff hunt. Plus, around 7-9 inches of snow fell over Indianapolis at the start of the game, making many more not willing to drive to the game. However, I found free parking and picked up extra scarves from the free giveaway, but I dealt with a few snowy roads on the way back home.

[@phoggknight6714]

Steelers played a playoff game in 1947... losing to the Eagles 21-0.

[@marcus813]

Bally Sports didn't go under. Only its brand name and Arizona-focused operation did. Its parent company, Main Street Sports Group (FKA Diamond Sports Group), found a new naming rights partner after Bally's Corp dropped out as part of a settlement between MSSG and Sinclair. It's the same operation under a different brand.

[@matthewshortle5274]

I wish it still carried the Fox Sports brand

[@marcus813]

@@matthewshortle5274 So do I, but I can understand why FOX Sports Media Group wanted out of the RSN business. FSMG would've had more leverage with pay TV providers than Main Street has.

[@luigiiacono934]

Not that any of the other leagues are much better. They're in the same "peerage" as it were.

[@jesterking27]

Not gonna lie… I thought you were referring to the Super Bowl they played against each other before watching the video. That game felt pretty meaningless as it was being played.

[@Davepool-hs7vr]

The games were already scheduled. That is why they are playing.

[@jnl7196]

nfl needs to remove ties in divisional matchups. This way teams can't tie their way into the playoffs. and it's fair because every in-division game isn't a tie, instead of the just the last game where the opponent can change. Don't use the current playoff OT rules and just do the old playoff OT rules where a touchdown is an auto win.

[@danieljackett4193]

"The Colts-Jaguars game was so meaningless, FOX assigned college announcers to the broadcast" I would rather hear Jason Benetti call a game than Kevin Burkhart and Tom Brady

[@mgb4692]

And yet Benetti did four games this year on FOX and two on Westwood One (the same JB who's also the Tigers play by play man) JG really needs to stop trying to be funny at times--i.e. going all Barfstool Sports every so often

[@johnwhite5485]

@@danieljackett4193 Well I'm relieved to see Brady in the booth and Gronk in commercials because they're no longer getting a check from playing but. still need to eat and pay the rent.

[@joeylawn36111]

Couldn't this scenario sort of happen in Baseball, where a game previously rained out must be made up because of playoff positioning?

[@TheSonicsean]

It just happened this year when the Mets and Braves had a doubleheader after the season to determine who made the playoffs. The inverse also happens, where a game that's rained out in September never gets made up because it's not relevant to the playoffs.

[@delCaneDogs]

Who is "we"?

[@ryanteti6885]

To be honest I'd rather see a game like the Colts/Jaguars game postponed to the week between the Conference Championships and the Super Bowl. The Pro Bowl is bad enough that a meaningless regular season game would actually be more entertaining!!

[@JohnDoe-gk7ok]

Super Bowl 43 was great

[@Rockhound6165]

As a Cardinals fan, no it wasn't.

[@johnwhite5485]

@@matthewdaley746 What I really liked about SB XLV was that the fans from WI and PIT went to Dallas in anticipation of a break from winter weather and it was also freezing in Dallas.

[@ropeblaster420]

The durn vaximuhnayshun gave me myocarditis! COVID dun screwed up my heart!

[@mashokaise6881]

The Cardinals need to go back to Chicago or St. Louis. 🙂

[@jackmessick2869]

Was NFL Films even a thing yet?

[@OfficialJaguarGator9]

Nope. Not until the 60s

[@jonlohrenz5446]

Declaring any game meaningless is a loser attitude.

[@marcusmcgraw3519]

Claiming that the game can't be discredited as meaningless despite the fact that no facts credit it with any significant meaning (as evidenced by the two teams' records of 5-6 and 3-8 and their inability to make the playoffs due to the standings at the time) is a loser attitude. We dont have to accept something just because you say it, you know

[@jonlohrenz5446]

@ on paper maybe. But calling it meaningless is a loser attitude that leads to mediocrity and failure in the long term.

[@chrisuncleahmad789]

More meaningless than the 1996 Saints/Rams Week 17 Saturday game between 3-12 New Orleans and 5-10 St. Louis?

[@mgb4692]

Or the famous Monday night finale between the Niners and Falcons three years later "This game is over in more ways than one.............."

[@ZZSmithReal]

ALL games count. B-E-T-T-I-N-G

[@ratboid]

Do you think these meaningless games would ever be push to a Thursday night game before the playoffs?

[@limeflashlight4101]

Bro, please turn off Adobe speech enhance it sounds really weird

[@luigiiacono934]

The NHL is the king 👑 of screwing things up.

[@johnwhite5485]

@@matthewdaley746 That’s not the only team from Pittsburgh to enjoy privileges from the league.

[@liberareview3567]

nonsense