The 2021-22 season ended with the Rams defeating the Bengals, 23-20 in the Super Bowl.
It was the end of a breathtaking playoffs. In the seven games of the divisional playoffs, conference championships, and Super Bowl,
Six games were decided by 3 points.
In four of those games, the last play was the game-winning field goal.
The seventh game was decided by six points – an overtime touchdown.
After the Divisional round had ended, we all knew that was a special week of football, but the close games kept coming after that.
The Super Bowl itself went down to the wire, with the Rams getting the winning touchdown with just 1:25 left in the game. I'm glad the 2022 Super Bowl was worthy of the playoff games that preceded it, capping off the greatest playoffs of my memory.
But how great were they?
I decided to do an apples-to-apples comparison dating back to the first year of the AFL-NFL merger of 1970. While the wild-card round wasn't introduced until 1978 (starting with two wildcard games, increasing to four in 1990, and then to six in 2020), the seven games of the divisional playoffs, conference championship games, and Super Bowl have remained constant throughout all 52 seasons.
A one-score game isn't necessarily proof that a game was competitive or "great." Another measure might be time left when the final go-ahead score of the team was made. But as shorthand, looking at the number of one-score games will do.
Of these final seven playoff games of the season…
2021-2022 was the only season that all games were decided by one score.
In no season were there exactly six games decided by one score.
Seven seasons saw five one-score games; five have come since 2003.
Eleven seasons saw four one-score games, including eight since 1997.
Nine had three one-score games.
Sixteen had two one-score games.
Seven had just one one-score game.
The 2000-2001 season had no one-score games.
In general, the playoffs have seen more competitive games over the past 25 seasons. The Super Bowls have also become more competitive. Of 56 Super Bowls, just 21 have been decided by one score, but 14 of them have been in the last 25 seasons.
So, it wasn't our imagination. Edge-of-seat playoff games are somewhat rare, and we saw seven in a row.
James Leroy Wilson writes The MVP Chase, Daily Miracles, The Daily Bible Chapter, and JL Cells. Thanks for your subscriptions and support!