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Super Bowl LII  was notable for a bunch of reasons, including as one of the best offensive games ever. One reason the game was so exciting: there were not only a ton of scores — 14 in total — but no real scoring streaks.

In most games, three consecutive scores all come from the same team. But not so in Super Bowl LII, neither the Eagles nor the Patriots scored three straight times. I’m defining a score, of course, as a touchdown, field goal, or safety, and not counting extra points or two point conversions as separate scoring plays.

At least one team was responsible for three consecutive scores in 36 of the first 51 Super Bowls. Only in the 2007 Patriots/Giants Super Bowl did both teams fail to score twice in a row — that is, the teams alternated scores throughout the game — so the 2017 Patriots/Eagles game was the 15th Super Bowl where the longest scoring streak was stopped at two scores. What makes that remarkable is how there were 14 scores altogether, the most in Super Bowl history (the Pats/Giants Super Bowl had 5, by way of reference). Take a look at the chart below, which shows the longest scoring streak and the number of scoring plays in each Super Bowl:

This metric is hardly foolproof — the 49ers/Chargers Super Bowl was 42-10 after SF TD, SF TD, Chargers TD, SF TD, SF TD, Chargers FG, SF TD, SF TD — which was a blowout despite no team scoring three straight times. But it’s a pretty good shorthand to identify exciting games.

Just one game in NFL history saw the two teams combined for 14 scores and also alternate every score. This was the famous ’98 Vikings/Cowboys game played on Thanksgiving during Randy Moss’s rookie season. Not only did the teams alternate scores throughout the game, but it is also the only game in NFL history with six offensive touchdowns of 50+ yards. Minnesota won 46-36.

Super Bowl LII had 14 scores and no team scoring more than twice in a row. Only five games in NFL history had more than 14 scores and no team scoring three times in a row. In addition to Minnesota/Dallas, those games are:

From 1940 to 2016, there were just 19 other games that matched Super Bowl LII, with 14 scores and a long streak of just two scores.

What does this all mean? Not much, but more evidence that from the fan’s perspective, this was a very fun Super Bowl to watch.

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