In their Sunday overtime loss to the New York Jets, the New York Giants totaled -9 negative passing yards, which is especially impressive since they had -8 passing yards at the end of regulation. Tyrod Taylor completed four of seven passes for four yards before he left with a rib injury, and backup Tommy Devito completed two of seven passes for -1 yard in reserve. Add in four sacks for -16 yards, and there’s your final number.
The Giants also had the last game in which a team had negative net passing yards in a game, at the end of their 2021 season in a 26-3 loss to the Chicago Bears that mercifully ended the Joe Judge era. In that game, Mike Glennon completed four of 11 passes for 24 yards, two interceptions, and four sacks for -30 yards, which is how you wind up with -6 passing yards overall.
Incredibly, that’s nowhere near the fewest net passing yards in a game in pro football history. There are multiple teams with much more futility over time, and we’d like you to know a bit more about them.
1. Denver Broncos vs. Oakland Raiders, September 10, 1967: -53 passing yards
This was a very big mismatch featuring a Broncos passing game that couldn’t bust a grape against the Raiders’ “11 Angry Men” defense that totaled 67 quarterback takedowns. Broncos quarterbacks Steve Tensi and Scotty Glacken combined for two completions on 16 attempts for 17 yards, and seven sacks for 70 yards. Ouch.
2. Cincinnati Bengals vs. Houston Oilers, October 31, 1971: -52 passing yards
A suitably scary Halloween game, at least for Paul Brown’s Bengals, whose quarterbacks Ken Anderson and Dave Lewis completed six passes on 20 attempts for 16 yards, while taking nine total sacks for 68 yards. The Bengals suffered a 10-6 loss that we’re betting is in the very, very back of NFL Films’ fabled film vault.
3. Atlanta Falcons vs. San Francisco 49ers, October 23, 1976: -39 passing yards
The Falcons of the 1970s had quarterback drought after quarterback drought when Steve Bartkowski wasn’t on the field, and this game may have represented the very nadir of that time. In a 15-0 loss, quarterbacks Kim McQuilken and Scott Hunter combined for eight completions on 29 attempts for 46 yards and two interceptions, while taking eight sacks for -85 yards.
4. Green Bay Packers vs. Cincinnati Bengals, September 26, 1976: -35 passing yards
If you’ve ever been envious of the Packers’ quarterback succession success from Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers, consider the muck this franchise had to wade through between Bart Starr’s retirement and Favre’s ascent. This 28-7 loss to the Bengals was about as bad as it ever got, as quarterbacks Lynn Dickey and Carlos Brown totaled five completions (all by Dickey) on 23 attempts for three interceptions, and six sacks for -80 yards.
5. Washington Redskins vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, November 27, 1955: -32 passing yards
Back in 1955, the Redskins still had that horrible nickname, and they were one of the few remaining NFL teams stupid and racist enough to keep their rosters entirely lily-white, so we’re happy to make fun of them here. In this game, quarterbacks Eddie LeBaron (pictured here in a Dallas Cowboys uniform, because who cares about the 1955 Redskins) and Ralph Guglielmi had one completion in nine attempts for -3 yards, and 29 more yards lost on sacks.
The most amazing thing about this game, though, is that THE REDSKINS WON, 23-14. Leo Elter had two touchdown runs, and Joe Scudero had a 49-yard punt return against one of the NFL teams that could match Washington for ugliness in the 1950s.
