<P> In the National Football League (NFL), a tied game occurs when a regular season game ends with both teams having an equal score . Ties have counted as a half - win and half - loss in league standings since 1972; before that, ties were not counted in the standings at all . Since the National Hockey League eliminated ties by adopting the shootout following the 2004--05 NHL lockout, the NFL is the only one of the four major professional sports leagues in North America to have tied games in regular - season play, as Major League Baseball (in the modern era since 1900) and the National Basketball Association have historically played until there is a winner . Unlike soccer (association football), in which teams routinely play for a draw (for the benefit of a point in the standings), NFL teams rarely play for ties . In general, tied games in the NFL are frowned upon by both teams and fans . Because tied games are rare, some players have not known they were allowed in the NFL, such as former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb, who said after a tie game against the Cincinnati Bengals that he did not know a tie was a possible result . </P> <P> Tie games were frequent in the NFL from its inaugural season in 1920 through 1973, when the league did not have overtime during the regular season . During this period, the NFL had a total of 258 tied games . Only three seasons (1934, 1950, 1952) went without a tied game, while five seasons (1920, 1923, 1926, 1929, 1932) had at least ten ties . The most ties, 17, occurred in the 1920 inaugural season . </P>

Can a game end in a tie in the nfl