Longest nonscoring plays in NFL history

Is there a list of the longest plays that didn’t result a touchdown?

Elias Sports Bureau probably has a list (they verified that Percy Harvin’s 104-yard kickoff return was the longest nonscoring play in NFL history), but I’ve never seen one published.

Both scrimmage (runs and passes) and nonscrimmage (returns) plays are included in the lists below of plays of 80 yards and longer that didn’t result in touchdowns.

Notes:

  • The lists below should be complete for 1981-present; nearly complete for 1960-1980 or for anything that would be a record play in franchise history; mostly complete for 1941-1959; and spotty for anything before 1941.
  • Everything that appears on the lists below has been confirmed via the actual play-by-play or contemporary articles with the exception of one 1952 Rams return.

Here are the longest nonscoring play in each statistical category. Click the play type to jump to the list in that category.

Play type Player Date Length Team Opponent
Run Johnny Johnson 9/25/1994 90 NYJ CHI
Pass Ahmad Rashad from Jim Hart 12/10/1972 98 St. Louis Cardinals L.A. Rams
Kickoff Return Percy Harvin 11/27/2011 104 MIN ATL
Punt Return Brady Keys 9/20/1964 90 PIT NYG
Interception Return Marcus Maye 10/7/2018 104 NYJ DEN
Missed Field Goal DeAundre Alford
 12/31/2023 96 ATL CHI
Blocked Field Goal Orlando Scandrick 10/29/2017 86 DAL WAS
Fumble Andre Waters 11/30/1986 81 PHI L.A. Raiders

Longest nonscoring runs in NFL history

Player Date Length Team Opponent From To Notes
Hap Moran 11/23/1930 91* NYG GB NYG8 GB1 *disputed; Giants accept this as 91-yard run but other sources have it as 84. NY Times on 11/24/30 details a play starting from NYG15 with Moran receiving snap in punt formation.
Johnny Johnson 9/25/1994 90 NYJ CHI NYJ3 CHI7
Bo Jackson 12/16/1990 88 L.A.
Raiders		 CIN LA11 CIN1
Barry Sanders 10/2/1994 85 DET TB DET10 TB5
Barry Sanders 10/23/1994 84 DET CHI DET3 CHI13
Doug Martin 11/22/2015 84 TB PHI TB15 PHI1
Jess Phillips 11/2/1969 83 CIN OAK CIN7 OAK10
Jonathan Taylor
 10/17/2021 83 IND HOU IND12 HOU5
Breece Hall
 9/11/2023 83 NYJ BUF NYJ4 BUF13
Billy Sims 9/30/1984 81 DET SD DET18 SD1
Le’Veon Bell 9/21/2014 81 PIT CAR PIT8 CAR11
Leonard Fournette
 9/29/2019 81 JAX DEN JAX7 DEN12
Wilbur Jackson 11/27/1977 80 SF NO SF1 NO19
Leroy Harris 11/25/1979 80 PHI GB PHI1 GB19
Larry Moriarty 9/11/1983 80 Houston
Oilers		 L.A.
Raiders		 HOU7 LA13
Jessie Clark 9/29/1985 80 GB St. Louis
Cardinals		 GB10 STL10
Troy Hambrick 9/30/2001 80 DAL PHI DAL5 PHI15
Jamaal Charles 12/19/2010 80 KC STL KC18 STL2
Daniel Jones
 10/22/2020 80 NYG PHI NYG12 PHI8 fell down untouched

 

Longest nonscoring passes in NFL history

Receiver Passer Date Length Team Opponent From To Notes
Bobby Moore
(Ahmad Rashad)		 Jim Hart 12/10/1972 98 St. Louis
Cardinals		 L.A. Rams STL1 LA1
Walter Roberts Billy Kilmer 11/19/1967 96 NO PHI NO2 PHI2
Vincent Jackson Josh Freeman 10/21/2012 95 TB NO TB4 NO1
Herschel Walker Randall Cunningham 9/4/1994 93 PHI NYG PHI6 NYG1
Marcus Allen Marc Wilson 10/7/1984 92 L.A.
Raiders		 SEA LA3 SEA5
Derrick Alexander Eric Zeier 12/7/1997 92 BAL SEA BAL7 SEA1
Richard Caster Joe Namath 10/26/1975 91 NYJ Baltimore
Colts		 NYJ8 BAL1
Quez Watkins Jalen Hurts 9/19/2021 91 PHI SF PHI3 SF6 turned over on downs 6 plays later
Dwight Stone Bubby Brister 10/14/1990 90 PIT DEN PIT6 DEN4
Alvin Harper Troy Aikman 11/13/1994 90 DAL SF DAL6 SF4
Byron Chamberlain Brian Griese 10/17/1999 88 DEN GB DEN10 GB2
Milt Morin Bill Nelsen 11/24/1968 87 CLE PHI CLE10 PHI3
Calvin Johnson Matthew Stafford 10/27/2013 87 DET DAL DET10 DAL3 Johnson finished the game
with 329 receiving yards.
Steve Watson Craig Morton 12/6/1981 86 DEN KC DEN9 KC5
Vance Johnson John Elway 9/26/1988 86 DEN L.A.
Raiders		 DEN13 LA1
Emmitt Smith Bernie Kosar 11/14/1993 86 DAL Phoenix
Cardinals		 DAL12 PHX2
Marcus Pollard Joey Harrington 10/16/2005 86 DET CAR DET9 CAR5
Wes Chandler Archie Manning 9/23/1979 85 NO SF NO13 SF2
Emery Moorehead Mike Tomczak 11/16/1986 85 CHI ATL CHI14 ATL1
Homer Jones Fran Tarkenton 9/15/1968 84 NYG PIT NYG12 PIT4
Ken Burrow Bob Berry 12/19/1971 84 ATL NO ATL13 NO3 not to be confused with
fellow 70’s WR Ken Burrough
Alvin Garrett Joe Theismann 10/23/1983 84 WAS DET WAS5 DET11
Eric Martin Bobby Hebert 9/14/1986 84 NO GB NO9 GB7 Martin’s second catch of the game;
the first went for 72 and a TD.
Malcolm Kelly Jason Campbell 1/3/2010 84 WAS SD WAS12 SD4
Jerome Simpson Andy Dalton 9/18/2011 84 CIN DEN CIN7 DEN9
Sammy Watkins Kyle Orton 10/26/2014 84 BUF NYJ BUF11 NYJ5 Watkins started
celebrating at the 15.
Koren Robinson Trent Dilfer 10/20/2002 83 SEA STL SEA15 STL2
Kevin Johnson Kelly Holcomb 1/5/2003
AFC WC		 83 CLE PIT CLE16 PIT1
Santonio Holmes Ben Roethlisberger 12/20/2007 83 PIT STL PIT4 STL13
Deebo Samuel
 Jimmy Garoppolo 10/31/2021 83 SF CHI SF16 CHI1
Ed Marshall Joe Pisarcik 10/23/1977 82 NYG WAS NYG3 WAS15
Leonard Thompson Scott Hunter 10/7/1979 82 DET NE DET9 NE9
Terry Kirby Steve Young 10/19/1997 82 SF ATL SF17 ATL1
Armanti Edwards Cam Newton 11/4/2012 82 CAR WAS CAR9 WAS9
D.J. Moore Cam Newton 11/18/2018 82 CAR DET CAR6 DET12
Jackie Smith Gary Hammond 10/13/1974 81 St. Louis
Cardinals		 DAL STL13 DAL6 pass thrown by wide receiver
Jessie Hester Jack Trudeau 11/22/1992 81 IND PIT IND18 PIT1
Pat Coleman Cody Carlson 9/25/1994 81 Houston
Oilers		 CIN HOU14 CIN5
Terence Mathis Jeff George 12/4/1994 81 ATL SF ATL10 SF9
Corey Bradford David Carr 10/13/2002 81 HOU BUF HOU10 BUF9
Devery Henderson Drew Brees 9/28/2008 81 NO SF NO17 SF2
Johnny Knox Caleb Hanie 11/27/2011 81 CHI OAK CHI10 OAK9
Johnny Perkins Phil Simms 10/25/1981 80 NYG ATL NYG18 ATL2
Jimmie Giles Jack Thompson 10/9/1983 80 TB DAL TB11 DAL9
Todd Pinkston Donovan McNabb 12/12/2004 80 PHI WAS PHI16 WAS4
Reggie Wayne Andrew Luck 12/28/2004 80 IND TEN IND19 TEN1
Gus Edwards Lamar Jackson 10/22/2023 80 BAL DET BAL9 DET11
Puka Nacua Matthew Stafford 12/31/2023 80 LARM NYG LARM18 NYG2

Longest nonscoring kickoff returns in NFL history

Returner Date Length Team Opponent From To Notes
Percy Harvin 11/27/2011 104 MIN ATL MIN-7 ATL3
Ameer Abdullah 11/15/2015 104 DET GB DET-5 GB1
Benny Cunningham 12/17/2015 102 STL TB STL-5 TB3
Jalen Saunders 12/21/2014 99 NO ATL NO0 ATL1
Trenton Cannon
 11/15/2020 98 CAR TB CAR-2 TB4
Adam Jones 10/12/2014 97 CIN CAR CIN0 CAR3
Tremon Smith 10/14/2018 97 KC NE KC0 NE3
Joe Arenas 12/16/1956 96 SF BAL SF2 BAL2
Maurice Jones-Drew 1/5/2008
AFC WC		 96 JAX PIT JAX3 PIT1
Art Powell 10/4/1959 95 PHI NYG PHI4 NYG1
Bob Neff 9/14/1968 95 MIA Houston
Oilers		 MIA0 HOIL5
Ken Jenkins 11/24/1985 95 WAS PIT WAS2 PIT3
Tim Brown 11/28/1988 95 L.A.
Raiders		 SEA LA2 SEA3
Kevin Faulk 11/15/1999 95 NE NYJ NE-3 NYJ8
Eddie Royal 11/2/2008 95 DEN MIA DEN0 MIA5
Leon Washington 12/8/2013 95 TEN DEN TEN2 DEN3
Tom Watkins 11/21/1965 94 DET CHI DET0 CHI6
Dick Gordon 9/16/1966 94 CHI L.A. Rams CHI3 LARM3 lost fumble
Doug Cunningham 10/22/1967 94 SF NO SF-5 NO11
Tim McGee 11/23/1986 94 CIN MIN CIN1 MIN5
Tab Perry 12/4/2005 94 CIN PIT CIN3 PIT3
Leon Washington 9/22/2008 94 NYJ SD NYJ1 SD5
Kyle Williams 9/23/2012 94 SF MIN SF-8 MIN14
Danieal Manning 1/13/2013
AFC DIV		 94 HOU NE HOU-6 NE12
Gary Ballman 11/3/1963 93 PIT GB PIT5 GB2
Glyn Milburn 9/26/1999 93 CHI OAK CHI-2 OAK9
Brock Marion 10/4/1999 93 MIA BUF MIA3 BUF4
Keisean Nixon 12/25/2022 93 GB MIA GB-2 MIA9
Tom Farmer 11/3/1946 92 L.A. Rams DET LARM1 DET7
Dave Osborn 10/3/1965 92 MIN L.A. Rams MIN4 LARM4
Billy Lefear 11/23/1975 92 CLE CIN CLE6 CIN2 Lefear broke his leg when tackled;
Lefear’s last play in NFL
Leeland McElroy 10/27/1996 92 ARI NYJ ARI0 NYJ8
Jerious Norwood 12/28/2008 92 ATL STL ATL0 STL8
Darren Sproles 12/26/2011 92 NO ATL NO-6 ATL14
Lynn Chandnois 9/30/1956 91 PIT WAS PIT-5 WAS14
Mel Blount 10/3/1970 91 PIT CLE PIT4 CLE5
Reggie Barlow 10/25/1998 91 JAX DEN JAX5 DEN4
Terry Fair 9/19/1999 91 DET GB DET1 GB8
Desmond Howard 10/28/2001 91 DET CIN DET0 CIN9
Eddie Drummond 12/15/2002 91 DET TB DET4 TB5
Antonio Cromartie 11/26/2006 91 SD OAK SD-3 OAK12
Bryan McCann 12/24/2011 91 OAK KC OAK-5 KC14
Bob Neff 11/13/1966 90 MIA KC MIA0 KC10 The Dolphins were intercepted
shortly after each of Neff’s long returns.
Kendall Williams 10/2/1983 90 Baltimore
Colts		 CIN BAL1 CIN9
James Dixon 10/8/1989 90 DAL GB DAL4 GB6
Donnie Elder 12/30/1990 90 SD L.A.
Raiders		 SD3 LA7
Jason Tucker 10/15/2000 90 DAL NYG DAL8 NYG2
Allen Rossum 11/6/2000 90 GB MIN GB8 MIN2
Brad Pyatt 10/6/2003 90 IND TB IND-2 TB12 first play of Colts comeback
from down 21 with 5:09 left
Reggie Swinton 11/20/2005 90 ARI STL ARI5 STL5
Josh Cribbs 11/11/2007 90 CLE PIT CLE7 PIT3
Dwayne Harris 10/13/2013 90 DAL WAS DAL-5 WAS15
D.J. Reed 9/16/2018 90 SF DET SF-1 DET11 returned for TD, but penalized for facemasking tackler in attempted stiffarm
Floyd Little 11/10/1968 89 DEN OAK DEN-2 OAK13
Ike Thomas 11/12/1972 89 GB CHI GB0 CHI11
Larry Brunson 10/14/1979 89 OAK ATL OAK5 ATL6
Rod Hill 1/16/1983
NFC DIV		 89 DAL GB DAL2 GB9
Ron Brown 11/10/1985 89 L.A. Rams NYG LA0 NYG11
Mel Gray 10/25/1992 89 DET TB DET7 TB4
Herschel Walker 10/20/1996 89 DAL ATL DAL0 ATL11
Stephen Sims
 10/16/2022 89 PIT TB PIT-1 TB12
Dallis Flowers
 11/28/2022 89 IND PIT IND-8 PIT19
Veryl Switzer 10/30/1954 88 GB PHI GB2 PHI10
Walter Roberts 11/7/1965 88 CLE PHI CLE2 PHI10
Clarence Childs 12/8/1968 88 CHI L.A. Rams CHI10 LA2
Randy Montgomery 10/22/1972 88 DEN OAK DEN-4 OAK16
Steve Odom 10/3/1976 88 GB DET GB10 DET2
Jimmy Rogers 11/24/1980 88 NO L.A. Rams NO-3 LA15
Carl Roaches 9/13/1981 88 Houston
Oilers		 CLE HOU1 CLE11
Buster Rhymes 12/22/1985 88 MIN PHI MIN4 PHI8 broke rookie record for KR yards
in a season on this return;
not that Busta Rhymes
Mel Gray 10/6/1996 88 Houston
Oilers		 CIN HOU2 CIN10
Anthony Marshall
(lateral from Bobby Engram)		 11/24/1996 88 CHI DET CHI-3 DET15 Engram returned the kickoff 13 yards
then lateraled to Marshall for next 75
Eddie Drummond 12/22/2002 88 DET ATL DET-3 ATL15
Terrence McGee 11/12/2006 88 BUF IND BUF0 IND12
Pierre Thomas 12/7/2008 88 NO ATL NO4 ATL8
Rod McNeill 12/21/1975 88 NO CHI NO11 CHI1
Joe McKnight 10/9/2011 88 NYJ NE NYJ-8 NE20
Willie West 10/16/1960 87 St. Louis
Cardinals		 PIT STL-7 PIT20 tripped over teammate
Earl Christy 9/29/1968 87 NYJ BUF NYJ6 BUF7
Jerry LeVias 11/9/1969 87 Houston
Oilers		 CIN HOIL-4 CIN17
Don Bessillieu 9/21/1980 87 MIA ATL MIA-5 ATL18
Jamie Holland 11/11/1990 87 L.A.
Raiders		 GB LA11 GB2
Kevin Williams 11/24/1994 87 DAL GB DAL8 GB5
B.J. Sams 12/11/2005 87 BAL DEN BAL3 DEN10
Jerome Mathis 12/3/2006 87 HOU OAK HOU10 OAK3
Rock Cartwright 12/14/2008 87 WAS CIN WAS0 CIN13
Aaron Brown 9/13/2009 87 DET NO DET1 NO12
Courtney Roby 10/25/2009 87 NO MIA NO-3 MIA16
Chris Owusu 12/28/2014 87 NYJ MIA NYJ1 MIA12
Chris Moore 12/31/2017 87 BAL CIN BAL7 CIN6
Fred Morrison 11/11/1951 86 CHI DET CHI4 DET10
Joe Geri 10/1/1951 86 PIT NYG PIT13 NYG1
Emlen Tunnell 11/1/1953 86 NYG Chicago
Cardinals		 NYG2 CHI12
Gene Howard 11/2/1969 86 NO St. Louis
Cardinals		 NO6 STLC8
Keith Wright 10/22/1978 86 CLE KC CLE-4 KC18
Brian Mitchell 9/11/1994 86 WAS NO WAS-1 NO15
Glyn Milburn 11/19/1995 86 DEN SD DEN1 SD13
Steve Broussard 9/15/1996 86 SEA KC SEA3 KC11
Herschel Walker 11/3/1996 86 DAL PHI DAL8 PHI6 Walker’s third appearance on these lists.
Allen Rossum 11/14/1999 86 PHI WAS PHI0 WAS14
Aaron Stecker 12/23/2001 86 TB NO TB0 NO14 TB wouldn’t score the first kick return TD
in franchise history for another 6 years.
Brad Smith 10/11/2010 86 NYJ MIN NYJ-5 MIN19
Travis Benjamin 10/20/2013 86 CLE GB CLE-6 GB20
Tommy Wilson 12/6/1959 85 L.A. Rams GB LARM4 GB11
Andre Roberts
 12/9/2018 86
 NYJ BUF NYJ6 BUF8
Jug Girard 11/1/1953 85 DET L.A. Rams DET0 LARM15
Barry Redden 12/18/1982 85 L.A. Rams L.A.
Raiders		 LARM-2 LARD17
Don Beebe 11/5/1989 85 BUF ATL BUF7 ATL8
David Dunn 11/23/1997 85 CIN JAX CIN12 JAX3
Adam Jones 11/20/2005 85 TEN JAX TEN4 JAX11
Josh Cribbs 9/16/2007 85 CLE CIN CLE4 CIN11
Jerious Norwood 10/12/2008 85 ATL CHI ATL-2 CHI17
Leodis McKelvin 11/9/2008 85 BUF NE BUF1 NE14
Andy Farkas 10/25/1943 84 WAS Chicago
Cardinals		 WAS0 CHI16 fumbled OOB
Tom Moore 12/4/1960 84 GB CHI GB-5 CHI21
Ozzie Clay 10/4/1964 84 WAS St. Louis
Cardinals		 WAS0 STLC16
Ken Ellis 11/4/1973 84 GB CHI GB8 CHI8
James Hunter 12/11/1976 84 DET L.A. Rams DET12 LARM4
Mike Nelms 11/1/1981 84 WAS St. Louis
Cardinals		 WAS4 STL12
Dennis Gentry 11/3/1986 84 CHI L.A. Rams CHI11 LA5
Herman Fontenot 10/30/1988 84 CLE CIN CLE7 CIN9
Thomas Lewis 8/31/1997 84 NYG PHI NYG8 PHI8
Dante Hall 9/9/2007 84 STL CAR STL-1 CAR17
David Reed 11/21/2010 84 BAL CAR BAL-2 CAR18
Danny Amendola 12/26/2010 84 STL SF STL4 SF12
Alex Erickson 11/14/2016 84 CIN NYG CIN3 NYG13
Tyler Lockett 12/2/2018 84 SEA SF SEA-4 SF20
Jerry Davis 10/31/1948 83 Chicago
Cardinals		 L.A. Rams CHIC-4 LARM21
Howard Stevens 12/4/1976 83 Baltimore
Colts		 St. Louis
Cardinals		 BAL7 STL10
Jimmy Edwards 11/25/1979 83 MIN TB MIN-3 TB20
Tyrone Hughes 11/26/1995 83 NO CAR NO4 CAR13
Adrian Madise 12/28/2003 83 DEN GB DEN5 GB12
Domenik Hixon 11/23/2008 83 NYG ARI NYG0 ARI17
Clifton Smith 11/8/2009 83 TB GB TB0 GB17
Stefan Logan 12/6/2009 83 PIT OAK PIT-2 OAK19
Leon Washington 9/9/2012 83 SEA ARI SEA-7 ARI24
LeGarrette Blount 12/29/2013 83 NE BUF NE-3 BUF20
Billy Baggett 11/16/1952 82 Dallas
Texans
(NFL)		 DET DAL5 DET13
Joe Arenas 9/27/1953 82 SF PHI SF2 PHI16
Abner Haynes 11/6/1960 82 Dallas
Texans
(AFL)		 BUF DTX5 BUF13
Charlie West 12/8/1968 82 MIN SF MIN7 SF11
Jim Butler 11/22/1971 82 ATL GB ATL-1 GB19
Steve Davis 10/29/1972 82 PIT BUF PIT0 BUF18
Mark Logan 12/6/1992 82 SF MIA SF10 MIA8
Steve Smith 12/2/2001 82 CAR NO CAR6 NO12
Brandon Bennett 11/17/2002 82 CIN CLE CIN11 CLE7
Terrence McGee 10/2/2005 82 BUF NO BUF15 NO3 last play of 2Q
Travaris Cadet 11/17/2013 82 NO SF NO-3 SF21
Charlie Sumner 11/6/1955 81 CHI GB CHI4 GB15
Clancy Williams 11/6/1966 81 L.A. Rams SF LA1 SF18
Len Walterscheid 10/1/1978 81 CHI OAK CHI3 OAK16
Steve Brown 11/27/1983 81 Houston
Oilers		 TB HOU10 TB9
Herman Fontenot 12/15/1985 81 CLE Houston
Oilers		 CLE3 HOU16
Kevin L. Williams 9/26/1999 81 NYJ WAS NYJ3 WAS16 fumbled OOB
Charlie Rogers 10/15/2000 81 SEA IND SEA-2 IND21
Troy Edwards 11/25/2001 81 PIT TEN PIT2 TEN17
Ellis Hobbs 9/21/2008 81 NE MIA NE-4 MIA23
Danny Amendola 11/23/2014 81 NE DET NE-3 DET22
Richie James 12/21/2019 81 SF L.A. Rams SF1 LA18
Dave Grayson 10/11/1964 80 KC DEN KC2 DEN18 KC’s drive after the return:
1-10-DEN18: holding for -15;
1-25-DEN33: sack for -14;
2-39-DEN48: run for -5;
3-44-KC47: run for 19;
4-25-DEN33: pass for 33 and TD
Gary Ballman 11/8/1964 80 PIT St. Louis
Cardinals		 PIT2 STLC18
Ron Smith 11/27/1966 80 ATL CHI ATL14 CHI6
Don Shy 11/17/1968 80 PIT CLE PIT1 CLE19
Ellis Hobbs 1/21/2007
AFC CHAMP		 80 NE IND NE-1 IND21
Rock Cartwright 10/21/2007 80 WAS ARI WAS-1 ARI21
Devin Hester 9/15/2013 80 CHI MIN CHI-3 MIN23
Pacman Jones 12/22/2014 80 CIN DEN CIN-7 DEN27

 

Longest nonscoring punt returns in NFL history

Returner Date Length Team Opponent From To Notes
Brady Keys 9/20/1964 90 PIT NYG PIT9 NYG1
Skeets Quinlan ?/?/1952 88 L.A. Rams ? ? ? unverified
T.J. Houshmandzadeh 11/25/2001 86 CIN CLE CIN9 CLE5
Leon Washington 12/5/2010 84 SEA CAR SEA14 CAR2
Eddie Dove 9/29/1963 83 NYG PHI NYG14 PHI3
Brady Keys 9/22/1963 82 PIT NYG PIT17 NYG1
Ray Buchanan 11/3/1996 82 IND SD IND9 SD9
Danny Amendola 11/15/2015 82 NE NYG NE11 NYG7 tripped by teammate
Bob Grim 11/5/1967 81 MIN NYG MIN17 NYG2
Dennis Northcutt 11/5/2006 81 CLE SD CLE9 SD10
Mel Gray 12/6/1987 80 NO TB NO16 TB4
Desmond Howard 10/29/2000 80 DET IND DET18 IND2

Longest nonscoring interception returns in NFL history

Returner Date Length Team Opponent From To Notes
Marcus Maye 10/7/2018 104 NYJ DEN NYJ-5 DEN1 last play of game
Champ Bailey 1/14/2006
AFC DIV		 100 DEN NE DEN-1 NE1 fumbled OOB just before reaching end zone
Brandon McDonald 12/15/2008 98 CLE PHI CLE-5 PHI7 last play of half
Julius Peppers 10/10/2004 97 CAR DEN CAR0 DEN3 lost fumble into end zone,
but overturned on replay
Jimmy Conzelman 11/2/1924 96 Chicago
Cardinals		 Milwaukee
Badgers		 CRD0 MIL4
Dennis Thurman 9/6/1981 96 DAL WAS DAL0 WAS4
Charles Tillman 12/4/2005 95 CHI GB CHI-2 GB7 next-to-last play of 2Q
Nolan Cromwell 12/14/1981 94 STL ATL STL3 ATL3
LeRoy Irvin 12/26/1983
NFC WC		 94 STL DAL STL3 DAL3
Chad Williams 10/24/2004 94 BAL BUF BAL0 BUF6
Andy Studebaker 11/22/2009 94 KC PIT KC-2 PIT8
Ross Fichtner
(lateral from Erich Barnes)		 10/1/1967 93 CLE NO CLE5 NO2 Barnes returned the interception 5 yards
then lateraled to Fitchner for next 88
Jack Hinkle 10/9/1943 91 PHI/PIT
Steagles		 NYG PHI-PIT5 NYG4 NY Times on 10/10/43
credits interception to Ernie Steele
Booker Edgerson 11/1/1964 91 BUF Houston
Oilers		 BUF1 HOIL8
Leslie Duncan 12/6/1964 91 SD NYJ SD5 NYJ4
Ryan Mundy 9/8/2013 91 NYG DAL NYG8 DAL1
Bob Smith 11/9/1952 90 DET PIT DET0 PIT10
Rick Volk 10/13/1968 90 Baltimore
Colts		 SF BAL3 SF7
Mike Richardson 9/29/1985 90 CHI WAS CHI9 WAS1
Budda Baker
 10/26/2020 90 ARI SEA ARI2 SEA8
Bruce Maher 11/10/1968 89 NYG DAL NYG5 DAL6
Charlie West 12/19/1971 89 MIN CHI MIN6 CHI5
Lawrence Timmons 11/30/2008 89 PIT NE PIT10 NE1 tackle made by Ben Watson,
who also tackled Bailey on the non-TD above
Dave Robinson 12/12/1965 87 GB Baltimore
Colts		 GB3 BAL10
Ron Hall 9/18/1966 87 NE DEN NE6 DEN7
Joe Blahak 12/9/1973 87 HOIL PIT HOIL8 PIT5
Victor Green 12/13/1998 87 NYJ MIA NYJ4 MIA9
Dre Kirkpatrick 11/19/2017 87 CIN DEN CIN-2 DEN15 fumbled at DEN15 and recovered at DEN1
Mike Gaechter 11/3/1963 86 DAL WAS DAL1 WAS13
Dick Anderson 12/20/1970 86 MIA BUF MIA-3 BUF17
Brice McCain 10/8/2012 86 HOU NYJ HOU5 NYJ9
Trevor Williams 9/30/2018 86 LAC SF LAC2 SF12
Whitney Mercilus
 12/15/2019 86 HOU TEN HOU2 TEN12
Raymond Clayborn 10/7/1984 85 NE CLE NE8 CLE7 next-to-last play of 4Q;
CLE trailed 17-16 and was in FG territory
Aaron Beasley 9/12/2004 85 ATL SF ATL1 SF14
Al Harris 12/19/1999 84 PHI NE PHI5 NE11 fumbled, recovered by PHI
Joey Porter 9/15/2002 84 PIT OAK PIT1 OAK15 illegally lateraled forward for TD
reversed on replay
Sabby Piscitelli 12/28/2008 84 TB OAK TB5 OAK11
Kemal Ishmael 12/20/2015 84 ATL JAX ATL0 JAX16
Fred Marion 11/17/1985 83 NE SEA NE2 SEA15
Lloyd Burruss 10/28/1991 83 KC L.A.
Raiders		 KC2 LA15
Carlton Williamson 11/25/1985 82 SF SEA SF12 SEA6
Kamu Grugier-Hill
 11/22/2021 82 HOU TEN HOU12 TEN6
Rolland Lawrence 10/21/1973 81 ATL SD ATL3 SD16
Paul Krause 11/23/1975 81 MIN SD MIN10 SD9 tripped over own feet
Leroy Irvin 11/16/1980 80 STL NE STL11 NE9 last play of half
John Holt 11/30/1986 80 IND SD IND7 SD13
Cortland Finnegan 9/10/2009 80 TEN PIT TEN0 PIT20 last play of half
Ralph Brown 1/3/2010 80 ARI GB ARI13 GB7
Antoine Cason 10/12/2014 80 CAR CIN CAR10 CIN10

 

Other 80+ yard nonscoring plays (not comprehensive)

Player Date Length Team Opponent From To Notes
DeAundre Alford
 12/31/2023 96 ATL CHI ATL-9 CHI13 missed FG return; last play of 1H
Orlando Scandrick 10/29/2017 86 DAL WAS DAL10 WAS4 blocked FG return
Dale Dodrill 12/14/1952 83 PIT L.A. Rams PIT8 LA9 blocked FG return
Andre Waters 11/30/1986 81 PHI L.A.
Raiders		 PHI15 LA4 fumble return;
overtime

 

11 thoughts on “Longest nonscoring plays in NFL history”

  6. Found 6 more Kickoff Returns not listed above:
    Rock Cartwright, 80 yards, WAS v. ARI, 10/21/2007, WAS-1 to ARI 21,
    Opening kickoff of 2nd half
    http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200710210was.htm

    Leon Washington, 83 yards, SEA v. ARI, 9/9/2012, SEA-7 to ARI 24,
    9:59 left in 3rd Quarter
    http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/201209090crd.htm

    Josh Cribbs, 90 yards, CLE v. PIT, 11/11/2007, CLE 7 to PIT 3,
    ~1:14 left in 1st Quarter
    http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200711110pit.htm

    Playoffs:
    Ellis Hobbs, 80 yards, NE v. IND, 1/21/2007, NE-1 to IND 21,
    ~3:49 left in 3rd Quarter
    http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200701210clt.htm

    Maurice Jones-Drew, JAC v. PIT, 1/5/2008, JAC 3 to PIT 1
    ~9:47 left in 1st Quarter
    http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200801050pit.htm

    Danieal Manning, HOU v. NE, 1/13/2013, HOU-6 to NE 12
    Opening kickoff of 1st half
    http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/201301130nwe.htm

    Reply

  10. Terrence McGee’s kickoff return came as time ran out in the first half. His might be the longest return never allowed for a play from scrimmage afterward.

    Reply

  11. I think I found a 85 yard punt return by Vitamin Smith in 1949. His PFR page lists a long return of 85 yards for that season with a single TD.
    https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/S/SmitVi21.htm

    However, his touchdown log shows that the only punt return TD he had that season was a 51 yarder on December 4th.
    https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/S/SmitVi21/touchdowns/

    Looking at his game logs, the only game that has more than 85 punt return yards is the October 2nd game against Green Bay so I’d imagine it would have to be that one.
    https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/S/SmitVi21/gamelog/1949/

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