The NFL has existed for 104 years and in that time, no one has ever seen a game like the one we got on Monday night in Cincinnati. During the Commanders’ shocking 38-33 win over the Bengals, the two teams combined for zero punts and zero turnovers, which is almost unheard of.
Actually, it is unheard of. According to our CBS Sports research team, it was the first game since at least 1940 to feature zero punts AND zero turnovers, which makes it the ONLY game over the past 84 years where that’s happened. The detailed records only go back to 1940, so it’s very possible that this was the first game in NFL history to feature zero punts and zero turnovers.
The Commanders had eight possessions in the game and six of those possessions ended with a score. The two drives that didn’t end with points came at the end of each half. The Commanders faced just four fourth downs in the game and they actually went for it — AND CONVERTED — on three of those. On the other one, Austin Seibert kicked a 42-yard field goal.
Jayden Daniels was nearly perfect against the Bengals, going 21 of 23 for 254 yards and two touchdowns, and that’s a big reason why the Commanders were never really in a position where they had to worry about sending out their punt team.
The Commanders only faced one third down on their side of the field, which was a third-and-1 that they converted from their own 34 in the second quarter. This was actually the second straight game for the Commanders where they didn’t punt or have a turnover, which made them the first team since at least 1966 to pull off that feat in consecutive games.
On the Bengals’ end, they only faced one challenging third down on their side of the field, which came on a third-and-10 from their own 38 in the third quarter. Joe Burrow kept the drive alive by hitting Tee Higgins for a 16-yard gain.
The Bengals also made some history that they’re not going to be proud of: They became the first team in NFL history to lose a game where they scored at least 33 points without a punt or a turnover. According to Pro Football Reference, NFL teams were 112-0 in that situation since 1920, but they’re now 112-1 thanks to the Bengals’ loss.
This game really was a rarity.
Two teams making it through an entire game without punting is almost unheard of. The Commanders-Bengals game marked just the seventh time in NFL history that there’s been a game with no punts. Two of the prior games only featured one turnover, which was the closest the NFL had come to seeing a no-punt, no-turnover game over the past 84 years.
Here’s a look at all the no-punt games along with the total turnover number from those games:
1992: Bills 34-31 over 49ers (six turnovers)
2003: Colts 38-31 over Chiefs (one turnover)
2014: Packers 38-17 over Bears (two turnovers)
2014: Saints 44-23 over Packers (four turnovers)
2021: Chiefs 42-30 over Eagles (one turnover)
2023: Cowboys 41-35 over Seahawks (one turnover)
2024: Commanders 38-33 over Bengals (zero turnovers)
What the Commanders and Bengals did Monday night is something that only happens once in a lifetime in the NFL, so hopefully you were able to enjoy it.
