Why Running Up the Score Should Be Allowed in Football

June 13, 2010   ·   Carl Ragsdale   ·   Jump to comments

Plenty of controversy has surrounded the term "running up the score" in recent years. The most common center of this controversy has been the New England Patriots and their record-setting offensive performances in 2007 as a whole, as well as various times in 2009.
Is this controversy warranted? Is "running up the score" really such a bad thing?
There are several reasons why "running up the score" is not the unsportsmanlike terror that many portray it as, and I will cover some of them here.
1. To Prevent Come-From-Behind Wins
On January 3, 1993, the Houston Oilers held a 35-3 lead in the early third quarter against the Buffalo Bills in a wild-card game. After a 28-point third quarter, the Bills managed to win the game in overtime.
On January 21, 2007, the New England Patriots held a 21-3 lead over the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship Game. Everybody that knows anything about football knows what happened in that game, as the Colts won 38-34 and went on ...

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