As some of you may know, the Denver Broncos just lost in one of the biggest margins of defeats in the modern NFL. The third highest amount of points being scored in an NFL game, only three points away from tying the record for most points. The Bears in 1940 had 73 against Washington, and the last time there were 70 points was coincidentally the Washington Commanders in 1966. This brings me to my point, if you’re a head coach for an NFL team and you’re up big late in the game, what do you do?

Now if you’re playing realistic, you would obviously put in your backups and just wait for the game to end. But some teams aren’t like that, a case in point is the Miami Dolphins. A team that was favored in the game, was completely destroying the Denver Broncos. 35-13 at the end of the first half, not completely out of reach but still a comeback potential for the Broncos. In the second half, they got outscored 7-35 thus leading to 70-20. I could see why you’d want to run up the score if you felt you were wronged in public. Mike McDaniel, the head coach of the Miami Dolphins was the Denver Broncos ball boy. Maybe something happened on that front, I mean when he was a top coaching prospect in 2022 they didn’t interview him for the head coaching job and instead hired Nathaniel Hackett (who is now fired). Also, running up the score buries the opponent even further and makes sure they can’t come back in any way possible.

However, trying to run up the score has a higher injury risk. Because instead of a chew-clock offense trying to run down the clock as quickly as possible, you’re running the same stuff that got you up in the first place. And unlike injuries in garbage time to a second or third-string player where it’s not the worst-case scenario to the team, if a starter gets injured that could affect the season on a whim. Patrick Mahomes comes into the picture with this because when the Kansas City Chiefs were up against the Chicago Bears 31-0 at the end of the Second Quarter, he suffered an injury and was visibly hobbling. Fortunately, he’ll be okay but that could’ve been avoided if he was resting up for the next game.

So the main thing you should take away from this is running up the score can be a good thing. It can guarantee victory for your team and boost the stats and team confidence. But, the consequences that could happen en route to that outcome could be devastating. Personally, you shouldn’t run up the score, not because of embarrassment for the other team but because the risks outweigh the rewards. And in the NFL nothing lasts forever and careers can get cut down quickly due to injury. Although, as an outsider to the game it is quite comical to see a divisional rival lose by 50 points.