Fifty Point Games In The NFL Used To Be Special

It's no secret that the NFL is changing its rules in an attempt to appear as if it cares about the safety of its players. As a result of these rule changes, offenses have had a much easier time getting down the field and scoring points, so much so that the fifty point game is no longer much of an accomplishment.

In the 2000's, a time in which defensive players could take out the knees of quarterbacks, and when there may or may not have been bounty programs designed to pay players to hurt each other, there were 24 fifty point plus games in the NFL.

In 2012 alone there have been five following a Week 14 in which the New York Giants dropped 52 on the New Orleans Saints and the Seattle Seahawks put up 58 on the Arizona Cardinals.

With the scores of games trending higher and higher, this has devalued the fifty point game and has made it far less special than it used to be.

Earlier in the year when the New England Patriots became the first team to break the fifty point barrier in a 52-28 win over the Buffalo Bills in week four, it was exciting because it was something that hasn't been seen since the 2010 season. But following Chicago, Baltimore, New York, and Seattle putting up their own fifty spots, the number has lost a good bit of its magic.

Of course, this could just be an aberration of a season, a fluke if you will. However, with rules continuously changing to benefit offenses, something tells me that sixty is becoming the new fifty in the NFL.