nfl teams with the least first downs in a season from 1970 to 2020

From 1970 through 2020, the Houston Oilers had the fewest first downs by a team in a season, with 138 first downs in 1982.

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Regular season

	TEAM	1DWN	SEASON	PASS 1DWN	RUSH 1DWN	PEN 1DWN	GP	W	L	T	TD	PTS	PPG	OPP PTS	OPP PPG	3DWN%	4DWN%
1	Oilers	138	1982	81	52	5	9	1	8	0	18	136	15.1	245	27.2
2	Patriots	146	1982	63	74	9	9	5	4	0	17	143	15.9	157	17.4
3	Colts	152	1982	80	62	10	9	0	8	1	12	113	12.6	236	26.2
4	Bears	153	1982	83	56	14	9	3	6	0	16	141	15.7	174	19.3
5	Giants	153	1982	96	47	10	9	4	5	0	18	164	18.2	160	17.8
6	Eagles	157	1982	100	48	9	9	3	6	0	25	191	21.2	195	21.7
7	Seahawks	159	1982	89	51	19	9	4	5	0	14	127	14.1	147	16.3
8	Lions	160	1982	83	60	17	9	4	5	0	19	181	20.1	176	19.6
9	Cardinals	162	1982	81	71	10	9	5	4	0	16	135	15.0	170	18.9
10	Rams	163	1982	90	61	12	9	2	7	0	25	200	22.2	250	27.8
11	Chiefs	163	1982	79	71	13	9	3	6	0	17	176	19.6	184	20.4
12	Buccaneers	163	1982	105	52	6	9	5	4	0	15	158	17.6	178	19.8
13	Redskins	165	1982	87	66	12	9	8	1	0	19	190	21.1	128	14.2
14	Dolphins	165	1982	66	84	15	9	7	2	0	22	198	22.0	131	14.6
15	Vikings	167	1982	107	52	8	9	5	4	0	23	187	20.8	198	22.0
16	Buccaneers	168	1977	69	84	15	14	2	12	0	11	103	7.4	223	15.9
17	Broncos	170	1982	103	52	15	9	2	7	0	16	148	16.4	226	25.1
18	Steelers	171	1982	91	69	11	9	6	3	0	25	204	22.7	146	16.2
19	Saints	173	1982	76	79	18	9	4	5	0	16	129	14.3	160	17.8
20	Falcons	174	1974	86	77	11	14	3	11	0	12	111	7.9	271	19.4
21	Packers	175	1982	97	59	19	9	5	3	1	27	226	25.1	169	18.8
22	Raiders	175	1982	95	65	15	9	8	1	0	33	260	28.9	200	22.2
23	Browns	176	2000	110	53	13	16	3	13	0	17	161	10.1	419	26.2	27.6	31.6
24	Browns	176	1982	96	64	16	9	4	5	0	17	140	15.6	182	20.2
25	Bears	179	1970	104	55	20	14	6	8	0	28	256	18.3	261	18.6

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StatMuse has team, season-level data for first downs going back to the 1935 season.

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More Titans Stats

Team Leaders

PASS

504

Ward

RUSH

173

Pollard

REC

123

Tate

Team Rankings

PPG

12.3

30th

OPP PPG

19.7

10th

RUSH YDS/G

90.3

28th

PASS YDS/G

168.0

30th

2026 Division Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT
Jaguars	2	1	.667
Colts	1	2	.333
Titans	0	3	.000
Texans	0	3	.000

Schedule

DATE	MATCHUP			TIME (ET)
Sun 10/4	TEN	@	BAL	1:00 PM
Sun 10/11	HOU	@	TEN	1:00 PM
Sun 10/18	TEN	@	IND	1:00 PM
Sun 10/25	CLE	@	TEN	1:00 PM
Sun 11/1	TEN	@	CIN	1:00 PM

Last Game

Titans

0 - 3

Final

Giants

2 - 1

Sun 27 Sep 2026

NFL 2026 Leaders

Pass Yards Leaders

939

Young

917

Shough

872

Stafford

Rush Yards Leaders

360

Walker

349

Robinson

346

Cook

Rec Yards Leaders

405

Smith-Njigba

375

Olave

358

Adams

Pass TD Leaders

9

Purdy

9

Cousins

8

Shough

Rush TD Leaders

6

Allen

6

Henry

4

Gibbs

Rec TD Leaders

6

Smith-Njigba

5

St. Brown

4

Watson

QB Rating Leaders

133.1

Purdy

127.3

Lock

116.1

Goff

Sack Leaders

6.0

Rousseau

4.0

Anderson

4.0

Graham

NFL 2026 Rankings

PPG Rankings

33.7

32.7

31.0

30.7

29.7

Opp PPG Rankings

12.0

13.7

16.7

17.0

Total Yards Rankings

417.7

416.3

408.0

401.7

399.3

398.7

Rush Yards Rankings

184.3

173.0

167.3

155.0

153.3

136.3

Pass Yards Rankings

313.0

305.7

295.0

281.3

276.0

270.7

Sack Leaders

14.0

12.0

11.0

10.0

9.0

NFL Fantasy 2026

Fantasy RB Rankings

80.3

Gibbs

69.9

Henry

68.2

Walker

Fantasy WR Rankings

77.1

Smith-Njigba

52.8

St. Brown

52.4

Watson

Fantasy TE Rankings

35.4

Kittle

35.1

Kelce

33.3

Johnson

Fantasy K Rankings

42

McPherson

39

McLaughlin

38

Shrader

NFL 2026 Betting

Best Record ATS

3-0

2-0-1

2-1

Worst Record ATS

0-3

NFL 2026 Standings

NFC East	W	L	T	PCT
Eagles	2	1	0	.667
Giants	2	1	0	.667
Cowboys	1	2	0	.333
Commanders	1	2	0	.333
NFC North	W	L	T	PCT
Vikings	3	0	0	1.000
Lions	2	1	0	.667
Bears	2	1	0	.667
Packers	1	2	0	.333
NFC South	W	L	T	PCT
Panthers	1	2	0	.333
Saints	1	2	0	.333
Falcons	1	2	0	.333
Buccaneers	0	3	0	.000
NFC West	W	L	T	PCT
49ers	3	0	0	1.000
Seahawks	2	1	0	.667
Rams	1	2	0	.333
Cardinals	1	2	0	.333

AFC East	W	L	T	PCT
Bills	3	0	0	1.000
Jets	1	2	0	.333
Patriots	1	2	0	.333
Dolphins	0	3	0	.000
AFC North	W	L	T	PCT
Steelers	2	1	0	.667
Ravens	2	1	0	.667
Browns	2	1	0	.667
Bengals	2	1	0	.667
AFC South	W	L	T	PCT
Jaguars	2	1	0	.667
Colts	1	2	0	.333
Titans	0	3	0	.000
Texans	0	3	0	.000
AFC West	W	L	T	PCT
Chiefs	3	0	0	1.000
Raiders	3	0	0	1.000
Broncos	2	1	0	.667
Chargers	0	3	0	.000

NFL 2026 Scores & Schedule

Scores

DATE	MATCHUP			SCORE
Wed 9/9	NE	@	SEA	10-13
Thu 9/10	SF	@	LAR	27-7
Sun 9/13	CHI	@	CAR	59-37
Sun 9/13	BAL	@	IND	41-23
Sun 9/13	ATL	@	PIT	13-20

Schedule

DATE	MATCHUP			TIME (ET)
Thu 10/1	PIT	@	CLE	8:15 PM
Sun 10/4	IND	@	WAS	9:30 AM
Sun 10/4	ARI	@	NYG	1:00 PM
Sun 10/4	NE	@	BUF	1:00 PM
Sun 10/4	NYJ	@	CHI	1:00 PM

From 1970 through 2020, the Houston Oilers had the fewest first downs by a team in a season, with 138 first downs in 1982.

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More Titans Stats

504

173

123

NFL 2026 Leaders

939

917

872

360

349

346

405

375

358

9

9

8

6

6

4

6

5

4

133.1

127.3

116.1

6.0

4.0

4.0

NFL 2026 Rankings

NFL Fantasy 2026

80.3

69.9

68.2

77.1

52.8

52.4

35.4

35.1

33.3

42

39

38

NFL 2026 Betting

NFL 2026 Standings

NFL 2026 Scores & Schedule

Scores

Schedule