American Football History Trivia Questions: How Many Can You Answer?

In the United States, American football is the most popular sport. Every year, the Super Bowl is routinely the most-watched event in America. On average, more than 100 million people tune in for the event. The commercials and halftime shows are part of the reason why so many non-football fans watch the game. College football is arguably the second most popular sport in the United States. Unlike professional sports, people feel a deeper connection with college players. The players represent the universities where so many people went and made great memories.

With so many games played in history, there are plenty of trivia questions to ask. For example, who played in the first Super Bowl? The Super Bowl was comprised of the best teams in the AFL and NFL playing against each other, while the two leagues were fighting to be the dominant one. Once the two combined, the NFL kept its name, but a legendary game was born each year. Only two teams played in Super Bowl I, though. Which were they?

Another fun trivia question to think about is which team went to four consecutive Super Bowls, and lost them all? Making it to the Super Bowl takes an amazing team, great coaching, and a certain amount of luck to avoid injuries to your star players. One team in particular avoided the injuries and got great coaching for four consecutive years. However, their fans experienced the same heartbreak each time the team made it to the big game. Which team was it? For more sports content, click here for sports trivia questions.

To create compile these American football trivia questions, 24/7 Tempo consulted sports-related sources. These include NFL.com, ESPN, and CBSSports.

Every year, players in the NFL dream of playing in the Super Bowl. The teams that win the AFC and NFC go to a neutral site to play in the Super Bowl. Most of the time, the game is either played in a dome or at an outdoor stadium that traditionally is warm during February. Super Bowl I was played in Los Angeles, a destination that nearly every player wanted to be at during a time of year that's normally cold. So, what two teams were lucky enough to play in the first Super Bowl?

In Super Bowl I, the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs faced off at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Both teams were used to playing in cold temperatures up until that point, since Kansas City and Green Bay are located in parts of the United States that experience some of the harshest weather.

While the Chiefs won the AFL, they ended up being no match for the Packers. The Packers were favored to win the game by 14 points, a spread that they easily covered. The final score was 35 to 10. However, since Patrick Mahomes has become the Chiefs quarterback, they've been the most dominant team in the NFL.

Throwing touchdowns is what every NFL quarterback aspires to do. The ability to look for an open receiver, avoid getting hit, and placing the ball in an exact window is a skill very few people have. It's also why the quarterback position is often called the most important position in sports. Finding the right person to lead your team is what some organizations spend years looking for. What quarterback holds the NFL record for touchdown passes in one season?

In 2013, Peyton Manning brought the Denver Broncos back to the Super Bowl after having one of the best seasons in NFL history. He threw for 55 touchdowns in the 16 game season, which still stands as the record even as the NFL has expanded to having 17 games per year.

There was thought that Manning wouldn't play in the NFL again after having neck surgery and being released by the Indianapolis Colts. However, he rehabbed the injury and maintained his status as one of the best quarterbacks ever. Since his retirement, Manning has spent more time around the Broncos organization than the Colts, even though he played in Denver for a shorter amount of time.

The NFL wants the Super Bowl to be an entertaining game with two teams that have an equal chance to win – without the disruption of bad weather. This has led the NFL to only play the Super Bowl indoors, or at outdoor stadiums where bad weather likely won't impact the game. However, there has been one Super Bowl that was played in a city with cold weather that was outdoors. The NFL wanted to try something new and see how it went, but hasn't done that again since. Which Super Bowl was it?

Super Bowl XLVIII showcased the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks. Rather than play the game in a dome or warm weather city, the NFL announced the game would take place at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. That year, the Denver Broncos had one of the greatest offenses in the history of the NFL.

The Seattle Seahawks boasted a legendary defense. When it was all said and done, the Seahawks won the game 43 to 8. The game is considered one of the most lopsided Super Bowls in history. It looks like no matter where the game was played, the Seahawks would have likely dominated the Broncos.

Before making it to the NFL, players must be at least three years removed from high school. During this time, playing in college football is the next best option for players. Up until 2015, there were two teams who were chosen to play in the championship game against each other.

However, the college football playoff was born with the desire to have more teams participate. There were four teams, and the playoff will expand again to 12 teams starting in the 2024 season. What coach has won the most national championships in college football history?

Before retiring at the end of the 2023 season, coach Nick Saban won seven championships at the FBS level of college football. This is the record that no active coach is even halfway to in college football. During his tenure, he led the LSU Tigers to the championship in 2003.

After taking a job coaching the Miami Dolphins, Saban returned to the college game by taking the Alabama Crimson Tide coaching job in 2007. He brought the Tide six championships, three before the college football playoff was incorporated, and three after it was.

Winning the Super Bowl is the goal every NFL team has at the start of each season. What makes the Super Bowl (and NFL playoffs) different from other sports is that it's one game to decide a winner, not a series. That means a team could be far superior than it's opponent coming into the big game, but if they have a bad day, their whole season could be looked at as a failure. There are two teams tied with the most amount of Super Bowl wins, which are they?

The New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers both have won six Super Bowls. However, they have done it in different fashions. The Steelers dominated the NFL during the 1970s, with quarterback Terry Bradshaw. They won four with him leading the team.

After a 30-year drought, the team drafted Ben Roethlisberger, who brought the team back to glory. He helped them win two more during his career. The New England Patriots found the biggest steal in draft history in any sport when they took Tom Brady in the sixth round. When his career with the Patriots was over, he had won six Super Bowls.

College football players around the country aim to win the Heisman Trophy every year. The award is given to the best player in college football that season. Most of the time, the award is given to a quarterback or a running back. These positions are the most impactful by one player.

For a long time, freshmen didn't play in college football. Those who did typically didn't get the necessary playing time to make a true impact on the game. That all changed over time, though. What player was the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy award in college?

When Johnny Manziel first got to Texas A&M, he red-shirted. This means that Manziel didn't play in any games, but practiced with the team and learned what it took to play in college. After that season, Manziel started as a freshman quarterback and led the Aggies with his highlight reel plays.

He routinely made SportsCenter and became one of the most talked about college athletes in history. However, fans never got to hear Manziel talk to the media during the season. His coach, Kevin Sumlin, had a rule that freshmen weren't allowed to talk to the media. After a successful college career, Manziel didn't live up to what people thought he would become in the NFL.

It takes an extreme amount of dedication and work to get to the Super Bowl. Players have to execute perfectly on every possession, making sure they score whenever they have the ball or defend their end zone. There is also a luck factor that teams who go to the Super Bowl every year seem to have. Their best players are always healthy and ready to play in the big game whenever it comes around. This combination is rare, but one team found themselves playing in four straight Super Bowls. Who was the team who accomplished this feat?

In the 1990s, the Buffalo Bills found the right combination of players and coaching to take them to the Super Bowl. They played in the big game each year from 1991 to 1994. However, the team became known for their inability to finish the job. In the first Super Bowl, kicker Scott Norwood infamously missed his game-winning kick wide right.

That became the story for the Bills, as they lost each of the next three Super Bowls they played in as well. Ever since then, the Bills have been fighting to get back to the big game. Josh Allen looks like he could be the quarterback to do so, but he needs to beat Patrick Mahomes in the playoffs to get there.

Before the explosion of the NFL, there were plenty of leagues clamoring to be where fans watched football after college. The NFL won this competition out, but not every original team from the league still exists. Prior to becoming a billion-dollar industry, the team owners were taking a risk by owning a team. There was no guarantee that the league would be successful, which led to most teams from the original NFL to disband. There are still two original teams, though. Who are they?

The Green Bay Packers and Arizona Cardinals are the only two teams from the original NFL to have seen it all. Before becoming the Arizona Cardinals, they were based out of Chicago. This helped the teams travel, since there weren't airlines that brought players to and from their games in style and comfort. The teams needed to be close to each other, and after years of moving around, the Cardinals settled down in Arizona.

However, they're still looking for their first Super Bowl win in franchise history. The Green Bay Packers are one of the most well-known teams in sports. Their fan base is passionate, and they have a special connection to the community that they play in. Green Bay only has 100,000 people, making it the smallest sports market in the four major leagues. The stadium is in the middle of a neighborhood, and the city shuts down on Sundays when the team plays.

Teams want to win every game they play in. It's what makes competing in the NFL special. Teams also have the most realistic chance at winning every game in the NFL compared to other major sports. They play the fewest amount of games of any league, meaning there's less chance for losing. However, there's only one team that has completed a season by winning every game they played in. Which team pulled this off?

In 1972, the Miami Dolphins accomplished the feat of winning every game they played. As of 2024, they remain the only team to pull this off. Coming into the Super Bowl, they were underdogs who were projected to lose by three points to Washington. The team who was the next closest to pulling off an undefeated season was the 2007 New England Patriots. They won every game up until the Super Bowl, where they played the New York Giants.

The Patriots were projected to win the game by double digits and with relative ease. Eli Manning and the Giants had other ideas, though. After one of the most memorable plays in sports history, which Manning threw a ball to David Tyree that he stuck to his head, Manning threw a touchdown to Plaxico Burress. The touchdown came at the end of the game and nearly ruined every hope the Patriots had at winning the game.

While it's easy to think about winning every game, there are teams that are afraid they might lose every game in a season they play. The mental toll it takes on players to not win a single game is unimaginable. Being a competitor, this is the last thing any of them likely want to be remembered for. However, there are some teams who have gone an entire season without winning a game. As of 2024, who was the most recent team to not win a single game?

In 2017, the Cleveland Browns went the entire season without winning a single game. That was the most recent time when a team couldn't get one win during the season. However, they drafted Baker Mayfield number one overall after that season, and he turned the team around quickly. His confidence and swagger soared through the locker room. Mayfield didn't stay in Cleveland for more than a decade, even though he changed the culture in Cleveland. The Browns are now a respectable team in 2024.

NFL teams aim to play in the Super Bowl every year. However, only two get the honor of doing so. Since there are so few stadiums that the Super Bowl can take place in, only a handful of teams have the chance to play a Super Bowl in their home stadium. It took a long time, but the NFL finally had a team play a Super Bowl at home. Who was the first team to do this?

In 2021, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers brought in Tom Brady to lead them to their first title since the early 2000s. In his first year, Brady did just that. This was also the first time a team played in a Super Bowl in the 55 year history of the event at their home stadium. Funny enough, it happened again the next year with the Los Angeles Rams. Both teams won at home, making it even more special. For more sports content, click here to read about the most legendary baseball games of all time.