FOR USE AS DESIRED
NFL-36 8/25/97
FIRST & ALL-TIME TWO-POINT SCORERS LIKE THE RULE
New England Patriots punter Tom Tupa scored the first two-point conversion in NFL history. Atlanta Falcons wide receiver TERANCE MATHIS is the league’s all-time two-point scorer with six. Both players believe the rule adds suspense to the game.
"It makes the games more exciting," says Tupa of the 1994 rule change. "There is much more of a thought process involved with the two-point conversion. Coaches have to make strategic decisions whether to go for one or two, which I think is more fun for the fans. It adds a little more suspense to the game instead of just kicking a routine PAT."
Mathis agrees with Tupa. "It’s good for the game because there are times when two points can decide a game or help tie the score at a crucial point," he says. "I’m more anxious to get open on a two-point conversion when I know it’s coming my way because it has the potential to be an exciting play."
Only seven teams have scored more two-point conversions than all-time record holder Mathis. He has scored six of Atlanta’s seven two-pointers. Mathis and Arizona Cardinals wide receiver ROB MOORE are the only players with at least one two-point conversion in each season since ‘94. There have been 143 two-point conversions out of 312 attempts (.458) in the first three seasons of the rule.
In the two-point conversion’s inaugural season, Tupa tied for the NFL lead with three two-pointers and the Cleveland Browns went 3-0 in games in which he scored a two-point conversion. "That year, we ran a ton of fakes out of the PAT formation," says Tupa, who scored the NFL’s first two-pointer on September 4, 1994 on a run off a PAT attempt. "We were just trying to take advantage of what other teams were giving us and we were pretty successful. It really kept our opponents off guard. One thing it did for us was to slow down the PAT rush that year." A college quarterback at Ohio State, Tupa never attempted a single two-point conversion in his Buckeye career.
Following is a summary of the first three years of the two-point conversion in the NFL:
TWO-POINT RECORD HOLDERS
| Individual | ||
| Career | 6 | Terance Mathis, Atlanta, 1994-96 |
| Season | 3 | 7 tied. Last time by Lamar Smith, Seattle, 1996 |
| Game | 2 | Brett Perriman, Detroit vs. Green Bay, Nov. 6, 1994 |
| Michael Jackson, Baltimore vs. New England, Oct. 6, 1996 | ||
| Team | ||
| Season | 6 | Miami, 1994 |
| Game | 3 | Baltimore vs. New England, Oct. 6, 1996 |
| Both Teams, Game | 5 | Baltimore (3) vs. New England (2), Oct. 6, 1996 |
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| TEAM | 2-PTS. |
ATT. |
PCT. |
TEAM | SCORED |
ALLOWED |
DIFF. |
||||||||
| Carolina | 3 |
3 |
100.0 |
Arizona | 8 |
2 |
+6 |
||||||||
| Buffalo | 3 |
4 |
75.0 |
Miami | 9 |
3 |
+6 |
||||||||
| Arizona | 8 |
11 |
72.7 |
Atlanta | 7 |
2 |
+5 |
||||||||
| Cincinnati | 5 |
7 |
71.4 |
Jacksonville | 6 |
1 |
+5 |
||||||||
| Minnesota | 7 |
10 |
70.0 |
Carolina | 3 |
0 |
+3 |
||||||||
| Tennessee | 6 |
3 |
+3 |
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CENTER OF ATTENTION: Since the two-point rule was instituted in 1994, the AFC Central has produced the most conversions (31) and the highest success rate (56.4 percent) in the NFL. This past season, AFC Central teams scored 14 of the 44 (31.8 percent) two-point conversions throughout the league. Following is a division-by-division breakdown of two-point conversion performance since 1994:
| DIVISION | TWO-POINT CONV. ATTEMPTS |
TWO-POINT CONV. SUCCESSES |
TWO-POINT CONV. PCT. |
| AFC Central | 55 |
31 |
.564 |
| NFC East | 38 |
18 |
.474 |
| NFC Central | 46 |
21 |
.457 |
| AFC East | 57 |
25 |
.439 |
| NFC West | 64 |
27 |
.422 |
| AFC West | 52 |
21 |
.404 |
| NFL TOTAL | 312 |
143 |
.458 |
TWO-POINT POINTS: The Arizona Cardinals have the highest success rate among teams with at least 10 attempts. The Cardinals have converted eight of 11 (72 percent)......The Dallas Cowboys are the league’s best defensive two-point team. The Cowboys have stopped nine of their opponents’ 10 two-point attempts (90 percent)......AFC teams tallied 27 of the NFL’s 44 two-point conversions in 1996......Tight ends caught seven of the 27 two-point conversion passes last season (26 percent)......Quarterbacks had seven of 17 two-point conversion runs in ’96 (41 percent).