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From May 30 and every day until September 5… the start of the 2013 NFL season… Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ will publish “99 Stats Until Kickoff” a daily dose of NFL stats that will get you ready for the 2013 NFL season.)

Just over half of the 256 regular season games played in the NFL last season were decided by eight points or less. In addition to the one tie game in 2012, 129 of the other 255 games were decided by one score (eight points or less), or 50.8 percent of the games played in 2012.

Leading the way were the Detroit Lions who lost eight of their 12 defeats by eight points or less. Here’s a look at the number of one-score losses (eight points or less) for each team last season.

One-score losses, team (total losses)
8: Detroit (12)
7: Carolina (9); Tampa Bay (9)
6: Pittsburgh (8)
5: Cleveland (11); Dallas (8); Jacksonville (14); Miami (9); New Orleans (9); Philadelphia (12)’ San Diego (9); Seattle (5); Washington (6)
4: Buffalo (10); Chicago (6); Cincinnati (6); Arizona (11); Green Bay (5); Kansas City (14); New England (4); N.Y. Giants (7); Oakland (12); Baltimore (6)
3: N.Y. Jets (10); Tennessee (10); St. Louis (8)
2: Atlanta (3); Denver (3)
1: Indianapolis (5); Minnesota (6); San Francisco (4)
0: Houston (4)

Seven teams lost 75 percent of more of their losses by eight points or less. The Seattle Seahawks lost each of their five losses by one score, while the New England Patriots also lost each of their four defeats by one score. In their four losses, the Patriots lost by a total of 11 points (a seven-point loss, a two-point loss and a pair of one-point defeats).

The other five teams that lost 75 percent or more of their defeats by eight points or less: Washington Redskins (83.3%); Green Bay Packers (80%); Carolina (77.8%); Tampa Bay (77.8%) and Pittsburgh (75%).

The Houston Texans lost four games in the regular season, all of them by 10 points or more. The Texans were the only team last year not to lose a game by eight points or less. The Texans four losses came by 18, 28, 17 and 10 points.

“99 Stats Before Kickoff” (Stats you need to know before the start of the 2013 NFL season) is available from e-book publisher Smashwords. Go to www.smashwords.com to download a copy, including a pdf version which can be viewed on your home computer. Cost is $2.99