Don Shula’s 349‑Win Bid

Shula’s Lost Playoff Bowl Victories

Coach Don Shula currently holds the NFL’s 347‑win mark, but a recent argument suggests his total should be two higher. Those extra victories come from the Playoff Bowl games of 1965 and 1966, when his Indianapolis club triumphed over the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles. The NFL once staged a third‑place contest in the 1960s; Shula won it twice and considers those games as real postseason battles. “It’s silly to say it’s a vacation deal,” Shula said after the 1966 contest, emphasizing the intensity both sides displayed.

Why Those Wins Matter

The Playoff Bowl was not a traditional playoff format, yet it was an NFL postseason event at a time when fewer championship games were played. Because the contests were part of the league’s official schedule, they should be counted toward a coach’s win total. Ignoring them skews historical records and diminishes Shula’s achievements. By adding those two victories, his win count rises to 349, a figure that better reflects his full impact on the game.

A Sporting Parallel: Mbappé’s Third‑Place Goals

The discussion about overlooked successes mirrors recent football debates, such as Kylian Mbappé’s two goals in the World Cup third‑place match. Those goals propelled him to the top of the all‑time World Cup scoring list, surpassing Lionel Messi, and earned him the Golden Boot. Without those goals, the record would still belong to Messi, showing how a “meaningless” game can still alter historic benchmarks. This comparison underscores that any official competition, even a third‑place fixture, can carry weight in the annals of sport.

The push to recognize Shula’s Playoff Bowl wins is a reminder that history sometimes requires revisiting past events to set the record straight.