You might be surprised to learn that despite the passing game becoming more productive than ever, the number of passing touchdowns hasn’t gone up very much. In the early 1950s, teams averaged between 1.3 and 1.5 touchdowns per game; that number has gone up and down a bit over the last 70 years, but last season, teams averaged 1.45 passing touchdowns per game, lower than in 1952.

Rushing touchdowns per game, on the other hand, have seen a more steady decline. The graph below shows the number of passing, rushing, defensive, and special teams touchdowns per team game across each NFL season since 1950. Defensive touchdowns have been pretty consistently around 0.15 per team game, while special teams touchdowns were at 0.05 TD/G. That last number, however, has been in a rapid decline: the last two years were at just 0.03 TD/G.

Here’s another way to look at the same data: the percentage of all passing/rushing/defensive/special teams touchdowns per season.

But if you want to know where the biggest change in NFL scoring has been, you have to look at field goals.

What do you think?