Among the several issues the NFL has faced in the press over the past few years, none have been as impactful as concussion data.
We wanted to see which NFL teams had the most concussions during games and which teams had the least. Using data from NFL injury reports as well as cross-referencing with third party NFL data providers, we broke down each team’s total reported in-game concussion count below.
To keep things as equal as possible, this data reflects in-game concussions through the 2012-2016 regular seasons, listed from most concussions suffered during a game over this time period down to the least concussions suffered.
| Team | Total Concussions |
| Cleveland Browns | 39 |
| San Diego Chargers | 34 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 31 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 30 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 30 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 29 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 29 |
| New York Jets | 28 |
| Washington Redskins | 27 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 26 |
| Oakland Raiders | 26 |
| Denver Broncos | 25 |
| New York Giants | 24 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 24 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 22 |
| Houston Texans | 22 |
| Chicago Bears | 21 |
| Detroit Lions | 21 |
| Carolina Panthers | 21 |
| New England Patriots | 21 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 21 |
| Green Bay Packers | 20 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 19 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 19 |
| Tennessee Titans | 19 |
| Buffalo Bills | 18 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 18 |
| New Orleans Saints | 18 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 17 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 15 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 13 |
| Miami Dolphins | 10 |
The NFL has been paying close attention to concussions as of late after a media storm of reporting about the dangers of CTE. The league is concerned that more information about football-related head injuries might decrease both viewership and the player pipeline as parents stop letting their kids play at a young age.
Of people who stated they no longer watch NFL games, one of the more popular responses was the dangerous nature of the game. A small, but growing percentage of football fans have suggested they no longer desire to support the NFL because of the inherent danger of the game.
“We’re watching men get brain damage for our enjoyment.”
“Modern-day gladiators. My guess is we as a society will look back in the future and view this game in a similar way.”
Certainly this has the NFL concerned, and there are plenty of reports circulating about internal efforts to make this health/PR disaster go away.
Source: NFL injury reports, PBS Frontline, ESPN