Packers Numbers Notebook: Stats from their win over the Vikings
Here’s a look at some of the numbers that helped define the Packers 42-10 win over the Vikings last Thursday.
1. The Packers held the Vikings scoreless in the first quarter. The Pack has now won 11 of the last 12 when they hold their opponents to no points in the first quarter. Since the start of the 2010 season, the Packers are 28-6 in such games.
2. Green Bay held a 14-0 lead at the end of the first period. It was the 13th time since 2005 that they held a 14-0 lead in a game at the end of the first 15 minutes. The Packers last loss when they held a 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter was on January 11, 2004 when they lost a playoff game to the Eagles 20-17 in overtime after having a 14-0 lead at the end of one period.
3. The Packers scored 28 points in the first half. They are now 12-0 since 2000 in games where they score 28 or more points in the first half. Since 1966, Green Bay is 31-1 in games where they have 28 or more points heading into halftime. Their only loss was November 16, 1997 when they had a 28-18 lead over Indianapolis and then lost 41-38.
4. Green Bay forced the Vikings into three turnovers in the contest. The Packers had lost three straight when they had three or more takeaways. Since the 2009 season the Packers are 27-3 in games where they have three-plus takeaways.
5. This was the eighth game since 1966 where the Packers had a lead of 28 points or more at halftime. They are undefeated in those games.
6. Dom Capers’ defense had six sacks against Minnesota. It was the 40th time since the beginning of the Super Bowl era (1966) that they had six or more sacks in a game. They are 38-1-1 in such games.
7. Running back Eddie Lacy had 105 yards on 13 carries in the contest. It was the 137th time the Packers had a 100-yard rusher in a game since 1966. Since 2000, they have had 65 100-yard games; the Packers are 50-14-1 in those games.
8. Lacy was the first Green Bay running back to have 100 or more yards rushing and two or more TDs rushing since Ryan Grant did it December 13, 2009 versus the Bears. Grant had 137 yards rushing and two TD rushes in that game.
9. Aaron Rodgers had back-to-back three TD pass games for the first time since the first two games of the 2013 season. It was also the 15th time (16th time if you include the playoffs) that ARod has thrown for three or more TDs in consecutive games. His longest streak of consecutive games with three or more TD passes is five. He did that during the 2011 season.
10. This game was the 46th time since 1966 that the Packers held their opponents scoreless through three quarters. They have a 40-6 record in such games. The Pack was unable to keep the Vikings off the board in the fourth quarter; Green Bay’s last shutout was October 31, 2010 when they blanked the Jets, 9-0.
11. The 32-point win was the 28th time since 1966 that the Packers have won a game by 30 points or more. The Packers have won with a 30-point or more differential three times against four different teams: Atlanta, Chicago, Minnesota and Oakland. Of the 28 30-point (or more) wins since ’66, 22 of them happened at Lambeau Field. The Packers had four 30-point wins in 1996. most of any season.
12. This was the second time in Packers history that they scored exactly 14 points in the first, second and third quarters. They also did it on October 2, 2011 against Denver. It was only the 14th time since 1966 in the NFL that a team scored exactly 14 points in each of the first three quarters.
13. Rodgers had three TD passes on only 12 completions and 17 attempts. Those matched the fewest number of completions and attempts in a game when Rodgers had three TD passes. On October 3, 2010 versus Detroit, Rodgers had three TD passes on 12 completions and 17 attempts.
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When 8 runs is not enough in the MLB playoffs
During the just-completed 2014 MLB regular season, there were 588 times when a team scored eight or more runs in a game. Teams won 559 of those times and lost 29, a winning percentage of just over 95 percent.
Take those numbers into the post-season and you wouldn’t expect many teams (maybe one at the most) to lose a game when they score eight or more runs in a post-season contest. This year’s MLB post-season, however, saw two teams in the first week of the playoffs score eight or more runs and lose a playoff game (and we’ve still got two rounds of playoffs remaining in the post-season).
The Oakland A’s had a 7-3 lead in the bottom of the eighth of their A.L. Wild Card game against the Kansas City Royals. The Royals came back in that game and won 9-8 in the 12th inning. Just three days later, the L.A. Dodgers scored nine runs in their N.L. Divisional Series first game loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. It was only the third time in MLB history that two teams that scored eight or more runs lost a playoff game in the same post-season (also 2004 and 1999).
From 1903 through the first few playoff games of this season, there have been 330 times when a team scored eight or more runs in a post-season game. Those teams won 312 and lost 18, a .945 winning percentage. Of those 18 losses, nine of them occurred in the World Series.
Following are the eight times when a team scored nine or more runs in a playoff game and lost.
Runs, team (score, series)
14: Philadelphia (lost 15-14 to Toronto in the 1993 World Series)
11: Cleveland (lost 14-11 to Florida in the 1997 World Series)
10: San Francisco (lost 11-10 to Anaheim in the 2002 World Series)
9: St. Louis (lost 11-9 to Boston in the 2004 World Series)
9: New York Mets (lost 15-9 to Atlanta in the 1999 NLCS)
9: New York Yankees (lost 10-9 to Pittsburgh in the 1960 World Series)
9: Texas (lost 10-9 to St. Louis in the 2011 World Series)
9: L.A. Dodgers (lost 10-9 to St. Louis in the 2014 NLDS)
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