Which NFL team has the most ’30-something’ TDs this season?
San Diego Chargers tight end Antonio Gates
Most people would agree that the NFL is a young man’s league. Save for a few quarterbacks who are in their 30’s having nice seasons (tongue planted firmly in cheek), the league depends on younger, faster, stronger players each year.
Case in point: Just a little over 14% of the TDs scored this season (through games of Week #13) have been scored by players who are in their 30’s. The rest, about 85% have been scored by players in their 20’s.
There have been 61 players in their 30’s that have scored one or more touchdowns for their team this season. Leading the TD race for the 30-something crowd is San Diego Chargers tight end Antonio Gates. The 34-year-old has tallied nine TDs for the Chargers, tops in the league for players 30 or older. Just one TD behind Gates is 30-year-old receiver Brandon Marshall with eight TDs for the Chicago Bears. Philadelphia all-purpose threat Darren Sproles, age 31, has seven TDs, five via rushing and two by punt returns.
Leading the 30-something TDs by team are the Atlanta Falcons. They have 14 TDs so far this season scored by 30-something players, five each by running back Steven Jackson and receiver Roddy White, three by Devin Hester, and one by Harry Douglas.
Here’s a look at how many TDs have been scored this season by teams with players who are 30 years of age or older.
14: Atlanta
13: San Diego
10: Philadelphia, San Francisco
9: Baltimore, Chicago, Tennessee
8: New Orleans
5: Kansas City, N.Y. Giants, Pittsburgh
4: Arizona, Buffalo, Dallas, Green Bay, Houston, Minnesota, Oakland, Tampa Bay
3: Indianapolis
2: Cleveland, Denver. Miami
1: Carolina, Detroit, Jacksonville, New England, St. Louis
0: Cincinnati, N.Y. Jets, Seattle, Washington
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99 Stats Until Kickoff: (#36) Brandon Marshall’s unique stat line from Nov. 25
Brandon Marshall (Photo credit: crhee8)
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.)
When receiver Brandon Marshall was traded from the Miami Dolphins to the Chicago Bears in March of 2012, the Bears and their fans hoped that Marshall would add a unique element that has been missing in their offense.
Marshall has certainly met the expectations of the Bears faithful and on November 25, 2012 he caught 12 passes for 92 yards in a game versus the Minnesota Vikings, passing the 1,000-yard mark in receiving for the sixth time in his career. Marshall also became the first Bears’ receiver to reach 1,000 yards in receiving since Marty Booker in 2002.
Marshall’s 12 catch-92 yards game against the Vikings that day was also a unique stat line that is rarely seen in the league. Marshall became the 35th player since 1966 (start of the Super Bowl era) to catch 12 or more passes in a game and finish with less than 100 yards receiving in the game. He became the third player with these numbers during the 2012 season; Oakland’s Darren McFadden on Sept. 10 had 13 catches for 86 yards and the Cowboys’ Dez Bryant had 13 receptions for 95 yards on Oct. 14.
It was also only the ninth time in those 35 instances that a player’s team won in a game where a player had 12-plus receptions and less than 100 receiving yards. Of these 35 times since 1966, four players accomplished this rare feat twice:
Larry Centers (Oct. 10, 2001 and Sept. 29, 1996). Centers did it with Buffalo and Arizona
Derrick Mason (Oct. 3, 2004 and Nov. 12, 2001). Mason did it both times with Tennessee
Lydell Mitchell (Nov. 28, 1976 and Dec. 15, 1974). Mitchell did it both times with Baltimore; both times against the Jets
Brian Westbrook (Nov. 4, 2007 and Nov. 19, 2006). Westbrook did it both times with the Eagles
Here’s a few other interesting tidbits about this unique stat:
* Westbrook and Marshall Faulk hold the NFL mark (since 1966) for most catches in a game with less than 100 yards receiving. Both Westbrook and Faulk had 14 catches in a game; Westbrook accomplished this on Nov. 4, 2007 with 14 catches and 90 yards, Faulk did it on Sept. 8, 2002 with 14 catches and 91 yards.
* Westbrook also holds the mark for fewest receiving yards in a game with 12 or more catches. On Nov. 19, 2006, Westbrook had 12 catches for only 46 yards in a game versus the Tennessee Titans.
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99 Stats Until Kickoff: (#35) Jason Witten’s record-setting game can’t carry Cowboys to victory
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.)
Jason Witten (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
A record-setting performance by an individual player is rarely the needed consolation when a team loses a game. That was certainly the case on October 28 last season when Cowboys’ tight end Jason Witten set a Dallas record for most receptions in a game with 18 in their 29-24 loss to the New York Giants in Dallas. Witten did not catch his first pass in the game until the 11:29 mark of the second quarter. He finished the first half with four catches.
In the second half, however, Witten had five receptions in the third quarter and nine catches in the final 15 minutes. He gained 167 yards with his 18 catches.
Witten’s 18 receptions were three short of the NFL record set by Brandon Marshall in 2009 with the Denver Broncos. Terrell Owens is second on the list with 20 catches (he did it in 2000 with the 49ers), and Witten tied Marshall for third on the list; Marshall has 18 catches in a September 2008 game for the Broncos.
Not only did Witten set the team record, but he also established another new NFL mark: Most receptions in a game without a touchdown. Witten became the seventh NFL player since 1960 to have 15 or more receptions in a game and no touchdown. Following are those seven:
Player, Most Catches in a game without a TD (Date, Team)
Jason Witten-18 (October 28, 2012, Dallas)
Clark Gaines-17 (September 21, 1980, NY Jets)
Keenan McCardell-16 (October 20, 1996, Jacksonville)
Williams Andrews-15 (November 15, 1981, Atlanta)
Reggie Wayne-15 (October 3, 2010, Indianapolis)
Wes Welker-15 (November 22, 2009, New England)
Kellen Winslow-15 (October 7, 1984, San Diego)
This was the 24th time since 1960 that a player had 15 or more catches in a game. It was the second time for Witten; he had 15 receptions in a December 9, 2007 games against the Detroit Lions in the Motor City. Witten also became the third player to have 15 or more catches in multiple games. The others: Brandon Marshall and Wes Welker.
Here’s a few more stats about Witten’s record-setting game:
* Witten became the eighth player over the age of 30 to catch 15-plus passes in a game (since 1960).
* Of the 24 times when a player caught 15 or more passes, that player’s team won 12 and lost 12.
* Of the 24 times when a player caught 15 or more passes, 12 happened in home games, 12 on the road.
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