This is the Patriots time of the season
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
With Chicago’s win over Green Bay last night, Week #9 is in the books for the 2013 season. For some teams, they have already started playing games in the second half of the season. For others, the ninth game of the year (and the start of their second half of the ’13 season) will begin this week.
The New England Patriots, led by Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, have been the NFL’s best team this century. One of the reasons for this has been how well the team has played in the second half of the season. Consider this: The Patriots were 27-5 in the second half of the season over the past four years, a .844 winning percentage, also tops in the league.
Following is a look at how well each of the teams have played in the second half of the season in the last four years (2009-2012, 32 games).
New England 27-5 .844
Green Bay 25-7 .781
New Orleans 23-9 .719
Atlanta 21-11 .656
Baltimore 21-11 .656
San Diego 21-11 .656
San Francisco 20-11-1 .641
Indianapolis 19-13 .594
Dallas 19-13 .594
Pittsburgh 18-14 .563
Denver 17-15 .531
Philadelphia 17-15 .531
Seattle 17-15 .531
Cincinnati 16-16 .500
Houston 16-16 .500
New York Jets 6-16 .500
Carolina 15-17 .469
Chicago 15-17 .469
Miami 15-17 .469
Tennessee 15-17 .469
Arizona 14-18 .438
Minnesota 14-18 .438
New York Giants 13-19 .406
Washington 13-19 .406
Kansas City 12-20 .375
Oakland 12-20 .375
Buffalo 11-21 .344
Jacksonville 11-21 .344
Cleveland 10-22 .313
Tampa Bay 10-22 .313
Detroit 9-23 .281
St. Louis 8-23-1 .266
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Chances of winning an NFL game with four-plus turnovers? One in five!
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Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ is a sports statistics blog published with a focus on stats that go beyond the numbers.
We can all agree that committing four or more turnovers in a game will probably not lead a team to victory, right? According to research conducted on the Pro-Football-Reference.com website, there have been 3,301 times since 1970 (the AFL-NFL merger) when a team committed four or more turnovers in a game. In those 3,301 games, the team that had four-plus turnovers won 651, lost 2,634 and there were 16 ties. That puts the winning percentage of a team committing four-plus turnovers in a game at .200 (a one-in-five chance that an NFL team will win if they lose the ball four or more times in a game).
It’s interesting to note the .200 winning percentage number because this year, 2013, there have been 15 times when a team had four-plus turnovers; three teams won, 12 lost. That’s a .200 winning percentage for 2013. The three teams that won games when they had four-plus turnovers this year? Chicago, Cincinnati and Cleveland.
If we expand the parameters a bit and look at the numbers going back to 2010, there have been 156 games when a team had four-plus turnovers. Teams are 20-136 in such games, a .128 winning percentage. Following are the teams that have won the most games when they committed four-plus turnovers.
Most wins (2010-2013) in games with four or more turnovers
3: Chicago, Pittsburgh
2: New York Giants
1: Arizona, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Green Bay, Houston, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Minnesota, New England, New York Jets, Tennessee
One final note: If we go back to 1970, only three teams have won 30% or more of their games when they had four-plus turnovers in a game. Leading the list are the Raiders who have a .357 winning percentage in games when they commit four-plus turnovers. They are followed by the Steelers (.324) and Texans (.308).
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99 Stats Until Kickoff (#98) When was the last time your team had a winning season, and when they had their last losing season
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.)
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A couple of streaks were extended this past season in the NFL. On the positive side, the New England Patriots in 2012 had their 12th consecutive winning season. The last time the Patriots had a losing season was when they went 5-11 in 2000.
On the not-so-positive side, the Oakland Raiders in 2012 had a 4-12 record, extending their streak of non-winning seasons to 10. The last time the Raiders had a winning season was in 2002 when they went 11-5.
Following is the last time each of the NFL teams had a winning season and when they had their last losing season. (For the record, an 8-8 season is a non-winning season.)
Team, Last winning season Last losing season
Arizona 2009 2012
Atlanta 2012 2007
Baltimore 2012 2007
Buffalo 2004 2012
Carolina 2008 2012
Chicago 2012 2009
Cincinnati 2012 2010
Cleveland 2007 2012
Dallas 2009 2010
Denver 2012 2010
Detroit 2011 2012
Green Bay 2012 2008
Houston 2012 2010
Indianapolis 2012 2011
Jacksonville 2007 2012
Kansas City 2010 2012
Miami 2008 2012
Minnesota 2012 2011
New England 2012 2000
New Orleans 2011 2012
New York Giants 2012 2004
New York Jets 2010 2012
Oakland 2002 2012
Philadelphia 2010 2012
Pittsburgh 2011 2003
San Diego 2010 2012
San Francisco 2012 2010
Seattle 2012 2011
St. Louis 2003 2012
Tampa Bay 2010 2012
Tennessee 2011 2012
Washington 2012 2011
Getting back to the streaks mentioned at the beginning, here are the teams that have the longest streaks with a winning record and those teams with the longest streak of non-winning seasons.
Active streak of consecutive winning seasons: New England, 12; Atlanta, 5; Baltimore, 5; Green Bay, 4; New York Giants, 3.
Active streak of consecutive non-losing seasons: Oakland, 10; St. Louis, 9; Buffalo, 8; Cleveland, 5; Jacksonville, 5; Carolina, 4; Arizona, 3; Dallas, 3.
“99 Stats Before Kickoff” (Stats you need to know before the start of the 2013 NFL season) is available from e-book publisher Smashwords. Go to www.smashwords.com to download a copy, including a pdf version which can be viewed on your home computer. Cost is $2.99.
99 Stats Until Kickoff (#96) When was the last time your team won an overtime game on the road
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.)
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Last season there were 21 regular-season overtime games in the NFL. Of those 21, the home team won 11 of them. There was also an overtime game in the playoffs; that was won by the away team (Baltimore) as they knocked the Denver Broncos out of the playoffs on their home field on a Justin Tucker 47-yard field goal in double overtime.
One of the more interesting overtime games last season was on December 2. The Seattle Seahawks were on the road facing the Chicago Bears. The Seahawks won the game 23-17 in Chicago in overtime. It was the first victory in a five-game winning streak that propelled the Seahawks to an 11-win season and a spot in the playoffs.
But another reason that game was noteworthy was that it was the first overtime win on the road for the Seahawks in almost 10 years. Prior to that win in Chicago, the last time Seattle won an overtime game on the road was December 29, 2002 when they beat the Chargers 31-28 in an overtime game in San Diego.
The current longest drought for a road overtime win belongs to the Arizona Cardinals. Arizona has not won an overtime game on the road since December 2, 2001.
With that in mind, here is the last time each team won an overtime game on the road.
Last overtime game won on the road, team
12-2-2001: Arizona
10-23-2003: New England
1-10-2004: Carolina
10-10-2004: Minnesota
10-24-2004: Philadelphia
10-16-2005: Jacksonville
10-30-2005: Chicago
11-27-2005: St. Louis
12-10-2006: Tennessee
10-29-2007: Green Bay
11-18-2007: Cleveland
12-9-2007: San Diego
9-14-2008: San Francisco
10-4-2009: Cincinnati
9-26-2010: Atlanta
10-17-2010: Miami
11-28-2010: Pittsburgh
12-26-2010: Washington
11-20-2011: Dallas
11-27-2011: Denver
12-24-2011: Oakland
1-22-2012: New York Giants
9-23-2012: Kansas City
9-23-2012: New York Jets
10-14-2012: Buffalo
10-14-2012: Detroit
10-28-2012: Indianapolis
11-18-2012: Tampa Bay
11-22-2012: Houston
12-2-2012: Seattle
12-23-2012: New Orleans
1-12-2013: Baltimore
“99 Stats Before Kickoff” (Stats you need to know before the start of the 2013 NFL season) is available from e-book publisher Smashwords. Go to www.smashwords.com to download a copy, including a pdf version which can be viewed on your home computer. Cost is $2.99.
2012 NBA Playoffs: Scoring 35 or more points at age 35+ in the playoffs
Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ is a sports statistics blog published multiple times weekly focusing on stats that go beyond the numbers.
Karl Malone (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
A handful of older players (age 35 or older) are on the rosters of the teams remaining in the NBA playoffs. In fact, a few of those players play predominant scoring roles for their teams, including Boston’s elder statesmen Kevin Garnett (he will turn 36 on May 19) and Ray Allen (age 36), and San Antonio’s Tim Duncan (he just turned 36 in April). Could any of these three (or any other 35+ player) light up the scoreboard with 35 or more points at age 35-plus in this year’s playoffs?
Karl Malone at age 36 and 273 days, is the oldest player to score 50 points in an NBA playoff game.
Here’s a look at the players who have scored 35 or more points at age 35 (or older) in the last 25 playoffs (since 1986 playoffs).
Most playoff points by player 35 years of age and older (age), team, date
50: Karl Malone (36) Utah, 4/22/2000
45: Michael Jordan (35) Chicago, 6/14/98
41: Michael Jordan (35) Chicago, 5/19/98
41: Reggie Miller (35) Indiana, 4/24/2001
39: Michael Jordan (35) Chicago, 4/24/98
38: Michael Jordan (35) Chicago, 4/29/98
37: Michael Jordan (35) Chicago, 6/5/98
36: Alex English (35) Denver, 4/30/89
35: Michael Jordan (35) Chicago, 5/3/98
35: Michael Jordan (35) Chicago, 5/29/98
35: Reggie Miller (35) Indiana, 4/28/2001
If we drop the point total down to 30 points in a playoff game, here’s a look at the players age 35+ who scored 30 points or more in the most playoff games in the last 25 years.
Most playoff games (1986-2011) with 30+ points at age 35+, Player(s)
14: Michael Jordan
6: Reggie Miller
5: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone
1: Ray Allen, Charles Barkley, Sam Cassell, Alex English, Eddie Johnson, Kevin McHale, Steve Nash, Clifford Robinson
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