Inside the Numbers: NFL Wild Card Weekend
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This coming weekend four games highlight the first round of the 2013 NFL playoffs. Here’s a snapshot of the four games and some numbers from the previous head-to-head matchups between the teams.
SATURDAY
Kansas City @ Indianapolis
All-time series: Indianapolis leads the series 15-8.
Last meeting: The Colts defeated the Chiefs 23-7 on December 22, 2013.
All-time playoff series: Indianapolis has won all three playoff meetings.
Last playoff meeting: The Colts won 23-8 in a 2006 AFC First Round game.
Noteworthy: Indianapolis is 12-2 against the Chiefs since 1990… Indy had won five of the last six against the Chiefs at home… The Chiefs have scored under 14 points in five of the last six games against the Colts.
New Orleans @ Philadelphia
All-time series: Philadelphia leads the series 16-12.
Last meeting: The Saints defeated the Eagles 28-13 on November 5, 2012.
All-time playoff series: The teams have each won one playoff games in the series.
Last playoff meeting: The Saints won 27-24 in a 2006 NFC Divisional game.
Noteworthy: New Orleans has won the last two and four of the last five against the Eagles… The Eagles have won three of the last four home games against the Saints… The Saints have scored 23 or more points in five straight games against Philadelphia.
SUNDAY
San Diego @ Cincinnati
All-time series: San Diego leads the series 19-14.
Last meeting: The Bengals defeated the Chargers 17-10 on December 1, 2013.
All-time playoff series: The Bengals won the only playoff game played between the teams.
Last playoff meeting: The Bengals won 27-7 in the 1981 AFC Championship Game.
Noteworthy: Cincinnati has won the last three games in the series… The Chargers have won three of the last four games played in Cincinnati… Five of the last six games in the series were decided by eight points or less.
San Francisco @ Green Bay
All-time series: Green Bay leads the series 34-29-1.
Last meeting: The 49ers defeated the Packers 34-28 on September 18, 2013.
All-time playoff series: The Packers have won four of the six playoff games between the two franchises.
Last playoff meeting: The 49ers won 45-31 in a 2012 NFC Division game.
Noteworthy: The 49ers have won the last three games against the Packers… The Packers have won eight of the last nine at home against San Francisco… Green Bay has scored 20-plus points in 19 games versus the 49ers.
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Keeping opposing QBs from having a great game is key in the NFL
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We all know that the NFL is a quarterback-driven league and that a good performance by a QB in a game can go a long ways to helping his team gain a victory. But what about looking at things from the defensive side of the ball… can stopping a QB from having a great game (or even a good game) help a team win? The Kansas City Chiefs may help provide an answer to this question.
The Chiefs are 9-0 and lead the league by allowing only 111 points this season, 12.3 per game. It’s obvious their defense has been a big factor in their undefeated season. But did you know that opposing quarterbacks have a combined QB Passer Rating of only 67.8 when they play Kansas City? That is the best (or worst depending on how you look at it) opposing QB Passer Rating for a defense in the NFL.
The Chiefs have had only two opposing QBs have a QB Passer Rating over 100 this season: Case Keenum at 110.6 and Jason Campbell at 105.4. Dallas’ Tony Romo fell short of the 100.0 mark with 99.1 in his game against the Chiefs. All of the other QBs the Chiefs have faced this year had a QB Passer Rating under 70.0 in the contest versus the Chiefs.
While this number casts a clear vision of why the K.C. defense has played a major role in the team’s success, the opposing QB Passer Rating also reveals some interesting stats that indicate why several teams are performing well (or poorly) based on how well their defense contains the opposing QB. Consider that:
* Of the eight teams that have an opposing QB Passer Rating under 80.0, five of those teams are in first place in their division. Those eight teams have a combined record of 54-20, a .730 winning percentage. The only team with a losing record in this group are the Miami Dolphins who are 4-5
* Of the seven teams that have an opposing QB Passer Rating over 95.9, only one, the Green Bay Packers at 5-4, have a winning record. The combined record of these seven teams is 20-43, a .317 winning percentage.
Following are the opposing QB Passer Ratings for each team.
Kansas City 67.8
Seattle 70.2; San Francisco 73.2; New England 74.2; Carolina 74.6; New Orleans 75.5; Miami 76.1; Cincinnati 78.5
N.Y. Giants 80.5; Tampa Bay 80.8; Arizona 81.6; Cleveland 82.4; Philadelphia 83.6; Denver 83.7; Detroit 84.2; Buffalo 84.6; Pittsburgh 85.8; Indianapolis 88.0; Chicago 88.4; Baltimore 89.5
N.Y. Jets 90.7; Houston 90.9; Dallas 92.9; Tennessee 92.9; St. Louis 93.0; Minnesota 98.3; Washington 98.8; Green Bay 99.5
Oakland 102.1; Jacksonville 103.3; Atlanta 103.5; San Diego 104.3
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Who will beat the Kansas City Chiefs? Ten stats you might not know about the teams that beat the unbeatens
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With their 23-17 win over the Cleveland Browns, the Kansas City Chiefs became the 21st team since the start of the Super Bowl era (1966 NFL season) to start the season 8-0. The Atlanta Falcons in 2012 started the season 8-0, but eventually lost in their ninth game of the year, a 31-27 defeat at the hands of the New Orleans Saints. Two teams, the 1972 Miami Dolphins and the 2007 New England Patriots, went through their seasons undefeated.
So, will the Chiefs join the Dolphins and Patriots with an undefeated season? If not, who will be the first to defeat them in 2013?
The other 18 teams lost one or more games in their journey to try to finish the season with a perfect record. Here’s a look at 10 stats you might not know about the teams that eventually defeated the teams that started 8-0 (or better). We’ll call these teams the “Unbeaten Busters” or UB for short.
Just for the sake of clarity, the 18 teams that started the season 8-0 (or better) and then lost a game (or more) before the regular season ended were: 1969 L.A. Rams, 1973 Minnesota, 1975 Minnesota, 1977 Dallas, 1984 Miami, 1985 Chicago, 1990 N.Y. Giants, 1990 San Francisco, 1991 Washington, 1998 Denver, 2003 Kansas City, 2005 Indianapolis, 2006 Indianapolis, 2008 Tennessee, 2009 Indianapolis, 2009 New Orleans, 2011 Green Bay, 2012 Atlanta.
1. Divisional games: In only five of the 18 cases did the undefeated team lose to a team from within their division. The five: The 1977 Cowboys lost to division rival St. Louis Cardinals; the 1990 San Francisco 49ers lost to the L.A. Rams; the ’90 N.Y. Giants lost to the Philadelphia Eagles; the 1991 Redskins lost to the Cowboys; and, the 2012 Falcons lost to the division-rival Saints.
2. Outside their conference: In only four of the 18 cases did the undefeated team lose to a team in the other conference. In 2011 the NFC Green Bay Packers lost to the AFC Kansas City Chiefs. In 2006, the AFC Indianapolis Colts fell to the NFC Cowboys; in 1998, the AFC Denver Broncos lost to the NFC Giants; in 1985, the NFC’s Chicago Bears lost their only game of the season to the Miami Dolphins of the AFC.
3. Day of the game: Fourteen of the 18 games where the undefeated team finally lost were played on Sunday. Three were played on Monday Night Football, and one game was played on Saturday.
4. The next game after the loss: After being beaten for the first time that season, seven teams also lost their next game.
5. At home or on the road? Ten of the 18 teams had their undefeated season end on the road; eight lost their first game of the year at home.
6. Points scored by the UBs: Seventeen of the 18 UBs scored 20 or more points in their win over the undefeated team. The only exception was in 2011 when the Chiefs defeated the unbeaten Packers by a score of 19-14.
7. Points scored by the undefeated teams: Thirteen of the 18 undefeated teams scored under 20 points in the game they lost to break their unbeaten streak. One team, the 1975 Minnesota Vikings, scored 30 points in their first loss of the season to the Redskins.
8. Point differential: Twelve of the 18 games were decided by one score (eight points or less). The biggest blowout was in 2008 when the undefeated Tennessee Titans lost 34-13 to the New York Jets. Only one of the 18 games went into overtime; that occurred in 1984 when the Dolphins lost their first game of the season to the San Diego Chargers, 34-28.
9. The multiple UB franchises: The Dallas Cowboys franchise could be called the ultimate “Unbeaten Busters.” The Cowboys have beaten a team that started 8-0 on three occasions: 1991, defeating the Redskins; 2006, defeating the Colts; and 2009, defeating the Saints.
10. UBs with losing records: You would expect that a UB would be a team with a solid record, most likely above .500. That hasn’t always been the case. In fact, six of the UBs had a record under .500 when they defeated their unbeaten opponent. They were:
* 1984: The Chargers were 5-6 when they beat the 11-0 Dolphins.
* 1990: The Rams were 3-7 when they beat the 10-0 49ers.
* 1998: The Giants were 5-8 when they beat the 13-0 Broncos.
* 2003: The Bengals were 4-5 when they beat the 9-0 Chiefs.
* 2011: The Chiefs were 5-8 when they beat the 13-0 Packers.
* 2012: The Saints were 3-5 when they beat the 8-0 Falcons.
The Chiefs next game is at Buffalo on Sunday, November 3. They then have their bye week and get back on the field November 17 in an AFC West battle at Denver.
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