Five stats you may not know about the Denver-Dallas shootout
Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ is a sports statistics blog published with a focus on stats that go beyond the numbers.
Tony Romo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Denver Broncos and Dallas Cowboys combined for 99 points and over a 1,000 total net yards in Denver’s 51-48 win over Dallas on Sunday. Dallas QB Tony Romo broke the team record for most passing yards (506), and Romo and opposing QB Peyton Manning combined for 920 passing yards and nine passing TDs.
Here’s a look at a few more stats of interest that you may not know from yesterday’s shootout.
1. With their 51 points, the Broncos became the 203rd team to score 50-plus in a professional game since 1940. Their three-point victory tied for the smallest margin of victory for a team scoring 50 or more points. On December 22, 1963, Oakland defeated Houston 52-49; twenty years later, the Seahawks scored 51 in a 51-48 win over Kansas City on November 27, 1983.
2. The Cowboys became the ninth team in NFL history to score 45 or more points in a game and lose. The aforementioned Houston Oilers hold the record for most points scored in a loss with 49. The teams that scored the most points in a loss:
49: Houston (12/22/63)
48: Kansas City (11/27/83); Cleveland (11/28/2004); Dallas (10/6/2013)
47: Washington (10/17/83)
45: Denver (11/22/62); Miami (9/21/86); Cincinnati (9/16/2007); Green Bay (1/10/10)
3. Romo became the 15th QB to throw five or more TD passes in a game and lose. Three players have tossed six TD passes in a losing cause: Charley Johnson (St. Louis 11/2/69); Dan Marino (Miami 9/21/86) and Carson Palmer (Cincinnati 9/16/2007). Teams are 148-15 in games their QB has five or more TD passes, a .908 winning percentage.
4. Romo also became the seventh QB to pass for 500 or more yards in a losing cause. Dan Marino holds the record with 521 yards passing in the Dolphins’ October 23, 1988 loss to the New York Jets. Those QBs with 500 or more passing yards in a loss:
521: Dan Marino (Miami, 10/23/88)
520: Matthew Stafford (Detroit, 1/1/2012)
513: Phil Simms (NYGiants, 10/13/85)
510: Drew Brees (New Orleans, 11/19/2006)
509: Vince Ferragamo (LARams, 12/26/82)
506: Tony Romo (Dallas, 10/6/2013)
504: Elvis Grbac (Kansas City, 11/5/2000)
5. Yesterday’s game was the 11th game in history where opposing quarterbacks each passed for more than 400 yards (Romo had 506, Manning 414). It was also the second time it happened this season: Philip Rivers (419) and Michael Vick (428) each eclipsed the 400-yard mark in the Chargers-Eagles game on September 15. Here are the 11 games where both QBs had 400 or more yards passing:
1-2-1982: Dal Foust (San Diego, 433) and Don Strock (Miami, 403)
12-20-1982: Ken Anderson (Cincinnati, 416) and Dan Fouts (San Diego, 435)
9-21-1986: Dan Marino (Miami, 448) and Ken O’Brien (NYJets, 479)
9-13-1992: Jim Kelly (Buffalo, 403) and Steve Young (San Francisco, 403)
9-4-1994: Drew Bledsoe (New England, 421) and Dan Marino (Miami, 473)
9-19-2010: Donovan McNabb (Philadelphia, 426) and Matt Schaub (Houston, 497)
9-12-2011: Tom Brady (New England, 517) and Chad Henne (Miami, 416)
1-1-2012: Matt Flynn (Green Bay, 480) and Matthew Stafford (Detroit, 520)
12-23-2012: Drew Brees (New Orleans, 446) and Tony Romo (Dallas, 416)
9-15-2013: Philip Rivers (San Diego, 419) and Michael Vick (Philadelphia, 428)
10-6-2013: Peyton Manning (Denver, 414) and Tony Romo (Dallas, 506)
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99 Stats Until Kickoff: (#26) Tony Romo’s great game in Dallas’ season opener was no surprise
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.)
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The fact that Tony Romo had three touchdowns, 307 yards passing and a Passer Rating of 129.5 in the Cowboys 24-17 season-opening win in 2012 over the New York Giants should not have come as a surprise to NFL enthusiasts and Dallas fans. In his previous five season-opening games, Romo had a Passer Rating over 100 in four of those five games with a high of 140.6 in 2009.
From 1960-2012, there were 149 times when a quarterback had a Passer Rating of 120 or more in his team’s first game of the season (minimum of 10 passes attempted to qualify). Teams won 128, lost 19, with two ties in those games (a .866 winning percentage).
Last season, seven QBs had a Passer Rating of 120 or more in the NFL’s opening week. They were:
Robert Griffin, III, Washington, 139.9 (vs. New Orleans)
Matt Ryan, Atlanta, 136.4 (vs. Kansas City)
Tony Romo, Dallas, 129.5 (vs. New York Giants)
Peyton Manning, Denver, 129.2 (vs. Pittsburgh)
Joe Flacco, Baltimore, 128.4 (vs. Cincinnati)
Alex Smith, San Francisco, 125.6 (vs. Green Bay)
Mark Sanchez, New York Jets, 123.4 (vs. Buffalo)
Following are the NFL quarterbacks who have had the most season-opening games with a Passer Rating of 120 or higher (1960-2011). With his 129.5 Passer Rating in last year’s Opening Game contest, Romo became the 11th QB since 1960 to have three or more season-opening games with a 120 or higher Passer Rating.
Season-opening games with 120+ rating, quarterbacks
Four: Drew Brees, Brett Favre, Dan Fouts, Dan Marino
Three: Terry Bradshaw, Tom Brady, Len Dawson, Jay Fiedler, Chad Pennington, Fran Tarkenton, Tony Romo
Four quarterbacks had a perfect Passer Rating of 158.3 in their team’s first game of the year. The last time it happened was in 2005 when Ben Roethlisberger had a 158.3 Passer Rating in Pittsburgh’s season-opening game against the Tennessee Titans. Roethlisberger was 9-for-11 for 218 yards and two touchdowns in that game.
Here are the quarterbacks that have had the highest Passer Rating on the NFL’s opening weekend since 1960:
Passer Rating, Quarterback, Season
158.3: Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh (2005); Dick Shiner, Atlanta (1973); Daryle Lamonica, Oakland (1972); Len Dawson, Kansas City (1963)
157.6: Phil Simms, NY Giants (1984)
157.1: Dan Fouts, San Diego (1981)
156.6: Steve Bono, Seattle (1995)
153.3: Craig Morton, Dallas (1971)
152.1: John Brodie, San Francisco, 1965)
151.8: Don Meredith, Dallas (1968)
151.4: Eddie LeBaron, Dallas (1961)
151.1: Len Dawson, Kansas City (1966)
150.4: Dan Marino, Miami (1984)
Note: There have been five quarterbacks who had a Passer Rating of 0.0 in an opening game since 1960. They were: Al Dorow (in 1962 with Buffalo), Earl Morrall (in 1965 with the N.Y. Giants), James Harris (in 1975 with the L.A. Rams), Jim Plunkett (in 1977 with San Francisco) and Joe Ferguson (in 1978 with Buffalo). The last QB to have a Passer Rating under 20.0 in an opening game of the season happened in 2012: Cleveland’s Brandon Weeden, in his NFL debut with the Browns against Philadelphia, completed only 12 of 35 passes for 118 yards with four interceptions and no TDs. His Passer Rating for that game was 5.1.
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