Today’s Sportstat: November 19, 2018 (Bonus)
With their 48-7 win over the defending Super Bowl champs, the Philadelphia Eagles, the New Orleans Saints became only the eighth team since 1970 (the AFC-NFC merger) to win consecutive games by a margin of 35 points or more. Prior to beating the Eagles, the Saints defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 51-14, a 37-point drubbing.
Here are the eight times since 1970 that teams won consecutive games by a margin of 35 points or more.
Detroit Lions: Sept. 20, 1970 (won by 40 points) and Sept. 27, 1970 (won by 35 points).
Atlanta Falcons: Oct. 14, 1973 (won by 55 points) and Oct. 21, 1973 (won by 40 points).
Dallas Cowboys: Sept. 24, 1973 (won by 37 points) and Sept. 30, 1973 (won by 35 points).
Washington Redskins: Sept. 21, 1975 (won by 38 points) and Sept. 28, 1975 (won by 36 points).
Chicago Bears: Nov. 17, 1985 (won by 44 points) and Nov. 24, 1985 (won by 36 points).
Kansas City Chiefs: Dec. 1, 2002 (won by 39 points) and Dec. 8, 2002 (won by 49 points).
Seattle Seahawks: Dec. 5, 2005 (won by 42 points) and Dec. 11, 2005 (won by 38 points).
New Orleans Saints: Nov. 11, 2018 (won by 37 points) and Nov. 18, 2018 (won by 41 points).
Of the seven teams prior to the Saints to accomplish this feat, two played in the Super Bowl that season: The Bears in 1985 (they won the Super Bowl that year) and the 2005 Seahawks (they lost in the Super Bowl that year).
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Toda’s Sports Stat: October 16, 2017
For the second time in three years, the New Orleans Saints have won a game where the combined number of points scored by the two teams was 90 or more.
The Saints defeated the Detroit Lions on Sunday 52-38 (90 total points scored). It was the first NFL regular season game with 90+ points since 2015 when the Saints beat the New York Giants 52-49 (101 points).
This was the 12th regular season game with 90 or more points in a game since the AFL-NFL merger of 1970. The Saints also became the fifth team since 1970 to play in two 90-point regular season games. The Cincinnati Bengals and New York Jets have both played in three such games. Cleveland, San Diego, and now New Orleans, have played in two of these 90-point games. For the record, the Jets won each of their three games, and Chargers and Saints both won their two contests.
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Packers Numbers Notebook: Stats from their loss to New Orleans
Here’s a look at a dozen stats that helped define the Green Bay loss to the Saints Sunday night.
1. The Packers had three turnovers. It was their sixth straight loss when they have three-plus turnovers in a game. Since 2000 the Packers are 6-24 (.200 winning percentage) when they have three or more turnovers in a game.
2. The 21-point loss was the Packers third 20-point loss on the road in their last four away losses.
3. The game was tied 16-16 at halftime. Green Bay is now 14-18 since 1966 when they are tied at half on the road. They are 2-5 since 2000 in such games.
4. Randall Cobb had five catches for 126 yards, his eighth career 100-yard receiving game. The Pack are 6-2 when Cobb has a 100-yard receiving game.
5. Aaron Rodgers threw a pair of interceptions. Green Bay is 6-5 in the 11 games where Rodgers has had two or more interceptions.
6. New Orleans running back Mark Ingram became the 13th opposing runner to have 170 or more rushing yards in a game versus the Packers. It was the 19th time since 1966 that an opposing runner had 170 or more yards rushing in a game against the Pack. Green Bay is 4-15 (.211 winning percentage) in those games. Three running backs had multiple games with 170 or more rushing yards against the Packers: Adrian Peterson (4), Walter Payton (3) and Barry Sanders (2).
7. Green Bay was down by 14 points at the end of the third quarter (30-16). Since 2000, they have been behind by 14 or more points at the end of the third quarter in 25 games; they are 0-25 in those games.
8. The Packers defense came into the game with New Orleans with the lowest opposing QB Rating at 74. Drew Brees’ QB Rating for the game Sunday night was 138.4. It was the 26th game since 1966 where an opposing QB had a Passer Rating of 130 or above against the Packers. Green Bay is 1-25 in those games.
9. Rodgers had 418 yards passing, his fifth 400-yard passing game with the Packers. The team is 3-2 in those games. Since 1966 the Packers are 5-3-1 in games where their QB has 400 or more yards passing.
10. It was the third time since 2010 that the Packers allowed 40 or more points in a regular-season game. Tampa Bay leads the league with nine games where they allowed 40-plus points since 2010. The Packers are one of only four teams to win a game when they allowed 40-plus points in a contest since 2010. They did it in a 45-41 win over Detroit on January 1, 2012.
11. Eddie Lacy had eight receptions for 123 yards. He was the first Packers running back to have over 100 yards receiving in a game since Dorsey Levens did it January 12, 1997 in a playoff games versus the Panthers. Levens had five catches for 117 yards in that game.
12. Since 2010, the Packers are 20-17 in games on the road (.541 winning percentage). In games within their division (versus Chicago, Detroit and Minnesota) they are 9-5 (.643 winning percentage) in games on the road since 2010, while they are 11-12 (.478 winning percentage) in road games outside the division in that timeframe.
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40-point blowout in the NFL: What happens the following week?
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Let’s go back a couple of weeks in the NFL season… October 27 to be exact. The Cincinnati Bengals put a major beat-down on the New York Jets, 49-9. It was the first game with a 40-point margin in the 2013 NFL campaign.
You would assume that after winning a game by 40 points one week that victory would be almost a certainty the following week for the Bengals. You might also think that after losing by 40 points one week that the next game played by the Jets would more than likely be another defeat.
Fast forward to last weekend. The Bengals, hot off their blowout win over the Jets, stumble to a 22-20 loss at the hands of the Miami Dolphins. The Jets, on the other hand, host the New Orleans Saints and come away with a surprise 26-20 win.
Since the 2000 NFL season, there have now been 32 games where the final margin of victory was 40 points or more. It was only the fourth time since that season that the team that won a 40-point blowout lost the following week and the team that lost the 40-point blowout won the next week.
Here’s a quick look back at those four games.
2013: Cincinnati over NY Jets, 49-9. Cincinnati lost the following week; the Jets won the following week.
2012; Green Bay over Tennessee, 55-7. Green Bay lost the following week; Tennessee won the following week.
2012: San Francisco over Buffalo, 45-3. San Francisco lost the following week; Buffalo won the following week.
2009: Seattle over Jacksonville, 41-0. Seattle lost the following week; Jacksonville won the following week.
Of the 28 times when the two teams involved in a blowout played the following week, both teams won the next week on nine occasions, while 12 times the team that won the blowout won the following week and the team that lost the blowout also lost the next week. Both teams lost the week following a 40-point blowout three times.
Here’s a look at how well the two teams involved in a 40-point (or more) blowout did the following week
40-point blowout winner the following week (since 2000 season)
Won the following week: 22 times
Lost the following week: 7 times
Had a bye the following week: 2 times
The 40-point blowout game was the end of the season: 1 time
40-point blowout loser the following week (since 2000 season)
Won the following week: 14
Lost the following week: 16
Had a bye the following week: 1 time
The 40-point blowout game was the end of the season: 1 time
So which team have won the most 40-point blowout games in the NFL since 2000? Which team has lost the most 40-point blowout games this century? The New England Patriots have won five blowout games since 2000 to top that list; the Arizona Cardinals have been on the receiving end of a 40-point blowout four times, most in the league since 2000.
Most 40-point blowout wins since 2000
5: New England
3: Kansas City, San Francisco, Seattle
2: Baltimore, Green Bay, Jacksonville, New Orleans
1: Atlanta, Cincinnati, Dallas, Detroit, NY Jets, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, Tennessee
Most 40-point blowout losses since 2000
4: Arizona
3: NY Jets
2: Buffalo, Carolina, Chicago, Cleveland, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Tennessee
1: Atlanta, Denver, Detroit, Green Bay, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Kansas City, New Orleans, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Washington
Who will beat the Kansas City Chiefs? Ten stats you might not know about the teams that beat the unbeatens
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
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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