Can Eagles QB Nick Foles pass his way into the NFL record book?
Nick Foles (Photo credit: Matthew Straubmuller)
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles has certainly given his team a boost with his 125.2 Passer Rating and a 5-1 record for the team as a starter. In addition, his 19 TDs without an interception has given him enough buzz around the league that his name is now being mentioned as a potential MVP for this season. His performance (and that of the Eagles) will likely determine if we are still talking about “Nick Foles, MVP” in four weeks.
But here’s a more thought-provoking question: Is it possible for Foles to end the season without an interception?
Foles is one TD from tying Peyton Manning’s record for 20 TDs without an interception to start a season. In addition, if the season ended today, Foles would set a record for most TDs without an interception in a season. The current mark is held by Steve Young who had 10 TDs and no interceptions in 1987. He started three games in ’87 subbing for Joe Montana, winning two of those three contests. Two other QBs, Charlie Batch and Todd Collins, finished a season with five TDs and no interceptions.
Here’s a look at the most TDs in a season with none, one, two, three, four and five interceptions.
No interceptions in a season: Steve Young, 1987, San Francisco, 10 TD passes.
One interception for the season: Damon Huard, 2006, Kansas City, 11 TD passes.
Two interceptions in a season: Boomer Esiason, 1997, Cincinnati, 13 TD passes.
Three interceptions in a season: David Garrard, 2007, Jacksonville, 18 TD passes.
Four interceptions in a season: Tom Brady, 2010, New England, 36 TD passes.
Five interceptions in a season: Steve Bartkowski, 1983, Atlanta, 22 TD passes.
What do you think? Can Foles end the season without an interception? Or, in which of the above categories might he take over the lead?
Down 24 points at half at home: Patriots win!
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I’ll be the first to admit that I went to bed after watching the Denver Broncos take a 24-0 into the locker room at halftime in their November 24, 2013 game against the New England Patriots. Imagine my surprise (and that of others who also turned off the game after the first two quarters) when I opened the newspaper the next day to read about New England‘s overtime win over Denver.
The Patriots not only found themselves in a heap of trouble after the first half, but what also didn’t help was that it was a home game. When they won the game, it was only the seventh time in NFL history that a home team won a game after being behind by 20 points or more at half. It was also the second greatest deficit overcome at halftime by a home team in league history. In addition, this was not the first time that a New England team had overcome a 20-point deficit at home at half and gone on to win the game (more on that in a moment).
The Patriots-Denver contest was the fourth this season where a home team was behind by 20 points or more at half. Prior to the Patriots comeback, the Jaguars, Colts and Falcons could not erase their large halftime deficits at home and eventually lost those games.
The last time a home team won a game after being behind by 20-plus points at half was on November 26, 2006 when the home team Tennessee Titans were behind 21-0 to the New York Giants after two quarters of play. The Titans scored 24 unanswered points in the second half to win that game.
Here’s a look at the seven home teams that were behind by 20 or more points at half and went on to win that contest.
Nov. 24, 2013: Denver @ New England (New England down by 24 points at half) Patriots won 34-31
Nov. 26, 2006: New York Giants @ Tennessee (Tennessee down by 21 points at half) Titans won 24-21
Sept. 19, 1999: Indianapolis @ New England (New England down by 21 points at half) Patriots won 31-28
Dec. 24, 1995: Minnesota @ Cincinnati (Cincinnati down by 21 points at half) Bengals won 27-24
Sept. 12, 1982: L.A. Rams @ Green Bay (Green Bay down by 23 at half) Packers won 35-23
Dec. 7, 1980: New Orleans @ San Francisco (San Francisco down by 28 at half) 49ers won 38-35
Nov. 30, 1958: San Francisco @ Baltimore (Baltimore down by 20 at half) Colts won 35-27
Prior to the game against the Broncos on November 24, the Patriots had not been behind by 20 points or more at home at halftime since 1999. The Steelers now have the longest gap between such games; they have not been behind by 20-plus points at halftime in a home game since 2000.
Following is the last year each NFL team played a game where they were behind at halftime by 20-plus points at home.
2000: Pittsburgh
2002: Cincinnati
2004: San Francisco
2005: Philadelphia
2006: Green Bay, New Orleans
2007: Baltimore, Minnesota
2008: Detroit
2009: New York Giants, Oakland
2010: Arizona, Buffalo, Chicago, Seattle, Washington
2011: Cleveland, Denver, Houston, Tampa Bay
2012: Carolina, Dallas, Kansas City, Miami, New York Jets, San Diego, St. Louis, Tennessee
2013: Atlanta, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, New England
Follow Jerry on Twitter @StatsonTapp
Packers look to avoid first three-game losing streak since 2008
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
With a two-game losing streak, losing their star quarterback for four to six weeks, and a post-season appearance very much in question, the Green Bay Packers badly need a win this weekend against the New York Giants. A road win would not only put them back in the playoff picture, but it would also help them avoid something that hasn’t happened to the team since 2008… a three-game losing streak.
Prior to the start of the 2013 season, the Packers were one of three NFL teams that had not had a three-game losing streak in a season since 2008 and beyond. One of the teams, the Atlanta Falcons, who had not had a three-game losing season since 2007, quickly saw their streak end when they lost three straight after splitting the first two games to start the 2013 season. (They have since had another three-game losing streak this season.) The other team, the New England Patriots, keeps sailing along; they have a 7-2 record and still have not had a three-game losing streak since 2002. (More on that in a minute.)
The Packers in 2008 had both a three-game and five-game losing streak that season. Since then, the longest losing streak has been two games. The last time they had a two-game losing streak was in 2010. They lost consecutive games in mid-December before defeating the New York Giants 45-17 to avert the third straight loss. Can they perform the same magic this year with the Giants next on the schedule?
Let’s get to the Patriots. After a loss to Arizona in Week 2 and a defeat at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens in Week 3 last season, the Patriots went into their game September 30 at Buffalo hoping to avoid a 1-3 start. But there was another reason the Pats needed a win over their division rivals: They were looking to avoid a three-game losing streak, something that had not happened to the franchise since 2002.
Fortunately for the Pats, they came out of Buffalo with a 52-28 win and avoided a three-game losing streak for yet another year.
The last time New England lost three consecutive games in a season was 2002 when they lost four straight games to San Diego, Miami, Green Bay and Denver. They then defeated Buffalo on November 3, 2002 to end the streak. Since then, they have lost two straight on five occasions, but have not lost a third straight since October, 2002.
Following is a look at the last season each of the 32 NFL teams lost three consecutive games.
2002: New England
2008: Green Bay
2010: Dallas, San Francisco
2011: Denver, Indianapolis, Seattle
2012: Arizona, Carolina, Chicago, Cincinnati, Detroit, Kansas City, New Orleans, New York Jets, Oakland, San Diego
2013: Atlanta, Baltimore, Buffalo, Cleveland, Houston, Jacksonville, Miami, Minnesota, New York Giants, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Tennessee, Washington
Follow Jerry on Twitter @StatsonTapp
Indianapolis Colts suffer first 30-point loss at home in 20 years
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
It’s one thing to lose a game, but it’s another thing to lose that game at home. But what might by even more demoralizing is to lose a game at home and get whooped in the process.The AFC South Division-leading Indianapolis Colts on Sunday suffered their third defeat of the season 38-8 to the last place St. Louis Rams, who had come into that game with a 3-6 record. This 30-point defeat at home was the first time the Colts lost at home by 30 or more points since losing 31-0 to the San Diego Chargers on November 29, 1993, almost 20 years ago. It had been the longest time between 30-point losses at home in the NFL.
The Baltimore Ravens franchise, which began play in the league in 1996, now holds the longest time between 30-point losses at home. In fact the Ravens have never lost a game at home by 30 points or home. The worst home loss suffered by the Ravens was a 27-point loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, 35-8, on October 21, 1999.
In addition to the Colts losing a home game by 30-plus points this year, the Jacksonville Jaguars have twice in 2013 lost a home game by 30 points or more. Last season there were seven such games in the league.
Following is the last regular season each of the NFL teams lost a home game by 30 points or more.
1996: Baltimore (have never lost a home game by 30 points or more)
1997: Pittsburgh
1998: New England
2001: Dallas, Minnesota
2002: Houston, San Diego
2003: Arizona, New Orleans
2004: Chicago
2005: Atlanta, Philadelphia
2006: Green Bay
2008: Cincinnati, Detroit
2009: NY Giants, Oakland, San Francisco, Tampa Bay
2010: Carolina, Cleveland, Seattle, Washington
2011: Denver, Kansas City
2012: Buffalo, Miami, NY Jets, St. Louis, Tennessee
2013: Indianapolis, Jacksonville
Follow Jerry on Twitter @StatsonTapp
Seahawks win second OT game this season
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Week #9 of the 2013 NFL season saw a pair of overtime games. The Seattle Seahawks won their second OT game of the year by defeating the Tampa Bay Bucs, and the Washington Redskins beat San Diego in overtime.
There have been seven overtime games this season with the home team winning five of those games. Last season there were 21 OT games with the home teams winning 11 and losing 10.
Cincinnati, Houston and Seattle have each played in two overtime games this year; the Texans and Bengals have each won one and lost one, while the Seahawks have won both of their OT games.
Going back to 2000, there have been 216 regular-season overtime games in the NFL. The San Francisco 49ers have played in the most games with 20, while the New England Patriots and New York Giants are tied for the best record in OT games since 2000 with a .692 winning percentage (each team is 9-4 in overtime).
Here’s a look at each NFL team’s record in overtime games since 2000.
New England: 9-4 .692
New York Giants: 9-4 .692
Chicago: 10-5 .667
Indianapolis: 4-2 .667
St. Louis: 8-4-1 .654
Arizona: 11-6 .647
Washington: 11-6 .647
San Francisco: 12-7-1 .625
Denver: 10-6 .625
Baltimore: 8-6 .571
New York Jets: 10-8 .556
Jacksonville: 6-5 .545
New Orleans: 6-5 .545
Oakland: 6-5 .545
Seattle: 7-6 .538
Dallas: 9-8 .529
Buffalo: 7-7 .500
Tennessee: 7-7 .500
Green Bay 5-5 .500
Pittsburgh: 8-10-1 .447
Cincinnati: 3-5-1 .389
Detroit: 5-8 .385
Atlanta: 6-10-1 .382
Tampa Bay: 6-10 .375
Minnesota: 4-7 .364
Kansas City: 6-11 .353
Philadelphia: 3-6-1 .350
San Diego: 5-10 .333
Houston: 4-8 .333
Miami: 4-8 .333
Cleveland: 4-9 .308
Carolina: 3-8 .273
Note: The Denver Broncos and New York Giants have the longest active streak of OT wins with five each. Oakland has won four straight overtime games. The Carolina Panthers have lost five straight OT games, the longest active losing streak. Jacksonville, Green Bay and San Diego have each lost four straight overtime games.
Follow Jerry on Twitter @StatsonTapp
Sports Stats 'on Tapp' 