When was the last time your team won a division title?
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Of the eight NFL teams that won divisional titles in 2012, six of them also won that division title in 2011. The two teams that went to the top of their division in 2012 (but not in 2011) were the Atlanta Falcons and Washington Redskins.
The Falcons last won the NFC South in 2010. For the Redskins, this past season’s divisional title was a long time coming. The Redskins last won a division in 1999; that drought was tied for the fourth longest in the league.
There’s a good chance the Redskins and Falcons will not be repeating their division title in 2013 since the Redskins are five games out of first place with three games remaining, and the Falcons find themselves seven games back with three weeks left on the schedule.
Back in 2002, the NFL went to the current four division format in each of the two conferences. Of the 32 NFL teams, 28 have won at least one division title since ’02. The four that are still looking for their first division championship this century are: Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit and Jacksonville. Browns‘ fans have been waiting the longest as their team has not won a division championship since 1989.
The Lions are currently tied for first place in the NFC North with the Bears and may finally break that long drought without a division title.
Following is a look at when each NFL team last won a division title.
Year of last division title, team(s)
1989: Cleveland
1993: Detroit
1995: Buffalo
1999: Jacksonville
2002: N.Y. Jets, Oakland
2003: St. Louis
2007: Tampa Bay
2008: Carolina, Miami, Tennessee
2009: Arizona, Cincinnati, Dallas, Minnesota, San Diego,
2010: Chicago, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Seattle
2011: New Orleans, N.Y Giants
2012: Atlanta, Baltimore, Denver, Green Bay, Houston, New England, San Francisco, Washington
Andy Reid joins the 150-Win Club for NFL coaches
Andy Reid (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Kansas City Chiefs 45-10 win over the Washington Redskins in Week #14 gave their coach Andy Reid his 150th coaching win in the NFL. He becomes the 21st coach to reach that milestone. He is one of a handful of coaches with 150 coaching wins without a Super Bowl championship on his resume (more on that in a moment).
Last year we not only had a first with two coaching brothers facing each other in the Super Bowl, but we also had two coaches making their Super Bowl debuts in that February 3rd contest.
Baltimore’s John Harbaugh had 54 regular season wins prior to his first Super Bowl coaching assignment, while little brother Jim had 23 wins in his first two seasons at the helm of the 49ers.
In the Super Bowl era (since 1966) we have several coaches who have won 70 or more NFL games (regular season and playoffs) but have never made it to the Super Bowl. Topping that list is Marty Schottenheimer who had 205 career wins but never coached in the Super Bowl.
Following are the coaches with 70 or more wins who have never coached in the Super Bowl. (Note: Only coaches who coached a majority of their games in the Super Bowl era are included. George Halas (324), Curly Lambeau (229), Paul Brown (222), Steve Owen (153), Sid Gillman (123) and Buddy Parker (107) are just some of the coaches who never won a Super Bowl because there was not a Super Bowl for their teams to play in or during a major portion of their coaching careers.)
Coach, wins
Marty Schottenheimer, 205
Chuck Knox, 193
Jim Mora, 125
Norv Turner, 118
Dennis Green, 117
Don Coryell, 114
Ted Marchibroda, 89
Marvin Lewis, 88
Jack Pardee, 88
Bum Phillips, 86
Wade Phillips, 85
Dave Wannstedt, 84
John Robinson, 79
Steve Mariucci, 75
Jack Del Rio, 74
Pete Carroll, 72
There have also been a handful of coaches who have made it to the Super Bowl but never won the big game. In fact, there are seven coaches who have won 100 or more NFL games, have coached in the Super Bowl, but have never won a Super Bowl. They are: Dan Reeves (201 wins), Bud Grant (168 wins), Jeff Fisher (159 wins), Marv Levy (154 wins), Andy Reid (150 wins), George Allen (118 wins) and John Fox (111).
Washington Redskins are the new standard for 3-TD running backs
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Darrel Young had three rushing touchdowns for the Washington Redskins in their 30-24 overtime win over the San Diego Chargers on Sunday. It was the second time this season that the Redskins had a running back score three rushing TDs in a game (Roy Helu did it earlier in the year versus the Bears).
In fact, of the last five times that an NFL running back scored three or more TDs’ via the run in a game, the Redskins have done it three times… with three different running backs. Washington feature back Alfred Morris had three rushing scores in a 28-18 win over the Dallas Cowboys last season in the regular-season finale.
If we go back to 1970, there have been 362 times when a running back had three or more TDs via runs. Teams are 324-38 in those games, a .895 winning percentage. But for the Redskins, having a running back score three-plus TDs via runs has been a golden path to success. The Redskins have had 20 such games since 1970 and have won all 20!
For Young, Morris and Helu, it was the first career game for each with three rushing touchdowns. That’s 11 games fewer than the player who has the most games with three-plus rushing TDs, LaDainian Tomlinson. His 12 games are three more than Priest Holmes and Emmitt Smith.
Here are the running backs with the most games with three or more rushing TDs since 1970.
12: LaDainian Tomlinson
9: Priest Holmes, Emmitt Smith
8: Marshall Faulk
6: Shaun Alexander, Marcus Allen, Earl Campbell, Joe Morris, Barry Sanders
5: Eric Dickerson, Edgerrin James, Walter Payton, Adrian Peterson
For Tomlinson, his team was a perfect 12-0 in those games when he had three or more rushing TDs.
One final note: The last player to score three or more rushing touchdowns in a loss was Chicago’s Matt Forte on October 20. If you haven’t guessed it already, that game was played against the Redskins.
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Are we nearing the end of the 30-carry running back in an NFL game?
Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ is a sports statistics blog published with a focus on stats that go beyond the numbers.
Philadelphia Eagles running back LeSean McCoy in Week One was a big part of the success enjoyed by his team as they stunned the Washington Redskins 33-27. McCoy amassed 184 yards on 31 carries. McCoy’s 31 carries was the first time a Philadelphia running back had 30-plus rushing attempts in a game since McCoy had 30 in an October30, 2011 contest against Dallas.
What’s interesting about McCoy’s stat line was the 31 carries. Not only did he have the most carries by a running back in Week One, but he was the only running back to have 30 or more rushing attempts. Week Two had no runners with 30-plus carries, and based on stats from the past several seasons, the 30-carry running back may become extinct. (Obviously the greater focus on the passing-game has been a major factor in teams not running a back 30 or more times in a game. That’s a topic for another time.)
Last season there were only nine games where a running back had 30-plus carries in a contest. Kansas City’s Jamaal Charles and Vikings’ running back Adrian Peterson both did it twice last season. The nine games was the lowest this century.
Going back to 2000, a game with a runner carrying the ball 30 or more times was more frequent. Here’s a quick look at the number of 30-plus carry games each season since 2000.
2012: 9
2011: 11
2010: 11
2009: 12
2008: 11
2007: 18
2006: 26
2005: 22
2004: 44 (most in a season since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970)
2003: 36
2002: 26
2001: 23
2000: 34
The nine games last season was the lowest number of 30-carry games in the NFL since 1990 when there was only eight. Looking at stats from 1970 to today (1970 was the first year of the AFL-NFL merger) the decade of the seventies saw an average of 7.7 games with one running back carrying the ball 30-plus times in a game; in the 1980s, the average went up to 16.4 games per season; in the 1990’s the average increased again to 19.1 games per season; in the first decade of this century, that average skyrocketed to 25.2 games per season. Over the last three seasons (2010-2012) the average plummeted to an average of only 10.3 games per season.
As mentioned above, this was the first 30-carry rusher for the Eagles since 2011. The Miami Dolphins, have the league’s longest drought when it comes to a runner with 30-plus carries. The last time Miami handed the ball to one back 30 or more times was in a game in 2003 when Ricky Williams carried it 31 times against Dallas.
Following is the last time each NFL team had one runner with 30 or more carries in a game.
Last season with a 30-carry runner in a game
2003: Miami
2004: Detroit, New England, New Orleans
2005: Dallas, Indianapolis
2006: Arizona, San Diego
2007: Chicago, Tampa Bay
2008: Green Bay, St. Louis
2009: Carolina
2010: Atlanta, Baltimore, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Tennessee
2011: Cleveland, Houston, Jacksonville, San Francisco, Seattle
2012: Denver, Kansas City, Minnesota, New York Giants, New York Jets, Oakland, Washington
2013: Philadelphia
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99 Stats Until Kickoff (#92) When was the last time your team won a divisional title?
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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.)
Of the eight NFL teams that won divisional titles this season, six of them also won that division title in 2011. The two teams that went to the top of their division this year (but not in 2011) were the Atlanta Falcons and Washington Redskins.
The Falcons last won the NFC South in 2010. For the Redskins, this past season’s divisional title was a long time coming. The Redskins last won a division in 1999; that drought was tied for the fourth longest in the league.
Back in 2002, the NFL went to the current four divisions in each of the two conferences format. Of the 32 NFL teams, 28 have now won at least one division title since ’02. The four that are still looking for their first division championship this century are: Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit and Jacksonville. Browns‘ fans have been waiting the longest as their team has not won a division championship since 1989.
Following is a look at when each NFL team last won a division title.
Year of last division title, team(s)
1989: Cleveland
1993: Detroit
1995: Buffalo
1999: Jacksonville
2002: N.Y. Jets, Oakland
2003: St. Louis
2007: Tampa Bay
2008: Carolina, Miami, Tennessee
2009: Arizona, Cincinnati, Dallas, Minnesota, San Diego,
2010: Chicago, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Seattle
2011: New Orleans, N.Y Giants
2012: Atlanta, Baltimore, Denver, Green Bay, Houston, New England, San Francisco, Washington
“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.
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