WHAT TO LOOK FOR– WEEK 12
THE 11-0 CLUB: With victories this week over Houston and New England, respectively, the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints can boost their records to 11-0. Prior to this season, 19 teams had posted 10-0 records, with 13 winning their 11th game. Of the 19, four finished the regular season undefeated and untied – the 1934 and 1942 Chicago Bears, 1972 Miami Dolphins and 2007 New England Patriots.
This marks the third consecutive season with at least one 10-0 team – the longest such streak in NFL history.
The 21 teams to start 10-0 and their final records:
|
TEAM |
FINAL RECORD |
OPPONENT & GAME NO. OF FIRST LOSS |
|
1929 Packers |
12-0-1 |
Undefeated season |
|
1934 Lions |
10-3-0 |
Packers (11) |
|
1934 Bears |
13-0-0 |
Undefeated season |
|
1942 Bears |
11-0-0 |
Undefeated season |
|
1953 Browns |
11-1-0 |
Eagles (12) |
|
1961 Chargers |
12-2-0 |
Oilers (12) |
|
1962 Packers |
13-1-0 |
Lions (11) |
|
1969 L.A. Rams |
11-3-0 |
Vikings (12) |
|
1972 Dolphins |
14-0-0 |
Undefeated Season |
|
1975 Vikings |
12-2-0 |
Redskins (11) |
|
1984 Dolphins |
14-2-0 |
Chargers (12) |
|
1985 Bears |
15-1-0 |
Dolphins (13) |
|
1990 Giants |
13-3-0 |
Eagles (11) |
|
1990 49ers |
14-2-0 |
L.A. Rams (11) |
|
1991 Redskins |
14-2-0 |
Cowboys (12) |
|
1998 Broncos |
14-2-0 |
Giants (14) |
|
2005 Colts |
14-2-0 |
Chargers (14) |
|
2007 Patriots |
16-0-0 |
Undefeated season |
|
2008 Titans |
13-3-0 |
N.Y. Jets (11) |
|
2009 Colts |
??? |
??? |
|
2009 Saints |
??? |
??? |
--NFL--
NO STRANGERS TO PERFECTION: The New England Patriots will face the undefeated New Orleans Saints (10-0) on Monday, two weeks after facing the undefeated Indianapolis Colts (8-0). It will mark only the fifth time since 1970 that a team has played two games against teams with records of 8-0 or better in the same season.
|
YEAR |
TEAM |
OPPONENTS |
|
1972 |
New England Patriots |
Miami* 8-0; Miami 11-0 |
|
1990 |
Los Angeles Rams |
NY Giants* 8-0; San Francisco 10-0 |
|
1998 |
San Diego Chargers |
Denver* 8-0; Denver 11-0 |
|
1998 |
Kansas City Chiefs |
Denver* 9-0; Denver 12-0 |
|
2009 |
New England Patriots |
Indianapolis 8-0; New Orleans 10-0 |
|
* Won Super Bowl |
--NFL—
BRADY THROWING 300 IN BUNCHES:
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has thrown for 300 yards in five consecutive games. With a 300-yard performance on Monday night against the Saints, Brady can tie Steve Young (1998), Kurt Warner (2000) and Rich Gannon (2002) for the most consecutive 300-yard passing games in NFL history.
The most consecutive 300-yard passing games in NFL history:
|
PLAYER, TEAM |
YEAR |
MOST CONSECUTIVE 300-YARD GAMES |
|
Steve Young, San Francisco |
1998 |
6 |
|
Kurt Warner, St. Louis |
2000 |
6 |
|
Rich Gannon, Oakland |
2002 |
6 |
| |
| |
|
Tom Brady, New England |
2009 |
5* |
|
* Active streak | | |
THE FAVRE FACTOR: Minnesota’s Brett Favre has thrown 21 touchdown passes this season versus only three interceptions. His seven-to-one touchdown-to-interception ratio is the second best in NFL history through a team’s first 10 games among passers with a minimum of 20 TD passes (Tom Brady, 2007, 9.5-to-1 ratio, 38 TDs vs. four INTs).
The record for touchdown-to-interception ratio through 11 games is also held by Brady from 2007 (9.7-to-1 ratio, 39 TDs, four INTs).
If he keeps up his current pace, Favre will record the best such ratio in a season in NFL history for quarterbacks with at least 20 touchdown passes. Only six quarterbacks have ever had a ratio above 4.0 (min. 20 TDs) in NFL history.
The quarterbacks all-time with a 4.0+ touchdown-to-interception ratio for an entire season with a minimum of 20 TD passes:
|
PLAYER |
TEAM |
YEAR |
TD/INT RATIO FOR SEASON |
|
Tom Brady |
New England |
2007 |
6.25 (50 TDs, 8 INTs) |
|
Steve DeBerg |
Kansas City |
1990 |
5.75 (23 TDs, 4 INTs) |
|
Peyton Manning |
Indianapolis |
2004 |
4.90 (49 TDs, 10 INTs) |
|
Steve Bartkowski |
Atlanta |
1983 |
4.40 (22 TDs, 5 INTs) |
|
Milt Plum |
Cleveland |
1960 |
4.20 (21 TDs. 5 INTs) |
|
Vinny Testaverde |
NY Jets |
1998 |
4.14 (29 TDs, 7 INTs) |
--NFL--
OWENS THE MOMENT:
Buffalo Bills wide receiver Terrell Owens will play in his 200th career game when he takes the field against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. Owens already ranks in the top three all-time in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns for a player in his first 200 career games. He can continue to climb those charts in Week 12.
The top five most receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns in a player’s first 200 career games:
|
PLAYER |
RECEPTIONS |
|
PLAYER |
REC. YARDS |
|
PLAYER |
REC. TDS |
|
Jerry Rice |
1,115 |
|
Jerry Rice |
17,334 |
|
Jerry Rice |
161 |
|
Marvin Harrison |
1,102 |
|
Terrell Owens* |
14,685 |
|
Randy Moss* |
143 |
|
Terrell Owens* |
986 |
|
Marvin Harrison |
14,580 |
|
Terrell Owens* |
141 |
|
Tony Gonzalez* |
968 |
|
Isaac Bruce* |
14,281 |
|
Marvin Harrison |
128 |
|
Isaac Bruce* |
948 |
|
Randy Moss* |
14,126 |
|
Cris Carter |
114 |
|
* Active |
|
|
|
|
Note: Owens has played 199 games; Moss has played 180 games; Harrison played 190 career games.
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