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Friday, September 25, 2009

Week 3 NFL Primer

SLIMMEST OF MARGINS: Since 2005, the NFL has played six primetime games in the first two weeks of the season. In 2009, these games have been closer than ever. The margin of victory in the six primetime games to date is only 3.3 points per game (20 total points), by far the slimmest margin in the past five years. All six games were decided by six points or fewer. The next closest margin is 9.2 points per game (2005).

Close games have been a theme for the league overall after two weeks of play, as 15 of the 32 games have been decided by six points or fewer, the second highest total in league history (17 in 2000).

-- NFL --
DOWN BUT NOT OUT: History shows that 0-2 teams advance to the playoffs more often than people might think. Since the current playoff format was instituted in 1990, 22 teams started 0-2 and still qualified for the postseason.

The 1993 Dallas Cowboys started 0-2 before winning Super Bowl XXVIII. The 0-2 New England Patriots of 1996 played in Super Bowl XXXI, and in 2001, the 0-2 Patriots won Super Bowl XXXVI. Most recently, the 2007 New York Giants started 0-2 before winning Super Bowl XLII.

Following are the 0-2 teams since 1990 to qualify for the playoffs:

YEAR
TEAM (WINLESS START)
ADVANCED TO:
1990
Houston Oilers (0-2)
Wild Card Playoffs

Philadelphia Eagles (0-2)
Wild Card Playoffs

New Orleans Saints (0-2)
Wild Card Playoffs
1991
Atlanta Falcons (0-2)
Wild Card Playoffs
1992
San Diego Chargers (0-4)
Divisional Playoffs
1993
Pittsburgh Steelers (0-2)
Wild Card Playoffs

Dallas Cowboys (0-2)
Won Super Bowl XXVIII
1994
New England Patriots (0-2)
Wild Card Playoffs
1995
Detroit Lions (0-3)
Wild Card Playoffs
1996
New England Patriots (0-2)
Lost Super Bowl XXXI
1998
Arizona Cardinals (0-2)
Divisional Playoffs

Buffalo Bills (0-3)
Wild Card Playoffs

New York Jets (0-2)
Championship Game
2001
New England Patriots (0-2)
Won Super Bowl XXXVI
2002
Atlanta Falcons (0-2)
Divisional Playoffs

Pittsburgh Steelers (0-2)
Divisional Playoffs
2003
Philadelphia Eagles (0-2)
Championship Game
2006
Kansas City Chiefs (0-2)
Wild Card Playoffs
2007
New York Giants (0-2)
Won Super Bowl XLII
2008
Miami Dolphins (0-2)
Wild Card Playoffs

Minnesota Vikings (0-2)
Wild Card Playoffs

San Diego Chargers (0-2)
Divisional Playoffs

-- NFL --
MVP MATCHUP: Super Bowl XLI MVP and reigning AP NFL MVP PEYTON MANNING (three-time winner; 2003-04, 2008) of the Indianapolis Colts will face Super Bowl XXXIV MVP and two-time AP NFL MVP KURT WARNER (1999, 2001) of the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday night. It marks the first-ever meeting of multiple-regular-season MVP and Super Bowl MVP quarterbacks in NFL history. This game will also mark just the fourth instance of multiple-MVP quarterbacks facing off in NFL history.

The meetings between multiple-MVP quarterbacks:

DATE
MATCHUP
RESULT
11/1/98
Green Bay Packers (Brett Favre) vs. San Francisco 49ers (Steve Young)
Packers 36, 49ers 22
10/3/04
Green Bay Packers (Brett Favre) vs. New York Giants (Kurt Warner)
Giants 14, Packers 7
9/28/08
New York Jets (Brett Favre) vs. Arizona Cardinals (Kurt Warner)
Jets 56, Cardinals 35
9/27/09
Indianapolis Colts (Peyton Manning) vs. Arizona Cardinals (Kurt Warner)
???

-- NFL --
EL REY DE NUEVA YORK: With a win on Sunday against Tennessee, New York Jets rookie quarterback MARK SANCHEZ would become the first rookie quarterback to start and win his team’s first three games of a season. Sanchez is only the fourth quarterback in the past 40 years to win his first two starts of a season, and the second in as many years (JOE FLACCO, Baltimore).

The rookie quarterbacks to win their team’s first two games in a season:

YEAR
PLAYER, TEAM
THIRD GAME AS STARTER
OVERALL RECORD AS ROOKIE STARTER
1983
John Elway, Denver
L 13-10 vs. Philadelphia
4-6
1998
Ryan Leaf, San Diego
L 23-7 at Kansas City
3-6
2008
Joe Flacco, Baltimore
L 23-20 at Pittsburgh (OT)
11-5
2009
Mark Sanchez, New York Jets
???
???

The Jets are seeking their second consecutive win against Tennessee, who started 10-0 in 2008 until the Jets earned a 34-13 win at LP Field in Week 12.

This meeting will mark just the fifth game since 1970 in which a club that handed a 10-0 or better team its first defeat of a season will face them again in the subsequent season:

TEAM, RECORD
WINNNING TEAM IN PREVIOUS SEASON’S MATCHUP
RESULT IN NEXT MEETING
1969 Los Angeles Rams, 11-0
Minnesota
10/26/1970: Minnesota 13, L.A. Rams 3
1990 San Francisco, 10-0
Los Angeles Rams
11/25/1991: San Francisco 33, L.A. Rams 10
1990 New York Giants, 10-0
Philadelphia
11/04/1991: Philadelphia 30, N.Y. Giants 7
1991 Washington, 11-0
Dallas
09/07/1992: Dallas 23, Washington 10
2008 Tennessee, 10-0
New York Jets
09/27/2009: ???

-- NFL --

UNDRAFTED BUT NOT UNDERAPPRECIATED: Pittsburgh Steelers running back WILLIE PARKER went undrafted out of North Carolina but has rushed for over 5,000 yards, good for third in Steelers’ history. With 84 rushing yards at Cincinnati on Sunday, Parker will move into third-place all-time among undrafted NFL rushers. Pro Football Hall of Famer JOE PERRY is the all-time leader in rushing yards for an undrafted player with 8,378 yards.

The most rushing yards for an undrafted player in NFL history:

PLAYER, TEAM(S)
CAREER RUSHING YARDS
Joe Perry, San Francisco-Baltimore
8,378
Priest Holmes, Baltimore-Kansas City
8,172
Clem Daniels, Dallas-Oakland-San Francisco
5,138
Willie Parker, Pittsburgh
5,055*
Paul Lowe, Los Angeles-San Diego-Kansas City
4,995
* Active
-- NFL --

HINES CATCH-UP: Steelers wide receiver HINES WARD (9,940) needs 60 receiving yards on Sunday to join the exclusive 10,000 receiving yards club. Ward, who has 814 career receptions, would become just the 21st player in NFL history to record 800 receptions and 10,000 receiving yards in a career.

-- NFL --
ODOM-ETER HITS 7: Cincinnati Bengals defensive end ANTWAN ODOM leads the league in sacks with seven, powered by a two-sack effort on Kickoff Weekend against the Broncos and a franchise-record five-sack output in Green Bay. Odom needs 1.5 sacks on Sunday against the Steelers to set the NFL record for most sacks through a team’s first three games of a season. The Bengals franchise record for sacks in a season is 13 (EDDIE EDWARDS, 1983).

YEAR
PLAYER (TEAM)
SACKS THROUGH TEAM’S FIRST THREE GAMES
1984
Mark Gastineau, New York Jets
8.0
1983
Bill Gay, Detroit
7.5
1996
Michael Sinclair, Seattle
7.0
1998
Derrick Thomas, Kansas City
7.0
1998
Kevin Greene, Carolina
7.0
2009
Antwan Odom, Cincinnati
7.0*
* Through two games

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