A look at seven statistical highlights from games played at 1:00 p.m. ET and 4:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, December 13, the 14th week of the 2015 season.
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The CAROLINA PANTHERS defeated Atlanta 38-0 to improve to 13-0 for the first time in team history. The Panthers, who clinched the NFC South division title last week, secured a first-round bye with today’s victory.
Entering 2015, seven teams started a season 13-0 during the Super Bowl era. Of those seven clubs, all seven made the playoffs, five advanced to the Super Bowl and three of those teams won the Super Bowl.
The Panthers (NFC South, first-round bye) and ARIZONA CARDINALS(playoff spot), who defeated Minnesota 23-20 on Thursday night, are theonly two teams to clinch a playoff berth this season. The NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS can clinch a playoff spot with a win tonight against Houston.
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Seattle quarterback RUSSELL WILSON completed 23 of 32 passes (71.9 percent) for 292 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions for a 139.6 passer rating in the Seahawks’ 35-6 win at Baltimore. Wilson has passed for at least three touchdowns with no interceptions in four consecutive games, tied for the longest streak in NFL history with TOM BRADY (2007), PEYTON MANNING (2013-14) and AARON RODGERS (2014). Only Brady (17) had more touchdown passes than Wilson (16) during their respective streaks.
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Seattle rookie wide receiver TYLER LOCKETT had six catches for 104 yards and two touchdowns in the victory. He joins Pro Football Hall of Famer GALE SAYERS (1965) as the only rookies in NFL history to have at least five touchdown receptions, a kickoff-return touchdown and a punt-return touchdown.
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· New Orleans quarterback DREW BREES passed for 312 yards and two touchdowns in the Saints’ 24-17 win at Tampa Bay. Brees has 93 career 300-yard passing games, tied with PEYTON MANNING for the most in NFL history.
Brees has 421 career touchdown passes and surpassed Pro Football Hall of Famer DAN MARINO (420) for the fourth-most in NFL history.
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· Pittsburgh wide receiver ANTONIO BROWN had seven catches for 87 yards in the Steelers’ 33-20 win at Cincinnati. Brown, who ranks second in the NFL with 100 receptions this season, is the sixth player in NFL history with at least three consecutive 100-catch seasons.
Brown is the only player in NFL history with at least 100 receptions and a punt return-touchdown in multiple seasons and has done so in each of the past three seasons (2013-15). New England’s TROY BROWN (2001) and Cleveland’s ERIC METCALF (1995) are the only other players to accomplish the feat in one season.
Pittsburgh head coach MIKE TOMLIN improved his regular-season record to 90-51 since joining the Steelers in 2007. The Steelers are the only NFL franchise to have three head coaches with at least 90 career regular-season wins as Tomlin joins Pro Football Hall of Famer CHUCK NOLL (193) andBILL COWHER (149).
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· The KANSAS CITY CHIEFS defeated San Diego 10-3 and won their seventh consecutive game to improve to 8-5. The Chiefs, who had lost five games in a row before their current winning streak, are the second team in NFL history to win at least seven consecutive games immediately following a losing streak of at least five games (1970 Cincinnati Bengals).
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Kansas City quarterback ALEX SMITH passed for 191 yards with one touchdown and one interception, his first interception in his past 10 games. Prior to that interception, Smith had not thrown an interception in his previous 312 pass attempts, the second-longest streak in NFL history (TOM BRADY, 358 attempts).
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· The JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS defeated Indianapolis 51-16 and set the single-game franchise regular-season record for points scored (49 points vs. Oakland on December 23, 2007). Jacksonville, which scored 21 points in both the third and fourth quarter today, is the third team to score at least 21 points in both the third and fourth quarter of the same game since 1970 and the first to accomplish the feat since 2006 (San Diego on November 12, 2006 vs. Cincinnati).
Jacksonville quarterback BLAKE BORTLES passed for 250 yards and accounted for four touchdowns (three passing, one rushing) with no interceptions for a 114.6 passer rating against the Colts. Bortles, who is 23 years old, has a single-season franchise record 30 touchdown passes and has joined Pro Football Hall of Famer DAN MARINO, MATTHEW STAFFORD and DAUNTE CULPEPPER as the only players in NFL history with at least 30 touchdown passes in a season at age 23 or younger.
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· Tennessee rookie quarterback MARCUS MARIOTA had a 41-yard touchdown reception in the Titans’ loss at the New York Jets. Mariota, who has scored touchdowns of at least 40 yards via passing (long of 61 yards), rushing (long of 87 yards) and receiving (long of 41 yards) this year, is the first player to accomplish the feat in a single season since Pro Football Hall of Fame running back WALTER PAYTON in 1983.
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