SEVEN FROM SUNDAY – WEEK 13
A look at seven statistical highlights from games played at 1:00 p.m. ET and 4:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, December 6, the 13th week of the 2015 season.
· The CAROLINA PANTHERS defeated New Orleans 41-38 to improve to 12-0 for the first time in team history. The Panthers have clinched the NFC South division title and are the first team to qualify for the postseason.
Entering 2015, eight teams started a season 12-0 during the Super Bowl era. Of those eight clubs, all eight made the playoffs, six advanced to the Super Bowl and four of those teams won the Super Bowl.
· Arizona wide receiver LARRY FITZGERALD had eight catches in the Cardinals’ 27-3 win at St. Louis. Fitzgerald (1,000) is the 11th player in NFL history with 1,000 career receptions and became the youngest player all-time to reach the milestone (32 years, 97 days).
Cardinals rookie running back DAVID JOHNSON rushed for 99 yards and caught a touchdown pass in Arizona’s victory. Johnson joined Pro Football Hall of Famer GALE SAYERS as the only rookies in NFL history with at least four rushing touchdowns, four receiving touchdowns and a kick-return touchdown in a season.
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Seattle quarterback RUSSELL WILSON threw three touchdown passes without an interception and rushed for a TD in the Seahawks’ 38-7 win at Minnesota. Wilson has seven career games with a passing touchdown, a rushing touchdown and no interceptions. Only CAM NEWTON (12) has more such games in a player’s first four seasons to begin a career.
Seahawks rookie running back THOMAS RAWLS rushed for 101 yards and a touchdown in Seattle’s victory. Rawls (712) has the most rushing yards by an undrafted player in his first six career starts since the 1970 merger.
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Cincinnati quarterback ANDY DALTON passed for 220 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions for a career-best 146.8 passer rating in the Bengals’ 37-3 win at Cleveland. Dalton, who has 3,191 passing yards this season, joined PEYTON MANNING as the only players in NFL history with at least 3,000 passing yards in each of their first five NFL seasons.*
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· Tennessee rookie quarterback MARCUS MARIOTA passed for 268 yards with three touchdowns for a 118.2 passer rating and added 112 rushing yards with one touchdown in the Titans’ 42-39 win against Jacksonville. Mariota is the only player in NFL history to pass for at least 250 yards with three touchdowns and rush for more than 100 yards in the same game.
Mariota has four games this season with at least three touchdown passes, tying PEYTON MANNING (1998) for the most ever by an NFL rookie.
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· New York Jets wide receiver BRANDON MARSHALL had 12 catches for 131 yards and one touchdown in the Jets’ 23-20 overtime win against the New York Giants. Marshall, who leads the Jets with 1,062 receiving yards this season, is the first player in NFL history with a 1,000-yard receiving season with four different teams (Denver, Miami, Chicago and the Jets).
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Giants wide receiver ODELL BECKHAM JR. had six catches for 149 yards and a touchdown. Beckham has 169 career receptions and passed MARQUES COLSTON (168) for the most by a player in his first two seasons in NFL history. Beckham has eight career games with at least 140 receiving yards, the most ever by any player in his first two NFL seasons.
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· The PHILADELPHIA EAGLES returned a blocked punt for a touchdown (24 yards by NAJEE GOODE) and had a punt-return
touchdown (83 yards byDARREN SPROLES) in the team’s 35-28 win at New England. The Eagles are also the last team to accomplish
this feat in a single game (Week 4 of last season). Philadelphia’s BRAD SMITH scored off a blocked punt and Sproles had an 82-yard punt-return touchdown in that game against San Francisco on September 28, 2014.
Additionally, Eagles safety MALCOLM JENKINS had an interception-return touchdown in both games: 99 yards today and 53 yards in last year’s game.
