Just the Facts: Because who wants to read?

Cold, Hard Football Facts for Dec 29, 2011

Antonio Brown set a Pittsburgh franchise record for all purpose yards, compiling 2048 total yards, 1018 receiving, 989 returning, and 42 rushing.
The Packers have had one of the league’s top six scoring offenses in 14 of the last 19 seasons, and haven’t ranked in the bottom 10 once over that span.
Wes Welker is one of 18 players all time with 100+ catches and 1,500+ yards, Rob Gronkowski is one of three tight ends with 1,200+ yards and 10+ TDs, and Tom Brady is one of five QBs all time with 4,750+ yards and 35+ TDs.
The 49ers are being outgained by 52.4 yards a game through the air, but they’re +14.9 on the only passing stat that really matters: Passer Rating Differential.
Ray Rice needs 131 yards to hit the 2,000-yard mark in yards from scrimmage for the second time in his career; only 15 backs in history have done it more than once.
Dan Orlovsky led the Colts’ comeback win in Week 16; it was just the fifth time since 1980 the Colts took over in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter and scored a tying or game-winning touchdown on their way to victory.
The Steelers’ defense always gets mad after a loss. Dating back to the start of 2010, Pittsburgh has eight regular-season losses, and the game after (all wins), they’ve allowed 10, 21, 3, 3, 0, 17, 17 and 0 points (8.9 PPG).
Dallas was No. 22 on the Offensive Hog Index after Week 6; the Cowboys have climbed all the way up to No. 3.
Tom Brady passed Joe Montana with his 34^th game-winning drive.
Alex Smith tied Y.A. Tittle for the most fourth-quarter comebacks in a season by a San Francisco QB (5).
The Ravens are 8-0 at home for the first time ever.
In their last three games, the Broncos are -8 in turnover differential, and have managed just one takeaway since Andre Goodman's game clinching interception in the 4th quarter in Minneapolis on December 4th.
Andy Dalton’s 20^th touchdown pass of the season put him in rare company for rookies that threw at least 20: Peyton Manning (26), Charlie Conerly (22), Dan Marino (20) and Cam Newton (20).
Even with their recent slump, the Texans are in the top five in four key stats: turnover margin (fifth), point differential (fifth), passer rating differential (second) and yardage differential (second), and still rank No. 1 in our Quality Stats Power Rankings.
The Lions threw 16 touchdown passes in 2009, 26 in 2010, and have 36 thus far in 2011.
The Steelers’ 27-0 win over St. Louis was the second time this season that Pittsburgh has shutout an opponent without a takeaway. Only one other franchise has recorded two or more such games in their history (Indianapolis in 1971, 1992, and 2008),
Carolina is a remarkable 33-18 against the spread in December since 2000.
LeGarrette Blount will become the first starting running back in Tampa to average 4.2 yards per carry in consecutive seasons since Warrick Dunn's 1997 and 1998.
The Patriots under Bill Belichick are 25-3 straight up when double-digit favorites at home, but only 9-19 against the spread. In other words, take the Bills +11.5, but chalk up the No. 1 seed for New England.
The margin is awfully thin for the Bengals; they’re +1 in turnovers and an average of +5.3 yards per game. Not surprisingly, 13 of their 15 games have been decided by 10 points or fewer.
If big plays aren’t getting made in the passing game, it’s not getting done for the Giants. They don’t have a kick return, punt return or rush over 40 yards all season.
The Steelers have thrown for more net yards than their opponent in all 15 games this year.
With his eight points against the Chargers Saturday, Jason Hanson passed George Blanda and Matt Stover for No. 4 all-time (2,009 points).
The Falcons haven’t rushed for 100 yards in five straight games; this mirrored their 2010 season, which ended with five straight sub-100 efforts on the ground.
Michael Vick’s return to the lineup has come with one conspicuous change; he isn’t running. He averaged 59.4 yards and 7.2 carries before going out with an injury, but in the three games back he’s averaging 17 yards and 3.3 carries.
After 28 kick returns of at least 40 yards in his first five seasons, Josh Cribbs has only three in the last two seasons.
The Colts, Rams and Bucs don’t have a single top-10 rank in any of our Quality Stats.
The Cowboys have only played five games against Quality Opponents, fewest in the league; they’re 1-4 in those games.
Cam Newton is responsible for a lot of Carolina’s offensive improvement, but the Offensive Hogs have done more than their share; they were ranked No. 31 last year, and are all the way up to No. 2 this year.
Jason McCourty leads all NFL cornerbacks with 96 tackles; brother Devin of New England is fifth with 82.
Rookie RB Daniel Thomas of the Dolphins has the unpleasant distinction of having the most offensive touches (163) without a touchdown. The record: Marcel Shipp managed 258 touches without a score for Arizona in 2003.
The Chiefs have only allowed 12 more first downs then they’ve gotten (275-263), but have been doubled up in touchdowns (38-19).
Blaine Gabbert is struggling (64.3 rating), but has only committed 15 turnovers in his 13 starts (11 interceptions, four fumbles lost).
Reggie Wayne needs 113 yards in Week 17 to hit the 1,000-yard mark for the eighth straight season. He hasn’t missed a game since 2001.
Bucs offensive coordinator Greg Olson had an average of 18.4 PPG in stints with the Rams and Lions. With Tampa? 18.0 PPG.

By Jonathan Comey


Privacy guaranteed. We'll never share your info.