Tag: NFL record

Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce made NFL history in win vs. Bills

#Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce earned their place in NFL postseason history against the #Bills after linking up for two touchdowns.

The Kansas City Chiefs relied on the connection between Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce to score points against the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round of the AFC playoffs on Sunday night.

While the outcome of the matchup was ultimately decided after an untimely missed field goal by Bills kicker Tyler Bass in the game’s final minutes, the efforts of Mahomes and Kelce accounted for nearly half of Kansas City’s 27 points on offense.

Mahomes found Kelce in the end zone for two scores in the game, earning the pair a place in the NFL record books as the quarterback-receiver duo with the most postseason touchdown connections in league history with 16.

While the outcome of the game may be marred in the eyes of some fans because of Bass’ brutal miss, the unbelievable history made by Kansas City’s star quarterback-receiver tandem won’t be outdone any time soon.

This outstanding feat only took the dynamic pair six years to achieve, and with the AFC Championship Game on the horizon, Mahomes and Kelce may be destined to add to their totals.

The Commanders have allowed the most points in franchise history in 2023

The Commanders are closing on allowing 500 points for the season.

How bad are the Washington Commanders on defense in 2023?

Washington ranks No. 32 in scoring defense, allowing 30 points per game. The Commanders also rank No. 32 in total defense, allowing almost 386 yards per game. Finally, Washington is ranked 31st, allowing opponents to average 5.9 yards per play.

That defensive ineptitude left head coach Ron Rivera no choice but to fire defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio after losing 45-10 to the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving. It was quite the fall from grace for a defense that was a top-10 unit in every metric only one year ago. The Commanders were ranked even higher in some metrics.

In the offseason, Washington lost only injured linebacker Cole Holcomb and replaced him with Cody Barton. Additionally, the Commanders used first- and second-round picks on defensive backs.

Yet, somehow, the team is worse — historically worse. On a defense that featured six former first-round picks, the Commanders have the NFL’s worst defense. Washington’s defense was so bad that the team shipped out defensive ends Montez Sweat and Chase Young at the NFL trade deadline on Oct. 31.

Washington has allowed opponents to score 30 or more points in nine of its 16 games this season.

After the Commanders allowed 27 points in Sunday’s loss to the 49ers, they broke the franchise record for most points allowed in a season with 480. The previous record was established in 2013 when Washington allowed 478 points. That 2013 season was Mike Shanahan’s final season and another rock-bottom moment — there have been several — for the organization.

Amazingly, the five worst defensive seasons in Washington’s franchise history have all occurred in the last 10 years. The NFL expanded to 17 games in 2021, meaning the Commanders have one more game to become only the sixth team in NFL history to allow 500 or more points. Of the five teams that have allowed 500 points or more, only one (2021 Jets) has come since the NFL expanded to 17 games.

The 1981 Baltimore Colts allowed 533 points. The Commanders would need to give up 54 points to the Cowboys this weekend to break that record. Difficult, but not impossible. After all, Dallas is playing to win the NFC East.

What does Sam LaPorta need to enter the record books?

Sam LaPorta is on the verge of history across several categories. With some strong performances down the stretch he can capture it.

The Lions as a team are on the verge of their first playoff game since 2016, for their star rookie tight end he is on the verge of history. It is a team game, Dan Campbell won’t preach anything different nor would this roster, but you have to appreciate history when it happens.

LaPorta’s rookie season could end up having several records that shouldn’t be overlooked. He could capture the receiving touchdowns, receiving yards, and receptions records. It is not normal for a rookie tight end to come in and make an impact right away. This position more than most needs the NFL reps to really get antiquated but LaPorta has fast-tracked it.

For those records and more, fans need to know what numbers to root for. With three games left, here is where he stands and what he needs.

Giants nearing NFL’s all-time mark for sacks allowed

Although the New York Giants probably won’t get there, they are nearing the NFL’s all-time record for sacks allowed in a single season.

The New York Giants had high expectations entering the 2023 season with hopes of building on the success in their first year under Brian Daboll.

Instead, this season went south in a hurry. Despite injuries across the roster, the most glaring issue has been a subpar offensive line that’s allowing a historic number of sacks.

Though 14 games, the Giants have given up a franchise-record 76 sacks. New York quarterbacks have been sacked at least seven times in six games this season. They are the third-most sacked team in NFL history, two sacks shy of the second-most.

With three games remaining, it’s hard to imagine the Giants give up an additional 28 sacks to tie the record set by the 1986 Philadelphia Eagles (104).

They do have two games left against the Eagles, who have an elite pass rush and may want to shed their franchise from that embarrassing record.

While the Giants have invested heavy draft capital in the offensive line between Evan Neal (first round) and John Michael Schmitz (second round) over the last two years, clearly they still have work to do.

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Lions offensive rookies set a new NFL record for first-year production

Lions offensive rookies Jahmyr Gibbs and Sam LaPorta set a new NFL record for first-year production

Midway through the second quarter of the Week 14 game in Chicago, Lions rookie tight end Sam LaPorta hauled in a 13-yard reception. That catch pushed LaPorta over the 700-yard mark for the season and it also pushed the Lions into the NFL record book.

LaPorta and RB Jahmyr Gibbs became the first rookie tandem from those positions in NFL history to each gain 700 yards in a season. Gibbs also eclipsed the 700-yard mark earlier in the game with a 36-yard run.

Impressively, the dynamic Detroit duo pulled it off with over four games left to play.

T.J. Hockenson set an NFL record in the first half vs. Saints

Despite dealing with a painful rib injury, Hockenson managed to set an NFL record

Minnesota Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson has been an integral piece of the Vikings offense all season, and that was no different on Sunday against the Saints. In fact, he was even more a piece of the offense on Sunday than usual.

Hockenson became the first tight end in NFL history to have 10 or more receptions, 125 or more yards, and a touchdown in a single half with his first-half against the Saints.

It’s fair to say that Hockenson was everywhere on Sunday, and that he and new quarterback Josh Dobbs were able to build a significant rapport with each other over the week. Unfortunately, the success they had in the first half was not able to carry over to the second.

Despite the record-setting first half for Hockenson, he was held to only one reception for six yards in the second half. Still, both he and Dobbs would tell you that getting the win is more important than individual stats.

We’ll see what the record-setting tight end has in store for us next week when the Vikings face off against the Denver Broncos on Sunday Night Football.

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Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes accomplished rare feat with win vs. Vikings

#Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes joined elite company by accomplishing this rare feat against the #Vikings in Week 5.

By securing a victory against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes joined an elite list as one of just 10 signal-callers in NFL history to defeat 31 teams in his career. Unsurprisingly, Mahomes is the first quarterback to achieve the feat before the age of 30.

Wins in the NFL don’t come easy, and Mahomes has managed to find success against every opponent he has faced over the years, even if he has dropped a few games along the way. At present, the only team that Mahomes hasn’t bested is the Chiefs, who are sure to hope that they never join the list to give the reigning MVP a win over every franchise in the league.

With plenty of his career ahead of him, Mahomes can focus on doubling up on this herculean task, and beat every team once more to prove that this achievement in his 20s wasn’t a fluke.

Denver’s defense knocks the 2008 Lions from the worst ever through 4 games

It’s hard to imagine anyone being worse than the 2008 Lions defense, but the 2023 Broncos are off to an even worse start

The 2008 Detroit Lions have been the gold standard of suck for 15 years. No team has ever sported a worse defense than Rod Marinelli’s winless, witless Lions.

They started with a brutal opening four games, losing them all badly:

  • Falcons 34-21
  • Packers 48-25
  • 49ers 31-13
  • Bears 34-7

That’s 147 points allowed, an average of 36.8. They allowed 429 yards per game. It was awful.

Somehow, the Denver Broncos’ defense in 2023 has been even worse to start a season. After Week 4, they’ve allowed 150 points and an average of 461.5 yards.

The raw stats are bad for Denver, but the advanced metrics and analytics are even worse. How bad are they? They’re officially worse than the 2008 Lions, according to the DVOA metrics from Aaron Schatz.

 

DVOA measures a team’s defensive success based on the down-and-distance of each play and calculates how much more — or less — successful they are compared to all other teams. The higher the number, the worse the defense. And until now, no team had ever earned a higher number through four games than the 2008 Lions.

The 2023 Broncos do have a feather in their cap that Detroit never claimed back in 2008: a win. Denver rallied to beat the Chicago Bears 31-28 on Sunday.

The Dolphins matched a feat last accomplished by the championship Lions in 1957

It took 66 years for another team to do what the Lions accomplished in winning the 1957 NFL championship game

The Detroit Lions weren’t the only team to register an impressive win on Sunday. The Miami Dolphins pulled off a win over the Denver Broncos that matched a feat not seen since the last time the Lions captured the NFL championship.

It’s been since the Lions beat the Cleveland Browns back in 1957 that one team scored at least 14 points in all four quarters of a game, per OptaStats. Detroit did that in the 59-14 win in Briggs Stadium over the Browns back on December 27th, 1957. The Dolphins matched that feat in Week 3 in their 70-20 romp over Denver.

Miami scored 14, 21, 14 and 21 points in the four quarters. The Dolphins racked up over 700 yards of offense, dwarfing the championship Lions and their 438 back some 66 years ago.

Lions rookie TE Sam LaPorta continues to set new NFL landmarks

Detroit Lions rookie TE Sam LaPorta continues to make tremendous strides by rewriting NFL history at the tight end department

Throughout training camp, Sam LaPorta made noise as a potentially important cog in the Detroit Lions offense after he almost instantly connected with Jared Goff. Now, through three games in the 2023 season, LaPorta has shown that chemistry as a reliable target for Goff, which was evident in their 20-6 victory over the Atlanta Falcons this week.

LaPorta saw the second most targets today (11), only behind Amon-Ra St. Brown, catching eight of those for 84 yards while catching his first NFL touchdown. Not only has he shown to have reliable mitts, but he has been important in the run game as well, showing he is not afraid to throw his body into blocks, leading to big gains on the ground. He is the do-it-all tight end the Lions needed for their offense and fits in like a glove.

Now, everyone in the Lions world is quite aware of the importance LaPorta has brought to Detroit, but he is showing on a national scale the type of season he is having so far this season. Just last week, he set the NFL record for instant production by a rookie tight end by being the first tight end in NFL history to have 5+ catches in their first two games.

He continued setting records with his stellar performance against the Falcons. I’ll let the good people from the Lions PR show how big he has been for Detroit.

As you can see, the story writes itself. LaPorta is having a historic start not only for the Lions but also for rewriting NFL history in the tight end department. The chemistry is strong and seems in sync with Goff, a proven commodity in the running game, making him an indispensable player for the Lions and another cog in the strong young core the Lions have built this far in Detroit.

Also, here is a fun interaction between LaPorta and Goff concerning his touchdown today.