It’s was a strange weekend, from undefeated teams going down, to threats at WWE in Atlanta to the Mafia telling ISIS, NYC is their turf and to stay away – it all leaves us with more questions then answers and first off, is this: How does the #NFL concussion protocol fail Case Keenum? So Let’s Get It On with the 9 things we need to know, (h/t Elias Sports Bureau).
1
Famous Jameis and the Return of the Muscle-Hamster
Doug Martin ran for 235 yards, the highest single-game total in the NFL in the last three seasons. But he had to share the headlines with Jameis Winston, who threw five touchdowns passes in the Buccaneers’ 45-17 win at Philadelphia. Winston tied the record for TD passes in a game by a rookie, set by Ray Buivid of the Bears in 1937 and tied only once previously, by Matthew Stafford in 2009.
The last player to gain as much rushing yardage in one game as Martin was Martin himself, with a 251-yard performance at Oakland in 2012. He fell 2 yards short of the highest rushing-yards total by a player who didn’t score a touchdown in the game. Barry Sanders gained 237 rushing yards without scoring in Detroit’s victory over the Bucs in 1994.
There was only one other game in NFL history in which a player rushed for at least 200 yards and a teammate threw five or more TD passes. Jamal Lewis gained 216 rushing yards and Derek Anderson threw five scoring passes for the Browns in a 51-45 win over the Bengals in 2007. What it means is Tampa might be relevant again at 5-5.
2
For Chiefs – The Last 3 weeks Has Been the Playoffs
One week after routing the Broncos, 29-13, at Denver, the Chiefs posted their biggest win at San Diego in 47 years, defeating the Chargers, 33-3. Kansas City’s last victory at San Diego by at least 30 points was a 40-3 win in 1968. In that game, Len Dawson threw three touchdown passes and the Chiefs made a team-record seven interceptions.
But Kansas City’s performance over the last two weeks deserves more than a comparison only to the team’s own history. It marks the first time since 1992 that any team NFL won consecutive games, both on the road against division opponents and both by a margin of 16 points or more. The last team to do so was San Diego, with road victories against the Raiders (36-14) and Seahawks (31-14) in December 1992. Would anyone be shocked if the Chiefs finished 10-6 and and beat up the AFC South champ in a wild-card game?
3
Panthers Troll Washington
A question for Redskins fans: How long have you rooted for your team? Because unless you saw Sammy Baugh play, you never saw a Redskins game that started as explosively as Sunday’s, in which each team scored two touchdowns in the first quarter. It was the first such game in Carolina’s 21-year history in the league, and it was the Redskins’ first since a 45-35 loss to the Giants in 1949 in which Baugh threw a pair of early TD passes to Hugh Taylor. The Redskins kept Cam Newton out of the end zone on Sunday, but Newton threw five touchdown passes in the Panthers’ 44-16 victory. Newton, who scored six TDs in Carolina’s first nine games this season, is only the third player in NFL history with five or more touchdown passes in a game and at least five rushing TDs in that same season. Yes, it’s a bit tortured, but there’s a payoff for fans who enjoy a bit of NFL history in Elias Says. The first player to do so was Dandy Don Meredith with the Cowboys in 1966; in fact, he had two games with five TD passes that season. The other was Steve McNair of the Titans in 1999.
4
With Romo, The Cowboys are Undefeated
Tony Romo passed for 227 yards and two touchdowns as the Cowboys snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 24-14 win at Miami. The Cowboys’ losing streak coincided with the seven games that Romo missed with a broken left collarbone. Dallas has won the last seven regular-season games that Romo has started and lost the last nine that Romo missed.
But don’t overlook the contribution of Darren McFadden, who rushed for 129 yards. Romo has a 23-8 record as a starting quarterback when a teammate has gained at least 100 rushing yards.