The 7 Most Important Stats From Week 14 in the NFL

The Denver Broncos snapped an 8-game losing streak by shutting out the Jets, 23-0, and recorded their 1st shutout since 2005. In 2005, the Broncos also shut out the Jets, winning 27-0.

Ben Roethisberger became the first QB in NFL history to top 500 yards passing three times in his career with Sunday’s heroic effort against the Ravens. Roethlisberger threw for 506 yards (on 66 pass attempts!) and two TDs in the comeback win over the Ravens. After talking about retirement last offseason, Roethlisberger is on the cusp of having his best season since 2014.

Let’s check in on Blake Bortles and see how his December is going through eight quarters: 4 TDs, 0 INTs, 71 percent completions and a passer rating of 121.5. It’s a tiny sample size, and one of those games was against the hapless Colts, but the other was against the Seahawks. Both games were at home. The Jaguars are 9-4 and a 3-0 finish to the season would mean the #3 seed in the AFC playoffs.

The puzzling struggles of Marcus Mariota continue. He went from 19 TDs and 10 INTs in year one to an impressive 26-10 in his second year. A breakout was expected this year, especially after the addition of 1st round pick Corey Davis. Yet Mariota has regressed. After two more interceptions in a loss to Arizona Sunday, Mariota is at 10 TDs and 14 INTs this season, and he’s got a career-low QB rating of 76.9.

Russell Wilson set a record for most 4th quarter TD passes in a season when he tossed two late in a loss in Jacksonville. Wilson is certainly an MVP candidate, but that’s little solace to Seattle fans, who may have to deal with missing the playoffs for the 1st time since Wilson took over. Eli Manning previously held the 4th quarter TD record with 15, which happened in 2011.

Here’s how important Sean Lee is to the Cowboys defense: In his first game back he had 18 total tackles (most of any player in the NFL this weekend), and an interception in the 4th quarter to help ensure the Dallas win. Most importantly: The Cowboys defense gave up 0 points in the 2nd half. The Cowboys defense had been reeling in the 2nd half without Lee. Ezekiel Elliott is back in two weeks.

319

Philip Rivers passed for 319 yards in a 30-13 rout of the Redskins, but more importantly, the total pushed Rivers past Warren Moon into 9th place on the all-time list. With 49,444 career yards, Rivers has a shot at ending his career as high as 6th, topping John Elway (41,475).