10 Most Important Stats From Week 7 in the NFL
By Jason McIntyre
1: The Bucs scored their first rushing touchdown this season by a running back when Ronald Jones got to the end zone from 1-yard out in the 3rd quarter against the Browns. Tampa escaped in overtime.
4: Sacks against the 49ers by the best defensive player in the NFL, Aaron Donald. He also had six (!) tackles for loss. Poor CJ Beathard is going to have nightmares about Donald.
7: Adam Thielen became the first receiver in four years to have seven straight games with 100+ yards receiving when he torched the Jets Sunday. Thielen, who I called the best receiver in the NFL last week, finished with 110 yards. Demaryius Thomas was the last to accomplish the feat in seven straight games, in 2014.
10: Since his heroic 4-TD, 376-yard performance in a win over the Patriots in Week 2, Blake Bortles has thrown five interceptions, and fumbled five times. He was benched Sunday and will have to win his starting job back this week.
13: Games this season that have been determined on the final play of the game. Tampa’s 26-23 win over the Browns was decided on a 59-yarder at the end of overtime. I won’t add Cowboys/Redskins to this list, but the missed 52-yard field goal could have forced overtime.
15: Andrew Luck has thrown 15 TD passes in the last four weeks, and that’s more TD passes than the Cardinals (5), Titans (5), and Bills (3) have combined this season.
17: The Panthers trailed the Eagles 17-0 in the 4th quarter on the road. And then Cam Newton, who could muster no offense for three quarters, erupted for three long TD drives, including the game-winner with 1:22 left. Newton finished 25-of-39 for 269 yards and 2 TDs.
33: Yards rushing from Ezekiel Elliot on 15 carries against the Redskins. Their run defense is quite good. It held Christian McCaffrey to 20 yards on eight carries two weeks ago.
158: The number of rushing yards for Kerryon Johnson of the Lions in their 32-24 road win in Miami. Johnson did get 71 of those yards in one carry, but he’s got two 100-yard games already this season. They hadn’t had one of those in over four years.
354: For the first time in 354 games, the Patriots had a blocked punt for a touchdown. It came against the Bears. New England’s special teams were very special in Chicago, scoring 14 points. And the Patriots won, 38-31.