The 10 Most Important Stats From Week 9 in the NFL
By Jason McIntyre
5: Touchdowns by Cleveland-area natives Travis Kelce (Westlake, 2) and Kareem Hunt (Elyria, 3) in the win over the Browns. It’salmost like Andy Reid wanted to get them the ball in a return home.
7: The Miami Dolphins won an NFL game with just seven first downs. They totaled just 168 yards against the Jets in a pathetic effort. Only 3.1 yards per play! But Sam Darnold was terrible, throwing four INTs.
7.5: Something feels different about this Chargers team, which went into Seattle and averaged 7.5 yards per play in holding on for a 25-17 win. The Chargers won through the air (124 yards receiving for Keenan Allen) and on the ground (Melvin Gordon 113 rushing yards) but strangely didn’t score offensively in the 2nd half.
10: Times Matt Stafford of the Lions was sacked by the Vikings defense in a 24-9 loss. The Vikings defense has certainly improved of late – they were better than the score indicated against the Saints – but watching all 10 sacks, the Lions line is indeed a disgrace.
19: The Miami Dolphins have the longest streak in the NFL of games without scoring a touchdown on their opening drive. An Avery Williamson sack of Brock Osweiler ended Miami’s opening drive Sunday, and they’ve now gone 19 straight games without a TD to start the game. Adam Gase, do better.
19: Alvin Kamara tied a season-high with 19 carries in the 45-35 win over the Rams. Last year, Kamara had 0 games with 13+ carries. This year, he’s had six, and the Saints are 6-0 in those games. Kamara rushed for 82 yards and caught 34 yards worth of passes, and scored three times.
62: Sorry, I can’t get over the fact that Vance Joseph forced a 62-yard field goal in the final minute of the 1st half, leaving :20 on the clock for the Texans to capitalize on the miss, and get three points. Of course, Denver lost by two, and the same kicker – Brandon McManus – missed a 52-yarder for the win at the buzzer, when Joseph got conservative once the Broncos got to a 50-yard attempt.
76.9: The Falcons were 10-for-13 on 3rd down in a surprisingly easy 38-14 triumph over the Redskins. The Falcons started the game 8-for-8 on 3rd down. The Redskins came into the game 9th best in the NFL in 3rd down defense (36 percent).
211: Receiving yards by Michael Thomas of the Saints in a victory of the previously unbeaten Rams. One note: While Thomas did a lot of damage against Marcus Peters, he’ll likely go up against Aqib Talib – who was out injured Sunday – in a rematch in January.
76: Cam Newton completed a season-best 76 percent of his passes in a 42-28 win over the Bucs. Newton is playing as well as he did during his MVP season, completing 66 percent of his passes. During this 3-game winning streak, Newton has 6 TDs and 0 INTs.