NFL Week 5 - What to Watch For

by John Bena on Oct 9, 2009 6:30 PM MDT in 2009 Game Previews Comment 9 comments

DOMINANT DENVER D: The Denver Broncos have compiled a 4-0 record under rookie head coach JOSH MCDANIELS. Their offense has been helped immeasurably by the team’s tough defense. Through four games, the Broncos’ defense has yielded 26 points (6.5 per game).

The fewest points allowed through the first five games of a season since 1970:

TEAM	YEAR	POINTS ALLOWED	PTS. ALLOWED PER GAME
Atlanta	1977	22	4.4
Baltimore	1971	24	4.8
Indianapolis	2005	29	5.8
Denver	1977	33	6.6
Minnesota	1970	36	7.2
Chicago	2006	36	7.2

*Denver*	*2009*	26*	6.5*
* Through four games

-- NFL --

20TH CENTURY BRONCO: With one catch this Sunday against New England, wide receiver EDDIE ROYAL will become the seventh player, and third wide receiver, in NFL history to reach 100 career receptions in 20 or fewer games, tying for the third-fastest on the all-time list. In his first 19 career games, Royal has 99 receptions.

The fewest games to reach 100 receptions in NFL history:

PLAYER	NO. OF GAMES
WR Anquan Boldin, Arizona	16
RB Reggie Bush, New Orleans	19
WR Terry Glenn, New England	20
TE Keith Jackson, Philadelphia	20
TE Jeremy Shockey, N.Y. Giants	20
TE Kellen Winslow, Cleveland	20

*WR Eddie Royal, Denver*	19*
* 99 career receptions

TURN AROUND: History shows that a losing record at this point in the season does not negate a team’s chances of making the playoffs.

Since the current playoff system (12 teams) was instituted in 1990, 22 teams have rebounded from a losing record through a season’s first four weeks to qualify for the postseason.

Four of those clubs advanced to their conference championship games, including the 2001 New England Patriots (1-3) en route to their Super Bowl XXXVI victory.

Since 1990, teams that started 1-3 or worse and made the playoffs:

YEAR	TEAM (RECORD)	ADVANCED TO:
1990	New Orleans (1-3)	Wild Card Playoffs
1990	Philadelphia (1-3)	Wild Card Playoffs
1991	NY Jets (1-3)	Wild Card Playoffs
1992	San Diego (0-4)	Divisional Playoffs
1993	Green Bay (1-3)	Divisional Playoffs
1993	Houston (1-3)	Divisional Playoffs
1995	Detroit (1-3)	Wild Card Playoffs
1995	Philadelphia (1-3)	Divisional Playoffs
1996	Dallas (1-3)	Divisional Playoffs
1996	Jacksonville (1-3)	Championship Game
1997	NY Giants (1-3)	Wild Card Playoffs
1998	Buffalo (1-3)	Wild Card Playoffs
2000	New Orleans (1-3)	Divisional Playoffs
2001	New England (1-3)	Won Super Bowl XXXVI
2002	Atlanta (1-3)	Divisional Playoffs
2002	Tennessee (1-3)	Championship Game
2002	NY Jets (1-3)	Divisional Playoffs
2002	Pittsburgh (1-3)	Divisional Playoffs
2004	Green Bay (1-3)	Wild Card Playoffs
2005	Chicago (1-3)	Divisional Playoffs
2007	San Diego (1-3)	Championship Game
2008	Minnesota (1-3)	Wild Card Playoffs

-- NFL --

NO PASSING FANCY: Through Week 4, teams with 300-yard passers have a combined record of 18-7 (.720). The 18 combined wins are the most in NFL history through the first four weeks of a season.

The highest winning percentages of teams with 300-yard passers over the first five weeks of a season (since 1970):

YEAR	RECORD	WIN PCT.
1976	6-1-0	.857
2001	15-4-0	.789
1974	1-0-1	.750
1987	10-5-0	.667
2008	15-8-0	.652

*2009*	18-7-0*	.720*
* Through Week 4

NIFTY FIFTY: Arizona Cardinals quarterback KURT WARNER has 49 300-yard passing games in his career. With 300 yards this week against the Texans, Warner can become the fifth quarterback in NFL history with 50 such games.

Warner, who has passed for 300 yards in 49 of 112 games (43.8 percent), can also become the fastest quarterback to reach the 50-game mark, surpassing DAN MARINO (176 games).

The most 300-yard passing games by a quarterback in NFL history:

PLAYER	300-YARD GAMES	GAMES PLAYED	PCT.	TEAM RECORD (WIN PCT.) IN 300-YARD GAMES
Dan Marino *	63	242	26.0	37-26 (.587)
Brett Favre **	56	277	20.2	37-19 (.660)
Peyton Manning **	51	180	28.3	30-21 (.588)
Dan Fouts *	51	181	28.2	26-25 (.510)
Warren Moon *	49	208	23.6	26-23 (.531)
Kurt Warner **	49	*112*	*43.8*	*30-19 (.612)*
* In Pro Football Hall of Fame; ** Active

Warner (12,953) also needs 47 yards to reach 13,000 passing yards as a Cardinal. He threw for 14,447 with the St. Louis Rams and would become just the second player in NFL history to throw for 13,000 yards with two different teams. Pro Football Hall of Famer FRAN TARKENTON, who threw for 33,098 yards with Minnesota and 13,905 with the New York Giants, is the only player to accomplish the feat.

-- NFL --

JOINING THE 40 CLUB: Minnesota Vikings quarterback BRETT FAVRE will celebrate his 40th birthday on Saturday, October 10. When the Vikings play St. Louis the next day, he can become the 12th 40-year-old quarterback to start an NFL game in the Super Bowl era (since 1966).

Only four quarterbacks have started at least 5 games after their 40th birthday since 1966:

PLAYER	STARTS	RECORD*	COMP.	ATT.	YARDS	TD	INT	RATING
Warren Moon	25	11-14	474	823	5,538	37	25	80.4
Vinny Testaverde	25	8-17	453	776	5,290	24	32	72.3
Doug Flutie	6	3-3	119	226	1,466	10	4	80.4
Len Dawson	5	1-4	93	140	1,095	5	4	90.0
* Record only applies to games started. All other statistics apply to all games played.

-- NFL --

PEYTON’S PLACE: With a passer rating of 100.0 or better this weekend against the Tennessee Titans in Week 5, Indianapolis Colts quarterback PEYTON MANNING can become the third quarterback in NFL history with 70 such games (minimum 14 attempts). The Colts have a record of 62-7 (.899) when Manning posts a 100+ passer rating, including 3-0 in 2009.

The most 100+ passer ratings games by a quarterback in NFL history (min. 14 attempts):

PLAYER	100+ RATING GAMES	TEAM RECORD (WIN PCT.) IN 100+ RATING GAMES
Brett Favre**	96	88-8 (.917)
Fran Tarkenton*	74	59-15 (.797)
Peyton Manning**	69	*62-7 (.899)*
Dan Marino*	67	53-14 (.791)
Joe Montana*	62	59-3 (.952)
Steve Young*	62	54-8 (.871)
* In Pro Football Hall of Fame; ** Active

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Comments

First

:) Hijacked by Texan. Mwahahahah. Good game last week, btw.

God Bless Texas

by dwarfknight64 on Oct 9, 2009 6:32 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Those are some interesting stats

Hopefully the Broncos can keep up the low-scoring defense. However the Pats will be a tough test. GO Royal, get more than one catch and I would love to see one of those in the endzone.

2009 NBA Champions L.A Lakers
2009 NBA Finals MVP Kobe Bryant

by weazel on Oct 9, 2009 7:59 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Warner

I already thought he was a HOF’er. This seals it in my mind.

by Hobnail_Boot on Oct 9, 2009 8:18 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Gonna be hard to argue against it when he finally hangs it up.

Good QB, good citizen. I love the guy.

Don't argue with fools. It's how they reproduce.

by TheMastermind on Oct 9, 2009 10:04 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Did anybody else catch the OTL piece about McDaniels today?

Great piece on growing up the son of a coach and the ups and downs of being a High School QB on a powerhouse team.

by ELGee on Oct 9, 2009 9:59 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Something tells me...

This is the week the O needs to start clicking. The D has been phenomenal through 4 games but it’s going to be near impossible to keep the Pats off the board. We need to see improvement on 3rd down and in the RZ this week.

Got my fingers crossed.

Don't argue with fools. It's how they reproduce.

by TheMastermind on Oct 9, 2009 10:02 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Bena, could you are someone else at MHR please list the inactives before each Bronco game? I always have a hard time finding this info out and ESPN is not reliable. Last week, ESPN listed DJ Williams as inactive vs Dallas. I don’t think Roy Williams would agree with that.

Thanks.

Love the Broncos. Mike Nolan is a genius.

by McGeorge on Oct 10, 2009 6:46 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Royal Underutilized...

He’ll be lucky to get one catch. Orton just isn’t looking at him. His progression goes from the first option (usually Stokely or Gaffney, maybe Marshall now that he’s out of the doghouse), directly to the dump-off to the RB or TE. Royal will be lucky to get 25-30 receptions this year…

by Merlin Scott on Oct 10, 2009 9:36 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs