9 fun stats you missed in Week 8 of the NFL season
You're probably familiar with the big storylines from Week 8 of the NFL season. The Seahawks beat the Texans in one of the most entertaining and high-scoring games of the year. The Browns and Niners stayed winless. But there were plenty of interesting numbers and trends that you may have missed.
The league is on a record pace for games without a touchdown this season. And the Bills are off to a hot 5-2 start, but history suggests it still may end in heartbreak for Buffalo.
Deshaun Watson and Russell Wilson lit each other's defenses up for a combined 854 passing yards and eight touchdowns. And shocker, but the Browns may have some regrets about their choices at the quarterback position.
Here are all of the most intriguing stats and figures from this week.
20
On Sunday afternoon, the Texans and Seahawks decided to let loose like they were at a friend's wedding and the kids were staying overnight with their grandparents. Except, their version of this was scoring a lot of points in a frenzied back-and-forth battle.
The Seahawks' 41-38 win quickly became the highlight of the sports world — until Sunday night (well, really Monday morning) ended with the most outrageous World Series game we've ever seen.
We're still not really sure it's over? I mean, the box score says the Astros ultimately triumphed in the 10th with a 13-12 win, but if you told us they were still playing and at this point had outscored the Texans and Seahawks, we'd believe you.
Even if Game 5 REALLY ended and we're not in a fever dream, both teams still scored more runs than some NFL teams scored points this week (waves to 49ers, Bears, Bucs, and Dolphins).
And if you're not surprised by that, there's probably a reason: there have been A LOT of touchdown-less games so far this season.
Is this the result of better defense? Uncreative red zone play calls? A league-wide kicker conspiracy?
Let's just pretend it's the last one, a movement led by Lions kicker Matt Prater.
0
Poor Matthew Stafford. Poor, poor Matthew Stafford:
In some ways, the Lions outplayed the Steelers on Sunday Night Football. They had more total yards, more first downs, and won both the time of possession and turnover battles.
But they rolled over and died in the red zone, going 0-for-5 every time they even got a whiff of those freshly painted end zones. Matt Prater was perfect on his field goal attempts, hitting all five tries including a 51-yarder.
But settling for field goals isn't going to win you many games, unless you're playing the Browns. And the Steelers are not the Browns.
19 vs. 17
Speaking of the den of quarterback sadness, the Browns might have some regrets about the last two drafts:
You'd understand why a team that used first-round picks on Johnny Manziel, Brandon Weeden, Brady Quinn, and Tim Couch would be reticent to draft a quarterback that high again.
And blah blah hindsight 20/20 with Hugh Downs and Barbara Walters, we know.
BUUUUUUUUUT, woo boy did the Browns misjudge Wentz and Watson. For any team that wants to draft a quarterback in 2018, some advice: try like hell to trade up with the Browns.
11
At least something went right for the Browns Sunday, even though they fell to 0-8 and are guaranteed not to finish with a winning record again: They stuck with DeShone Kizer for the entire game. Not coincidentally, Kizer did not turn the ball over in a game for the first time all season.
Kizer still leads the NFL in interceptions, but now he's got some company:
In fairness to Newton, he's had some of the most unluckiest picks we've ever seen this year.
This isn't your fault, Cam:
And we think someone in the stands was performing a Professor Quirrell-ish curse here:
20
We don't talk often about the Los Angeles Chargers, because there hasn't been a lot of good there this season.
However, Joey Bosa is still great. By sacking Tom Brady on Sunday, Bosa now has the most sacks in his first 20 games than anyone in NFL history.
Bosa's career got off to a slow start, after he missed the first four games with a hamstring injury. But he still managed to finish the season with 10.5 sacks in the Chargers' 12 remaining games.
This season, Bosa has 8.5 sacks on the season. He's leading a Chargers defense that's been good at getting to the quarterback. Along with Bosa, Melvin Ingram also has 8.5 sacks, and Chris McCain has five.
But through 20 games, Bosa has proven to be a great pick by the Chargers. He's a piece they can build around.
6-2
Remember when the Patriots lost their home opener to the Chiefs and everyone thought it might be a down year for Bill Belichick's squad?
Now the Patriots are 6-2. The defense still ranks dead last in the league for passing yards allowed per game with 295.5. But they've tightened up the past couple of weeks against the Falcons and the Chargers.
Matt Ryan threw for 233 yards and one touchdown in garbage time against the Patriots. The Patriots held Philip Rivers to 212 yards and a touchdown.
The improvement on that side of the ball means the Patriots are exactly who we thought they were going to be coming into the season: contenders.
History suggests they might even repeat as Super Bowl champs.
7
Will Fuller and DeAndre Hopkins lead the NFL in receiving touchdowns with seven. Fuller has done his in much less time than Hopkins, after missing the first four games recovering from a broken collarbone.
Fuller has 13 total catches on the season, and with seven of those going for touchdowns, that's more than half. That pace obviously isn't going to stick, but even at that small sample size, it's impressive.
We already knew what DeAndre Hopkins was capable of, but for Fuller to show this type of promise in his second season has been an incredible help for Deshaun Watson, who seems like a lock to win rookie of the year at this point in the season.
5-2
The Bills are just a game behind the Patriots in the AFC East, and it's because they're winning at home. Buffalo hasn't lost a single game in New Era Stadium, and it added a win on the road over the Falcons to get to 5-2.
Buffalo also has the best turnover margin in the league, and it isn't close. Buffalo is sitting at +14, with 17 interceptions and forced fumbles against just three turnovers for the offense. The next best team is the Jaguars, who have a margin of +8.
It's safe for Bills fans to be cautiously optimistic, but with an emphasis on "cautiously." Since 1999, the Bills have jumped out to a 5-2 start twice.
In 2008, they won just two more games the rest of the season to finish 7-9. In 2011, they dropped their next seven in a row and finished 6-10.
400 and 4
The Seahawks' win over the Texans was one of the most entertaining games of the season so far. Russell Wilson and Deshaun Watson both went off for over 400 yards and four touchdowns each. They set records in the process.
This game was just the sixth time in NFL history that opposing quarterbacks threw for 400-plus yards and four touchdowns each, according to ESPN Stats and Info. When you factor in each quarterback's rushing yards, it's even better.
And Watson is now the only NFL quarterback in history to finish with over 400 passing yards, four touchdowns, and more than 55 rushing yards.
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