Monday Nuggets: Week 17

History Published on : 12/29/2014
The Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Mission is to: Honor the Heroes of the Game, Preserve its History, Promote its Values & Celebrate Excellence EVERYWHERE. We found many samples from Week 17 that align with our Mission, Vision, and Values!

Cam Newton Keeps On Running

Cam Newton led the Carolina Panthers to a division-clinching NFC South victory over the Atlanta Falcons yesterday. The win was bolstered by the quarterback’s 61 yards on the ground. Newton’s season-long total of 537 rushing yards joins him with Michael Vick and Randall Cunningham (6 each) as the only quarterbacks with four 500-plus yard seasons.


Cam Newton 500-Yard Seasons
Year Team No. Yds Avg. TD
2011 Carolina 126 706 5.6 14
2012 Carolina 127 741 5.8 8
2013 Carolina 111 585 5.3 6
2014 Carolina 103 539 5.2 5
 
Michael Vick 500-Yard Seasons
Year Team No. Yds Avg. TD
2002 Atlanta 113 777 6.9 8
2004 Atlanta 120 902 7.5 3
2005 Atlanta 102 597 5.9 6
2006 Atlanta 123 1,039 8.4 2
2010 Philadelphia 100 676 6.8 9
2011 Philadelphia 76 589 7.8 1
 
Randall Cunninham 500-Yard Seasons
Year Team No. Yds Avg. TD
1986 Philadelphia 66 540 8.2 5
1987 Philadelphia 76 505 6.6 3
1988 Philadelphia 93 624 6.7 6
1989 Philadelphia 104 621 6.0 4
1990 Philadelphia 118 942 8.0 5
1992 Philadelphia 87 549 6.3 5



Dallas Duo Makes History

DeMarco Murray of the Dallas Cowboys finished his tremendous season with 100 yards rushing during a 44-17 win over the Washington Redskins. Murray's 1,845 rushing yards on the season surpassed Gold Jacket Emmitt Smith’s franchise mark of 1,773 set in 1995.



Team Single Season Rushing Record Holders>>>

Dez Bryant also etched his name is the Dallas record book. The wide receiver caught scoring passes of 65 and 23 yards to give him 16 touchdown receptions on the season, breaking Terrell Owens' team record of 15 set in 2007.

Most TD Receptions in Cowboys History
No. Player TDs Year
1 Dez Bryant 16 2014
2 Terrell Owens 15 2007
3 Frank Clarke 14 1962
4T Bob Hayes 13 1966
4T Terrell Owens 13 2006
4T Dez Bryant 13 2013



20-Sack Efforts

J.J. Watt became the first player in NFL history to log 20 or more sacks in two different seasons. The defensive end had three sacks (one of which was a safety) during the Houston Texans’ 23-17 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars and finished the regular season with 20.5 QB takedowns.


Watt is looking to become the first defensive player to win NFL Most Valuable Player since Lawrence Taylor did it in 1986. His sack total along with 79 combined tackles, four forced fumbles, five fumble recoveries (two for TDs), one interception, and three TD receptions may do the trick.


A great as Watt’s sack total was, he didn’t even lead the league in the category. Kansas City Chiefs linebacker
Justin Houston took home that honor. The fourth-year veteran out of Georgia had four sacks during the Chiefs 19-7 win over the San Diego Chargers. His season-long total of 22.0 not only set a team record, but is the second highest total in NFL history. 

20 or More Sacks in a Season
Rank Player Team Year No.
1 Michael Strahan N.Y. Giants 2001 22.5
2T Jared Allen Minnesota 2011 22.0
2T Mark Gastineau N.Y. Jets 1984 22.0
2T Justin Houston Kansas City 2014 22.0
5T Reggie White Philadelphia 1987 21.0
5T Chris Doleman Minnesota 1989 21.0
7T Lawrence Taylor N.Y. Giants 1986 20.5
7T J.J. Watt Houston 2012 20.5
7T J.J. Watt Houston 2014 20.5
10T Derrick Thomas Kansas City 1990 20.0
10T DeMarcus Ware Dallas 2008 20.0



Perfect Smith

Jets QB Geno Smith led New York to a 37-24 victory against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. Smith went 20 of 25 for 358 yards and 3 touchdowns for a perfect passer rating of 158.3. He became the first and only QB this season to achieve a perfect single-game rating.



Tannehill breaks Gold Jacket Records

Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill’s statistics have increased each year since he was selected in the first round by the franchise in the 2012 NFL Draft. The Dolphins QB finished the season with 392 completions for 4,045 yards and 12 touchdowns. In doing so, he broke some franchise records held by a Gold Jacket.
Tannehill also became the first Miami player to throw for 4,000 yards since Marino in 1994.


Luck on the Rise

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck finished the regular season on a high note with a 27-10 win over the Tennessee Titans. Luck secured a winning record and playoff berth for the third straight year. He has never failed to reach the playoffs since entering the league in 2012.

Luck ended the season with 4,761 passing yards and 40 TDs, the most of any QB this year. He topped Peyton Manning's franchise record of 4,700 yards passing set in 2010.
Luck also became only the eighth quarterback in NFL history to throw 40 TDs and at least 4,000 yards in a season.

The former first overall pick has amassed 12,957 passing yards, the most of any NFL player in his first three seasons, and 86 TD passes, which ranks second only to Gold Jacket Dan Marino (98) for the most in a player’s first three years.


Seattle Defense

The Seattle Seahawks clinched the NFC West and homefield advantage throughout the playoffs after their 20-6 win against the St. Louis Rams. The team’s defense has played a large part in their recent success. They became the first team since the 1969-71 Vikings to lead the NFL in scoring defense in three straight seasons, finishing the season by giving up 15.9 points per game.


Thomas on Top

Denver Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas had a career year. He hauled in 8 passes for 115 yards in the team’s 47-14 stomping of the Oakland Raiders to finish the season with a franchise record 1,619 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns. His receiving yard total topped Rod Smith's franchise record of 1,602 yards set in 2000.




Most Receiving Yards in Broncos History
No. Player Yards Year
1 Demaryius Thomas 1,619 2014
2 Rod Smith 1,602 2000
3 Brandon Lloyd 1,448 2010
4 Demaryius Thomas 1,434 2012
5 Demaryius Thomas 1,430 2013
6 Rod Smith 1,343 2001
7 Brandon Marshall 1,325 2007

Archived Weeks: 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1

Previous Article

Team-by-Team single-season rushing leaders

DeMarco Murray topped all runners in 2014 with 1,845 rushing yards which also established a new Cowboys single-season rushing mark. Here is a team-by-team look at season rushing record holders.
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Rodgers' 700/25,000 Club Jersey

Aaron Rodgers' jersey from when he became the fastest quarterback to reach 25,000 career passing yards in the fewest attempts.