Monday Nuggets: Week 17
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.
Congratulations my man @DeMarcoMurray Great season lets win this game now.
— Emmitt Smith (@EmmittSmith22) December 28, 2014
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.
Cue the MVP chants... #TurnDownForWatt READ: http://t.co/h4ebExt0Eo pic.twitter.com/kciuRT6okA
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) December 29, 2014
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.
With that 11-yard completion, Tannehill broke Dan Marino’s 1994 franchise record for most completions in a season. pic.twitter.com/32VHQ1cNSe
— Mm Dlphns (@MiamiDolphins) December 28, 2014
Tannehill also became the first Miami player to throw for 4,000 yards since Marino in 1994.
With that 17-yard completion, QB @ryantannehill1 surpassed 4,000 passing yards for the season! #StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/rul6FO68BO
— Mm Dlphns (@MiamiDolphins) December 28, 2014
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.
RT to congratulate Andrew Luck on his new #Colts single season passing record! pic.twitter.com/quJ4fmMEX5
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) December 28, 2014
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.
Seahawks have gone 10 consecutive quarters without allowing a TD, 2nd-longest streak this season and longest for Seattle since 2004.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) December 29, 2014
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.
#Broncos single-season receiving yardage leaders: 1. @DemaryiusT (1,614 …) 2. @TheREALrodSmith (1,602 — 2000). pic.twitter.com/yDzYlTtBKz
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) December 28, 2014
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
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.
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.