THANKFUL FOR CLOSE GAMES, ELECTRIFYING PLAYERS,
NFL GAINING MOMENTUM FOR STRETCH RUN
The National Football League is thankful for many things. Thrilling games decided in the final minutes and players with gleaming futures making significant contributions in the present are high on that list.
Through 11 weeks, only one other season in NFL history has produced more games within one score (eight points or fewer) in the fourth quarter. And, through 11 weeks, only two other prior years have produced more games decided by one score.
| MOST GAMES WITHIN EIGHT POINTS IN FOURTH QUARTER, THROUGH 11 WEEKS, NFL HISTORY | MOST GAMES DECIDED BY EIGHT POINTS OR FEWER, THROUGH 11 WEEKS, NFL HISTORY | |||
| 2016 | 123 | 2016 | 96 | |
| 2020 | 114 | 2015 | 89 | |
| 2013 | 114 | 2020 | 87 | |
| 2007 | 113 | 2019 | 86 | |
| 2004 | 113 | 2018 | 86 | |
| 1988 | 86 |
RARIFIED AIR: When the NEW ORLEANS SAINTS travel to play the DENVER BRONCOS on Sunday at Empower Field at Mile High (4:05 PM ET, FOX), Saints quarterback TAYSOM HILL can continue a unique climb within an exclusive group.
- Making his first NFL start at quarterback last week, Hill passed for 233 yards, rushed for 51 yards and had two rushing touchdowns.
- Pro Football Hall of Famer PAUL HORNUNG entered the NFL as the first-overall selection in the 1957 draft. Among those who began their careers since Hornung joined the league, Hill is one of only 10 players with at least 500 career rushing yards, 300 career passing yards and 300 career receiving yards.
The players with at least 500 career rushing yards, 300 career passing yards and 300 career receiving yards, among those that entered the league since 1957:
| PLAYER | YEARS | PASS YARDS | RUSH YARDS | REC. YARDS |
| Taysom Hill | 2017-20 | 438 | 589 | 312 |
| Terrelle Pryor | 2011-18 | 1,994 | 646 | 1,563 |
| Kordell Stewart | 1995-2005 | 14,746 | 2,874 | 658 |
| Walter PaytonHOF | 1975-87 | 331 | 16,726 | 4,538 |
| Dan Reeves | 1965-72 | 359 | 1,888 | 1,483 |
| Dick Hoak | 1961-70 | 414 | 1,858 | 818 |
| Paul Lowe | 1960-69 | 326 | 4,995 | 1,045 |
| Tom Moore | 1960-67 | 383 | 2,445 | 1,152 |
| John David Crow | 1958-68 | 759 | 4,963 | 3,699 |
| Paul HornungHOF | 1957-66 | 383 | 3,711 | 1,480 |
- Last week, New Orleans wide receiver MICHAEL THOMAS had nine receptions for 104 yards while running back ALVIN KAMARA rushed for 45 yards and a touchdown in the Saints’ 24-9 win over Atlanta.
- Thomas has 489 career receptions and surpassed JARVIS LANDRY (481) for the most receptions by a player in his first five seasons in NFL history.
- Kamara has 531 rushing yards and 648 receiving yards this season and is the first player with at least 500 rushing yards and 500 receiving yards in each of his first four seasons in NFL history. He is also the sixth running back with four-or-more consecutive seasons with at least 500 rushing yards and 500 receiving yards in the Super Bowl era (1966-2020).
FIRST PLACE ON THE LINE IN INDY: The TENNESSEE TITANS and INDIANAPOLIS COLTS, both 7-3 and tied atop the AFC South, meet in a key showdown on Sunday (1:00 PM ET, CBS). It’s the teams’ second meeting in three weeks. In Week 10 on Thursday Night Football, Indianapolis defeated Tennessee, 34-17, as running back NYHEIM HINES totaled two touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving). Last week, each team won an overtime thriller.
- In that win last week, the Colts overcame a 14-point deficit to defeat Green Bay, 34-31, in overtime. This season in the NFL, there have been 12 games in which a team has overcome a deficit of at least 14 points to win, tied with the 1996 and 1979 seasons for the third-most such games through Week 11 in NFL history. Only the 1987 (15 games) and 2011 (14) seasons had more.
- The Titans, meanwhile, overcame an 11-point deficit to defeat Baltimore, 30-24, in overtime. This season, there have been 33 games in which a team has overcome a deficit of at least 10 points to win, the most through Week 11 in NFL history.
- Tennessee running back DERRICK HENRY rushed for 133 yards, including the game-winning 29-yard touchdown in overtime, last week. He leads the NFL with 1,079 rushing yards this season.
- Henry, who also registered a 5-yard overtime touchdown run in Week 6, is the first player with multiple overtime rushing touchdowns in a single season in NFL history.
- This season, the Titans have won an NFL-high five games in which they’ve scored the game-deciding points in either overtime or the last two minutes of regulation. Through the season’s first 11 weeks, the league has produced 28 games – or 2.54 per week – in which the winning team earned the deciding points in either the final two minutes of regulation or overtime.
The games in which the deciding points were scored in the final two minutes of regulation or overtime this season:
| WEEK | RESULT | PLAY | TIME | QTR | WEEK | RESULT | PLAY | TIME | QTR | |
| 1 | Chi 27, Det 23 | TD pass | 1:54 | 4 | 6 | Ten 42, Hou 36 | TD run | 6:30 | OT | |
| 1 | Ten 16, Den 14 | FG | 0:17 | 4 | 7 | Ari 37, Sea 34 | FG | 0:15 | OT | |
| 2 | Dal 40, Atl 39 | FG | 0:00 | 4 | 7 | Cle 37, Cin 34 | TD pass | 0:11 | 4 | |
| 2 | KC 23, LAC 20 | FG | 1:55 | OT | 7 | Det 23, Atl 22 | TD pass | 0:00 | 4 | |
| 2 | Ten 33, Jax 30 | FG | 1:36 | 4 | 7 | Phi 22, NYG 21 | TD pass | 0:40 | 4 | |
| 3 | Buf 35, LAR 32 | TD pass | 0:15 | 4 | 8 | Den 31, LAC 30 | TD pass | 0:00 | 4 | |
| 3 | Chi 30, Atl 26 | TD pass | 1:53 | 4 | 8 | NO 26, Chi 23 | FG | 1:36 | OT | |
| 3 | Det 26, Ari 23 | FG | 0:00 | 4 | 9 | NE 30, NYJ 27 | FG | 0:00 | 4 | |
| 3 | Sea 38, Dal 31 | TD pass | 1:47 | 4 | 10 | Ari 32, Buf 30 | TD pass | 0:02 | 4 | |
| 3 | Ten 31, Min 30 | FG | 1:44 | 4 | 10 | Det 30, Was 27 | FG | 0:00 | 4 | |
| 5 | Chi 20, TB 19 | FG | 1:13 | 4 | 11 | Dal 31, Min 28 | TD pass | 1:37 | 4 | |
| 5 | Dal 37, NYG 34 | FG | 0:00 | 4 | 11 | Ind 34, GB 31 | FG | 7:10 | OT | |
| 5 | NO 30, LAC 27 | FG | 5:08 | OT | 11 | KC 35, LV 31 | TD pass | 0:28 | 4 | |
| 5 | Sea 27, Min 26 | TD pass | 0:15 | 4 | 11 | Ten 30, Bal 24 | TD run | 5:21 | OT |
STRIKING DISTANCE: Through 11 weeks, 23 of 32 teams are either in first place or within three games of first place.
- In five of eight divisions – the AFC East, AFC South, NFC East, NFC South and NFC West – the gap between first and second place is no more than a game and a half.
BRADY-MAHOMES IV: Kansas City quarterback PATRICK MAHOMES leads the Chiefs against TOM BRADY and the Buccaneers on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium (4:25 PM ET, CBS). Including their 2018 AFC Championship contest, Mahomes and Brady are meeting for the fourth time, with Brady having won two of the three previous games, all with his former team, the Patriots.
- The Buccaneers are allowing the NFL’s fifth-fewest yards per game (310.5), while the Chiefs on offense are averaging 414.1 yards per game, second in the league.
- Kansas City is 5-0 in road games this season, tied with Pittsburgh for the best road record in the NFL. Chiefs head coach ANDY REID has the fifth-most wins (110) on the road in NFL history, including postseason.
The head coaches with the most wins on the road, including postseason, in NFL history:
| COACH | ROAD WINS |
| Don ShulaHOF | 148 |
| George HalasHOF | 138 |
| Bill Belichick | 128 |
| Tom LandryHOF | 119 |
| Andy Reid | 110 |
MEN OF STEEL: The PITTSBURGH STEELERS can clinch the first NFL playoff berth this week, needing a win plus a Miami loss or tie and a Las Vegas loss or tie (and assuming both the Dolphins and Raiders don’t tie). The 16th team since the 1970 league merger to begin a season 10-0, Pittsburgh hosts the BALTIMORE RAVENS on Thanksgiving night (8:20 PM ET, NBC). Over the past 50 seasons, only 11 teams have opened 11-0. Nine of those teams reached the Super Bowl, and five brought home the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
The teams that began a season 11-0 since 1970:
| YEAR | TEAM | RECORD | SEASON RESULT |
| 2015 | Carolina |
