A few facts numbers regarding Week 4 of the NFL season…
How surprised are we about the Buffalo Bills? Chan Gailey’s team has scored 13 offensive touchdowns and committed just 4 turnovers in 3 games in 2011. Last season, the Bills totaled 30 offensive touchdowns but committed 39 turnovers (31st in NFL) in 16 games. Gailey’s club leads the NFL with 113 points and has scored 34 or more points in each of their 3 games and is doing a much better job hanging onto the football…
Talk about commitment. The Raiders have totaled 30 or more attempts and 130 or more yards rushing in 4 straight games dating back to 2010. Oakland’s consistency when it comes to the ground game actually started last season under offensive coordinator Hue Jackson and has continued with Jackson as head coach. In the team’s last 19 games, the Raiders have totaled 25-plus attempts for 100 or more yards in 16 of those contests. And not surprisingly, Jackson’s team, led by explosive RB Darren McFadden, leads the NFL in rushing
(185.0 YPG)…
Mike McCarthy’s team has picked up where it left off in January and February on its way to a Super Bowl championship. And a big reason was the performance of a defense that remains opportunistic. Including playoffs, the Packers have forced 26 turnovers in their last 9 games (9-0), totaling 2 or more takeaways in 7 of those 9 contests. Green Bay has totaled 19 interceptions and recovered 7 fumbles during this stretch, and this week host a Broncos’ team that has coughed up the ball 7 times, 5 of those by QB Kyle Orton…
Only Giants’ QB Eli Manning has currently started more consecutive games in the league at quarterback than Chargers’ QB Philip Rivers, who has thrown 2 interceptions in 3 straight games. And while he’s far from the first quarterback to manage this less-than-scintillating feat, it marks the first time in Rivers’ 8-year career that he’s thrown multiple INTs in 3 consecutive outings. More importantly, the Chargers are looking for a win over the Dolphins this week which would raise their record to 3-1, their best start since going 14-2 in 2006…
Only 5 teams in the NFL history, the 1981 Jets, ‘82 Buccaneers, ‘92 Chargers, ‘95 Lions and ‘98 Bills have reached playoffs after starting 0-3 or worse. Tampa Bay managed the feat in a 9-game strike-shortened season, finishing 5-4 enroute to a loss to the Cowboys in the Super Bowl tournament. Worth noting are the 1992 Chargers, who are not only the lone team on this list to open 0-4 and reach the postseason but the only one of the 5 to win a playoff game, defeating the Chiefs in the Wild Card round before losing at Miami in the Divisional Playoffs…
