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AFC/NFC NOTES
AFC'S BEST RECORD UP FOR GRABS IN WEEK 7
In a rematch of last season's AFC Divisional Playoffs, the Baltimore Ravens (5-1) travel to face the Houston Texans (5-1) at Reliant Stadium on Sunday (CBS, 1:00 PM ET) with the AFC's best record on the line.
"You look at both of these teams' records and they both only have one loss," says NFL Network analyst HEATH EVANS. "It's still early in the season, but home-field advantage for the postseason can weigh heavily on these games."
Ravens head coach JOHN HARBAUGH, who can record his 50th career regular season win (49-21, .700) on Sunday, says regardless of the stakes, the focus is to take one game at a time.
"We're going to go play a game," says Harbaugh. "It's going to count at the end, and it's going to matter on our record and it's going to matter on their record when it all comes down at the end. You add them up as you go."
Through Week 6, the Ravens and Texans have identical records, but the two teams are similar in other key statistical categories. Here are a few notable statistical comparisons between the two clubs:
SOLID QB PLAY: Quarterbacks JOE FLACCOof Baltimore and MATT SCHAUB of Houston sit atop their club record books in career passing yards and touchdowns and most importantly share a common thread related to winning. Flacco and Schaub rank second and fourth respectively among starting quarterbacks with the highest winning percentage since 2011 (minimum 10 starts).
The highest winning percentage among starting quarterbacks since 2011 (minimum 10 starts):
PLAYER
TEAM
RECORD
WIN PCT.
Aaron Rodgers
Green Bay Packers
17-4
.810
Joe Flacco
Baltimore Ravens
17-5
.773
Alex Smith
San Francisco 49ers
17-5
.773
Matt Schaub
Houston Texans
12-4
.750
Jay Cutler
Chicago Bears
11-4
.733
-- AFC --
PRODUCTION OUT OF THE BACKFIELD: All-Star running backs ARIAN FOSTER of the Texans and RAY RICE of the Ravens are complete backs that make an impact in the rushing and passing game. Since 2010, Foster (134.1) and Rice (120.0) rank first and second in the NFL for the most scrimmage yards per game.
Most scrimmage yards per game in the NFL since 2010:
PLAYER
TEAM
SCRIMMAGE YARDS PER GAME
Arian Foster
Houston Texans
134.1
Ray Rice
Baltimore Ravens
120.0
Maurice Jones-Drew
Jacksonville Jaguars
117.6
Jamaal Charles
Kansas City Chiefs
114.3
Darren McFadden
Oakland Raiders
113.7
-- AFC --
GAME-CHANGERS ON "D": The Ravens and Texans defenses set the tone by limiting opponents in points, pressuring the passer and takeaways. Since 2011, the two clubs rank in the top five in fewest points allowed per game, sacks and best turnover ratio among AFC teams.
The fewest points per game allowed among AFC teams since 2011:
TEAM
FEWEST POINTS PER GAME ALLOWED
Pittsburgh Steelers
16.3
Baltimore Ravens
17.5
Houston Texans
17.9
Miami Dolphins
19.6
Cleveland Browns
21.4
The most sacks among AFC teams since 2011:
TEAM
MOST SACKS
Cincinnati Bengals
65
Houston Texans
61
Miami Dolphins
59
Denver Broncos
59
Baltimore Ravens
58
The best turnover ratio among AFC teams since 2011:
TEAM
BEST TURNOVER RATIO
New England Patriots
27
Houston Texans
* 12*
Baltimore Ravens
* 9*
Jacksonville Jaguars
3
Cleveland Browns
2
#
DOWN TO THE WIRE: FANTASTIC FINISHES HIGHLIGHT NFL SEASON
24 GAMES IN WHICH WINNING POINTS SCORED IN FINAL TWO MINUTES OR OT,
*MOST THROUGH WEEK 6 IN ANY SEASON SINCE MERGER
The first six weeks of the NFL season have been filled with exciting games and last-second heroics. Game-winning scores that turn a defeat into a victory highlight the unpredictability of the National Football League.
"A lot of real close, competitive games come down to the last possession, the last play or one key play right at the end of the game," says New England Patriots head coach BILL BELICHICK. "The league is very competitive all the way across the board."
This season, there have been 24 games in which the winning points were scored in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime.
That is the most through Week 6 in any season since the 1970 merger.
WEEK
GAME
GW SCORE
WEEK
GAME
GW SCORE
1
VIKINGS 26, Jaguars 23
FG, 11:06 OT
3
Jaguars 22, COLTS 17
TD, 0:45 4th
1
LIONS 27, Rams 23
TD, 0:10 4th
4
CARDINALS 24, Dolphins 21
FG, 8:29 OT
1
Eagles 17, BROWNS 16
TD, 1:18 4th
4
Redskins 24, BUCCANEERS 22
FG, 0:03 4th
2
COLTS 23, Vikings 20
FG, 0:08 4th
4
FALCONS 30, Panthers 28
FG, 0:05 4th
2
GIANTS 41, Buccaneers 34
TD, 0:31 4th
4
EAGLES 19, Giants 17
FG, 1:49 4th
2
EAGLES 24, Ravens 23
TD, 1:55 4th
5
STEELERS 16, Eagles 14
FG, 0:00 4th
3
Jets 23, DOLPHINS 20
FG, 6:04 OT
5
COLTS 30, Packers 27
TD, 0:35 4th
3
Chiefs 27, SAINTS 24
FG, 6:27 OT
6
Lions 26, EAGLES 23
FG, 11:00 OT
3
TITANS 44, Lions 41
FG, 10:36 OT
6
Bills 19, CARDINALS 16
FG, 11:10 OT
3
RAIDERS 34, Steelers 31
FG, 0:00 4th
6
TITANS 26, Steelers 23
FG, 0:00 4th
3
RAVENS 31, Patriots 30
FG, 0:00 4th
6
FALCONS 23, Raiders 20
FG, 0:01 4th
3
SEAHAWKS 14, Packers 12
TD, 0:00 4th
6
SEAHAWKS 24, Patriots 23
TD, 1:18 4th
Of those 24 games, seven have been decided in overtime and 10 have seen the winning points scored in the final 10 seconds of the fourth quarter.
"The game's played for 60 minutes and you have to be able to play all 60," says Detroit Lions head coach JIM SCHWARTZ. "The attitude is to just play your best for four quarters. This is the NFL. You're never going to have every single play go right for you."
The Atlanta Falcons, who have the NFL's best record at 6-0, have won two games this season with game-winning scores in the final five seconds of regulation (Weeks 4 and 6). Quarterback MATT RYAN has led Atlanta to 19 game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime, the most by a quarterback in his first five seasons in the Super Bowl era.
"You've got to have a sense of calm," says Ryan. "Obviously you don't want to be in those situations and you want to play better in the first three or four quarters, but that's the nature of the NFL. There are going to be a lot of games that will come down to what you do on the last drive. We've been in those situations many times before. So everybody is comfortable, confident and, in a certain way, settled. We know what we need to do and we just go out there and try and do it. Having the experience that we've had in the past helps us in those situations."
In each of the first six weeks, there have been at least two games in which the winning points were scored in the final two minutes or overtime. There were seven such games in Week 3 and five more in Week 6. In fact, Week 3 was only the second week in NFL history (Week 6, 1995) in which seven games had the winning points scored in the final minute of the fourth quarter or overtime.
"That's a typical NFL finish," said Jacksonville head coach MIKE MULARKEY after the Jaguars scored on an 80-yard touchdown pass with 45 seconds remaining to defeat Indianapolis in Week 3. "Great throw, great catch, great call by (offensive coordinator) BOB BRATKOWSKI."
Jacksonville's victory – highlighted by BLAINE GABBERT's 80-yard touchdown to CECIL SHORTS in the final minute of play – is one of eight this season in which the winning points were scored via touchdown in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter. And five of those eight game-winning touchdowns came in the final 45 seconds of regulation.
WEEK
GAME
GAME-WINNING TOUCHDOWN
1
LIONS 27, Rams 23
Kevin Smith, 5-yard pass from Matthew Stafford, 0:10 4th
1
Eagles 17, BROWNS 16
Clay Harbor, 4-yard pass from Michael Vick, 1:18 4th
2
GIANTS 41, Buccaneers 34
Andre Brown, 2-yard run, 0:31 4th
2
EAGLES 24, Ravens 23
Michael Vick, 1-yard run, 1:55 4th
3
SEAHAWKS 14, Packers 12
Golden Tate, 24-yard pass from Russell Wilson, 0:00 4th
3
Jaguars 22, COLTS 17
Cecil Shorts, 80-yard pass from Blaine Gabbert, 0:45 4th
5
COLTS 30, Packers 27
Reggie Wayne, 4-yard pass from Andrew Luck, 0:35 4th
6
SEAHAWKS 24, Patriots 23
Sidney Rice, 46-yard pass from Russell Wilson, 1:18 4th
Rookie quarterback RUSSELL WILSON of the Seattle Seahawks has thrown two of those touchdown passes and is the first rookie to throw two game-winning TD passes in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime since at least 1970.
"The biggest thing is staying in the now and just playing one play at a time," says Wilson. "Just trust your offensive scheme and make the plays when you get the opportunity. The key is to continue to stay focused on what we can control."
Six weeks into the season, the NFL has shown that anything is possible.
"The league's really wacky this year," says Bills safety JAIRUS BYRD, whose interception set up the game-winning field goal in Buffalo's 19-16 overtime win at Arizona last week. "Anything can happen."
