NFL Week 5: The Numbers

One number from each game that stuck out above all others.

Bears v. Lions - 121.4 - Kyle Orton's passer rating. Two of the three times Orton has posted a passer rating over 100 have come against the Lions (Green Bay was the other). The game was also the first time Orton has completed more than 2/3 of his passes (70.6%) and his first 300 yard passing game (334). GM Matt Millen may be gone, but there is still plenty of work to be done in Detroit.

Falcons v. Packers - 14 - Potential point swing caused by Green bay penalties. Green Bay finished with nine penalties for 97 yards, but three were particularly costly. On the first drive of the game, Matt Ryan fumbled the ball on 3rd down at the Packer one yard-line. The Falcons recovered on the four, but instead of kicking a field goal, the play was nullified by an encroachment penalty, placing the Falcons back on the one (Atlanta wouldn't score the TD until choosing to go for it on 4th down, but it is the opinion of this writer that they would've kicked the FG had they been on the four on 4th down). After closing the gap to 10-7, the Packers again bailed out the Falcons. Facing a three and out, a pass interference call on 3rd down extended the Atlanta drive that culminated in their 2nd touchdown. On the next drive, Mason Crosby made a 43 yard field goal, but a holding call forced a 53-yard attempt, which Crosby then missed.

Chargers v. Dolphins - 4 - Average plays per drive for San Diego, excluding their fourteen play, 61 yard field goal drive to start the game. Miami dominated the time of possession by over thirteen minutes, with seven of the Chargers ten drives lasting two minutes or less. The Dolphins had seven that lasted 2:58 or longer, and five that went for at least 4:15. The Chargers also only converted one 3rd down after the initial drive.

Seahawks v. Giants - 6 - Consecutive scoring drives for New York to start the game, including every first half drive and their first of the second half. If the Giants got one point per score they still would've beaten Seattle 8-6.

Redskins v. Eagles - 26 - Difference in rushing attempts in favor of the Redskins (44 to 18). Despite trailing for two and half quarters, Washington stuck with the ground game pounding out a 145 yard advantage on the ground (203 to 58) resulting in a nearly ten minute advantage in time of possession. The effectiveness on the ground combined with QB Jason Campbell's efficiency allowed the Skins to drain the last 7:15 on the clock on the fourth quarter.

Chiefs v. Panthers - 2 - Times Kansas City got into Carolina territory, never getting into the red zone. Also, the number of offensive linemen the Panthers were missing, while still not giving up a sack. Two Rushing TD's for RB DeAngelo Williams after having zero through four games. Lastly, two was the number of home wins for Carolina last season, a number they passed by winning their third of the season at home on Sunday.

Titans v. Ravens - 15 (yards) - In a match-up between two of the NFL's best defenses, it was defensive penalties that played a role in four of the five scoring drives in the game. All told, there were 21 penalties for 169 yards with defensive penalties accounting for nearly 2/3 of the total. Baltimore was flagged for four personal fouls and Tennessee picked up three. Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs accounted for three penalties (31 total yards) including a critical roughing the passer called that kick started the Titans game-winning drive.

Colts v. Texans - 2:10 - The time for Indy to score 21 points, thanks to Texans QB Sage Rosenfels fumbling twice. Houston outplayed the Colts in virtually every area, including Rosenfels matching Peyton Manning in passing yards (235). This was the kind of loss that will have people walking into work still in a stupor, greeting each other by silently shaking their heads, at least until the annoying Cowboy fan shows up.

Buccaneers v. Broncos - 14 - More passing attempts than rushing for the Buccaneers. A week after Chiefs RB Larry Johnson racked up nearly 200 yards against the Broncos defense, Coach Jon Gruden decided to do things his way. Despite averaging 6.3 yards per carry during the game and having a quarterback with a sore shoulder, the Buccaneers routinely went back to the pass. The result was six points through three and a half quarters and a loss.

Bengals v. Cowboys - 4 - Drives for the Bengals started in Dallas territory, all of which resulted in points, but only one touchdown. Four was also the number of turnovers in the game, each which resulted in a significant momentum swing. Carson Palmer threw an INT on the first play from scrimmage that led to a quick Dallas TD. Up 17-3 QB Tony Romo was on his way to converting a third down when he fumbled setting up another Cincinnati FG. The Bengals closed the gap to 17-16 following another Romo turnover, this time an interception. On the following kickoff, the Bengals pulled off an onside kick, but three plays later RB Chris Perry put the ball on the ground. Two plays after that, a dagger TD pass for Dallas.

Bills v. Cardinals - 3 - Plays for Buffalo QB before getting knocked out with a concussion. 3 straight TD drives to start the game for the Cardinals (The Bills had given up fewer points to 3 of their first four opponents). The Bills started to find their stride in the second quarter, when they had their own streak of 3 scoring drives (2 TDs, 1 FG). Arizona responded with another 3 drive scoring streak in the second half. Buffalo also lost three fumbles on offense.

Patriots v. 49ers - 1 - 3rd down conversion for the 49ers (out of 9). As a result, San Fran had only 1 drive of more than 5 plays and New England controlled the game, having possession for 40 minutes.

Steelers v. Jaguars - 51 - More penalty yards against the Jaguars than they had rushing yards. I'm not sure the correlation, but I can't imagine this stat having a good one. The Jacksonville running backs were again ineffective behind their depleted offensive line, amounting for only 26 yards on 15 attempts or 1.7333 yards per carry. Pittsburgh had exactly 129 rushing and penalty yards.