Research and Doug: The Cardinals are breaking records

Every week as part of my show prep (and because I’m genuinely interested), I read through as many research notes I can find.  Sometimes I research my own stats to see if there’s a statistical trend that backs up what I think I’m seeing when I watch games.  Unfortunately for my time-efficiency, occasionally those stats show me nothing and I throw them out.

Here are the stats (or interesting tidbits) from the NFL and college football that I’m using on the show this week.

1) The only two players in NFL history with four rushing touchdowns, four receiving touchdowns and a kick return for a touchdown during their rookie year are Hall-of-Famer Gale Sayers and David Johnson. — NFL press release

2) The Carolina Panthers are 12-0 and 75 percent of all 12-0 teams make the Super Bowl and 50 percent of them win it. — NFL press release

3) In the three home games the NFC West had against Arizona, Seattle, St. Louis and San Francisco converted two third downs, combined. — Me but I got the idea after reading the Cardinals press release

4) The only undrafted rookie to rush for 700 yards in his first six career starts is Seattle’s Thomas Rawls. — NFL press release

5) The Cardinals registered 300 more yards of offense than St. Louis and Ron Wolfley had a microphone. The last time it happened, Ron Wolfley had a separated shoulder and watched Arizona beat Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith at Sun Devil Stadium. — Cardinals press release and me

6) Of the 12 players with 1,000 receptions, Larry Fitzgerald was the youngest to reach the mark. — NFL press release

7) For the first time since before Spade and the “Young Crunk Behind the Glass” were born, the Cardinals have won 10 games a year for three straight years. — Cardinals press release

8) The Cardinals rushed for 157 yards between the tackles, the most the Rams defense has given up in three years. –ESPN Stats & Info

9) The 49ers went 85 straight game minutes over the course of three weeks without converting a third down. — Me

10) The first player to ever score a two-point conversion was a teammate of Ron Wolfley’s (Tom Tupa) and now the first defensive player to ever score a two-point conversion is Stephone Anthony. — Me

11) The only two quarterbacks in NFL history to throw for 3,000 yards every year for their first five years in the league are Peyton Manning and Andy Dalton. — NFL press release

12) Tom Brady and Bill Belichick have lost 15 home games in their last 15 years together. — Peter King’s MMQB

13) The Cardinals average 38.4 rushing yards per game more this year than last year. — Cardinals press release

14) Before Sunday, Blaine Gabbert’s last victory in a road game played outdoors was in college. — Fox broadcast

15) The Titans only home win this year is against Jacksonville, which is the same as last year. — Me

16) The Chargers have used seven starting lineups for their offensive line in 12 games. — CBS broadcast

17) This is the only season in the long history of the Cardinals franchise in which they’ve earned four wins by at least 24 points. –Cardinals press release

18) Marcus Mariota is the only player in NFL history to pass for at least 250 yards with three touchdowns and rush for more than 100 yards in the same game. — NFL press release

19) For every week in November and December, Arizona is the only team in the NFL that ranks in the top five in total offense (#1) and total defense (#4). — Cardinals press release and me

20) Brandon Marshall is the first player in NFL history with a 1,000-yard receiving season with four different teams (Denver, Miami, Chicago and the Jets). — NFL press release

21) The last two times an NFL team has returned an interception and a regular punt return for a touchdown, it was the Eagles with Darren Sproles returning the punt and Malcolm Jenkins returning the interception for a touchdown. — NFL press release

22) Arizona and New England are the only teams in the NFL that have posted a winning streak of at least six games in each of the last two seasons. — Cardinals press release

23) The Cardinals averaged 28 first downs in their three divisional road games. — Me but I got the idea after reading the Cardinals press release

24) Sixteen different Cardinals have scored a touchdown, which are the most in the NFL. — Cardinals press release

25) Larry Fitzgerald’s first catch and 1,000th catch were both in St. Louis. — Cardinals press release

26) Carson Palmer is two touchdown passes away from setting the single season Cardinals record. — Cardinals press release

27) Only one play from scrimmage in NFL history was longer on a “come-from-behind” touchdown than the Rodgers-to-Rodgers “Hail Mary.”— ESPN Stats & Info

28) The New York Giants have led at the two-minute warning in five of their losses this year. — CBS broadcast

29) The last time the Jets beat the Giants was before the birth of Jameis Winston. — ESPN Stats & Info

30) When Carson Palmer throws outside the numbers on the right side of the field, his touchdown-to-interception ratio is 9-to-zero. — ESPN Stats & Info

31) Carson Palmer has five 350-yard passing games this season, the most in the NFL. — ESPN Stats & Info

32) Against the Cardinals, Russell Wilson completed 43 percent of his passes for 240 yards with a touchdown and a pick. But since he’s completing 76.7 percent of his passes averaging 293 yards and an 11-to-0 touchdown-to-interception ratio. — me

33) In every Dolphins’ win, Lamar Miller has at least 13 carries. He has fewer than 13 in every Dolphins’ loss. — ESPN Stats & Info

34) When the Browns didn’t blitz, Andy Dalton completed 91 percent of his passes for 175 yards and two touchdowns. — ESPN Stats & Info

35) In weeks 1-12, Marcus Mariota scrambled for a total of 79 yards but in Week 13 he had an 87-yard scramble for a touchdown. — ESPN Stats & Info

36) Philip Rivers is 9th in the NFL with 23 TD passes to his team and first in the NFL with five TD passes to the other team. — ESPN Stats & Info and me

37) The Giants at Miami game may not sound exciting, but Monday Night Football has had seven straight weeks of one-possession victories, which is the most in its history. — ESPN Stats & Info and me

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