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WHAT TO LOOK FOR – WEEK 13
NEVER SAY NEVER:Since the current 12-team playoff format was instituted in 1990, 16 teams have reached the postseason despite having a losing record after 11 games, including one team in eight of the past nine seasons.
Additionally, this includes a streak of seven consecutive seasons (2004-2010) in which a sub-.500 team after 11 games reached the playoffs. Six of those seven won at least one playoff game.
The teams with a losing record after 11 games to make the playoffs since 1990:
|
YEAR |
TEAM |
RECORD AFTER 11 GAMES |
FINAL RECORD |
ADVANCED TO |
|
1990 |
New Orleans Saints |
5-6 |
8-8 |
Wild Card |
|
1993 |
Minnesota Vikings |
5-6 |
9-7 |
Wild Card |
|
1994 |
Detroit Lions |
5-6 |
9-7 |
Wild Card |
|
1994 |
New England Patriots |
5-6 |
10-6 |
Wild Card |
|
1995 |
Detroit Lions |
5-6 |
10-6 |
Wild Card |
|
1995 |
San Diego Chargers |
4-7 |
9-7 |
Wild Card |
|
1996 |
Jacksonville Jaguars |
4-7 |
9-7 |
Conference Championship |
|
1997 |
Detroit Lions |
5-6 |
9-7 |
Wild Card |
|
2004 |
St. Louis Rams |
5-6 |
8-8 |
Divisional |
|
2005 |
Washington Redskins |
5-6 |
10-6 |
Divisional |
|
2006 |
Philadelphia Eagles* |
5-6 |
10-6 |
Divisional |
|
2007 |
Washington Redskins |
5-6 |
9-7 |
Wild Card |
|
2008 |
San Diego Chargers* |
4-7 |
8-8 |
Divisional |
|
2009 |
New York Jets |
5-6 |
9-7 |
Conference Championship |
|
2010 |
Seattle Seahawks* |
5-6 |
7-9 |
Divisional |
|
2012 |
Washington Redskins* |
5-6 |
10-6 |
Wild Card |
*Won Division
* *
-- NFL --
THREE-COURSE MEAL:The NFL will feature a Thanksgiving tripleheader for the eighth consecutive season, with traditional holiday games in Detroit and Dallas followed by a primetime nightcap on NBC hosted by the Baltimore Ravens.
The Lions will play their 74th Thanksgiving Day game dating back to 1934, while the Cowboys will play in their 46th since 1966. All six teams playing on Thanksgiving are either in or within one game of a playoff spot.
|
GAME |
NETWORK |
LOCAL TIME |
EASTERN TIME |
|
Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions |
FOX |
12:30 PM ET |
12:30 PM |
|
Oakland Raiders at Dallas Cowboys |
CBS |
3:30 PM CT |
4:30 PM |
|
Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens |
NBC |
8:30 PM ET |
8:30 PM |
-- NFL --
DECEMBER TO REMEMBER:With 112 career touchdown passes in the month of December, Denver quarterback PEYTON MANNING trails only BRETT FAVRE (116) for the most touchdown passes during the month in NFL history.
With five touchdown passes against Kansas City on Sunday, Manning can become the NFL's all-time leader in touchdown passes in the month of December.
New England quarterback TOM BRADY needs one more touchdown pass during the month for sole possession of the fifth-most touchdown passes in December all-time.
* *
The quarterbacks with the most touchdown passes in the month of December in NFL history:
|
PLAYER |
TEAM(S) |
TD PASSES IN DECEMBER |
|
Brett Favre |
Green Bay, New York Jets, Minnesota |
116 |
|
*Peyton Manning |
Indianapolis, Denver |
112 |
|
Dan Marino^ |
Miami |
110 |
|
*Drew Brees |
San Diego, New Orleans |
90 |
|
*Tom Brady |
New England |
80 |
|
Dave Krieg |
Seattle, Kansas City, Detroit, Arizona, Chicago |
80 |
|
*Active ^Pro Football Hall of Famer |
| |
* *
-- NFL --
ANDRE THE GIANT:In his 11th season, Houston wide receiver ANDRE JOHNSON has 892 career receptions for 12,256 yards and 61 touchdowns.
With eight receptions on Sunday against New England, Johnson would become the 15th player in NFL history to reach 900 receptions, and would do so in his 150th game, the second-fewest games to reach the mark in league annals (MARVIN HARRISON, 149 games).
The fastest players to 900 receptions in NFL history:
|
PLAYER |
FEWEST GAMES TO REACH 900 RECEPTIONS |
CAREER RECEPTIONS | |||
|
Marvin Harrison |
149 |
1,102 | |||
|
Torry Holt |
166 |
920 | |||
|
Jerry Rice |
168 |
1,549 | |||
|
Terrell Owens |
178 |
1,078 | |||
|
Reggie Wayne |
178 |
1,006 | |||
|
|
|
| |||
|
Andre Johnson |
149 |
*892 | |||
|
|
*Through 149 games |
|
| ||
-- NFL --
SEATTLE SLINGER:Seattle quarterback RUSSELL WILSON has led the Seahawks to a 10-1 record this season while passing for 2,362 yards and 19 touchdowns.
With one touchdown pass against New Orleans on Monday Night Football, Wilson (26 in 2012) can become one of only four players in NFL history to pass for at least 20 touchdowns in each of their first two seasons.
Pro Football Hall of Famer DAN MARINO (20 in 1983; 48 in 1984), PEYTON MANNING (26 in 1998 and 1999) and ANDY DALTON (20 in 2011; 27 in 2012) also accomplished the feat.
With three touchdowns this week, Wilson (45) can also surpass Dalton for the third-most touchdown passes in a quarterback's first two seasons in NFL history.
The quarterbacks with the most passing touchdowns in their first two seasons in NFL history:
|
PLAYER |
PASSING TOUCHDOWNS IN FIRST TWO SEASONS |
|
Dan Marino^ |
68 |
|
Peyton Manning |
52 |
|
Andy Dalton |
47 |
|
Russell Wilson |
*45 |
|
Jeff Garcia |
42 |
|
*Through 11 games in 2013 ^Pro Football Hall of Famer | |
-- NFL --
EMERALD CITY SHOWDOWN:When the SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (10-1) and NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (9-2) face each other on Monday Night Football, the matchup will mark the second-highest combined winning percentage for opposing teams on a MNF game with each team playing at least 10 games. Seattle and New Orleans have a .863 combined winning percentage (19-3) in 2013.
In 1990, the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers, who each started 10-1, matched up on a Monday night in Week 13 with a combined winning percentage of .909 (20-2 combined record). The Giants finished 13-3 before defeating the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXV. The 49ers finished 14-2 before losing the 1990 NFC Championship game by a score of 15-13 to the Giants.
