Record-Breaking 2015 Season Had It All
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 1/5/16 http://twitter.com/NFL345 RECORD-BREAKING 2015 SEASON HAD IT ALL Many close games and great comeback victories… new teams making the playoffs and winning divisions... consistent teams excelling once again… records falling… young players making their mark… and so much more! The 2015 season really did have it all, including a fantastic finish. Week 17 came right down to the wire as 11 of the 16 games scheduled for the final day of the regular season had playoff implications for at least one of the teams involved. Sunday’s excitement was due in part to having 16 divisional games played on the season’s final day, a tradition instituted in 2010. The 2015 season featured a trend of many exciting games with close finishes, as nearly 55 percent were decided by one score – 140 of 256 games were decided by eight or fewer points, the most of any season in NFL history. Each of the 12 teams still in Super Bowl 50 contention can look back at the wild ride that was the 2015 regular season and appreciate how challenging the road to the playoffs was. The CAROLINA PANTHERS (15-1) secured the No. 1 seed throughout the NFC playoffs and became just the seventh team in NFL history to win 15 games in a season. “I’m an optimist, but even 15-1 is a lot,” says Panthers head coach RON RIVERA about advancing to the postseason after the team posted the league’s top regular-season record. “This is very satisfying but we still have a lot of work to do. I am proud of what this football team is becoming.” Since the 12-team playoff format was adopted in 1990, at least four teams have qualified for the playoffs in every season that were not in the postseason the year before. Four teams that missed the postseason in 2014 – KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (11-5), MINNESOTA VIKINGS (10-5), HOUSTON TEXANS (9-7) and WASHINGTON REDSKINS (9-7) – accomplished the feat this year. “I feel very proud to be associated with this team,” says Texans head coach BILL O’BRIEN, whose team clinched the AFC South division title with a win in Week 17. “Now the second season starts and that’s exciting. It is also really exciting that we didn’t back in to the playoffs. We won our way in and that is pretty cool.” The Chiefs won 10 consecutive games to finish the regular season and are the only team in NFL history with a 10-game winning streak and a five-game losing streak in the same season. Kansas City finished with an 11-5 record, the best in NFL history by a team that suffered five consecutive losses during a season. “I love every one of these wins, our team loves every one of them and we cherish every one of the wins,” says Chiefs head coach ANDY REID about the team’s winning streak heading into the postseason. “Any time you can win in the National Football League, it is a major accomplishment. I’m just talking about one game, let alone all of them in the streak we had.” The GREEN BAY PACKERS (10-6 in 2015) earned the 750th total victory in franchise history this season. The Packers are 751-567-37 and joined the Chicago Bears as the only teams in NFL history to reach 750 total wins. The Redskins (9-7 in 2015; 601-583-27 all-time) reached 600 total victories. The 2015 season also proved that consistency is difficult, but not impossible, to maintain in the NFL. The NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS won their seventh consecutive AFC East division title (2009-present), which ties the 1973-79 Rams for the most consecutive division championships in NFL history. The Patriots, who finished with a 12-4 record, became the second team in NFL history with at least 12 wins in six consecutive seasons. The NFL is never short on surprises, and that leads to the excitement we witnessed in 2015: COMPELLING COMPETITION Games continued to be thisclose, as more than half of all games were decided by one score. GAMES DECIDED BY ONE SCORE POINTS GAMES PCT. 8 or Fewer 140 of 256 54.7% 7 or Fewer 131 of 256 51.2% 3 or Fewer 59 of 256 23.0% This season, 140 of 256 (54.7 percent) were decided by eight or fewer points, the most of any season in NFL history. SEASON MOST GAMES DECIDED BY EIGHT OR FEWER POINTS 2015 140 2002 137 2003 132 2011 132 2010 131 2012 131 2013 131 In 2015, 131 of 256 games (51.2 percent) were decided by seven or fewer points, also the most of any season in NFL history. SEASON MOST GAMES DECIDED BY SEVEN OR FEWER POINTS 2015 131 2002 126 2011 125 2003 124 2013 123 Sixty-eight percent of games (174 of 256) were within one score in the fourth quarter. The 174 games are tied for the third-most of any season in NFL history. SEASON MOST GAMES WITHIN ONE SCORE IN FOURTH QUARTER 2002 177 2004 175 2015 174 2013 174 2007 173 Twenty-one games were decided in overtime this season, tied for the fourth-most in a season since overtime was instituted in 1974. The most overtime games in a season since 1974: SEASON MOST OVERTIME GAMES IN A SEASON 2002 25 2003 23 2012 22 2015 21 1995 21 Games continued to have a flare for the dramatic, as comebacks were a frequent theme. In 2015, there were 67 comeback victories in which a team was trailing at some point in the fourth quarter, tied for the third-most in a single season in NFL history. The most wins after trailing at some point in the fourth quarter: SEASON MOST WINS WHEN TRAILING IN FOURTH QUARTER 1989 70 2013 69 2015 67 2008 67 2001 67 The Redskins (9-7) clinched the NFC East division title, which marked the 12th time in the past 13 seasons that one or more teams went from last or tied for last place to a division championship the following year. The teams to go from “worst-to-first” in their division since 2003: SEASON TEAM RECORD PRIOR SEASON RECORD 2003 Carolina 11-5 7-9 2003 Kansas City 13-3 8-8* 2004 Atlanta 11-5 5-11 2004 San Diego 12-4 4-12* 2005 Chicago 11-5 5-11 2005 New York Giants 11-5 6-10* 2005 Tampa Bay 11-5 5-11 2006 Baltimore 13-3 6-10* 2006 New Orleans 10-6 3-13 2006 Philadelphia 10-6 6-10 2007 Tampa Bay 9-7 4-12 2008 Miami 11-5 1-15 2009 New Orleans** 13-3 8-8 2010 Kansas City 10-6 4-12 2011 Denver 8-8 4-12 2011 Houston 10-6 6-10* 2012 Washington 10-6 5-11 2013 Carolina 12-4 7-9* 2013 Philadelphia 10-6 4-12 2015 Washington 9-7 4-12 * Tied for last place ** Won Super Bowl Since realignment in 2002, Carolina (15-1) is the first NFC South team to win the division title in three consecutive seasons. SCORING A total of 11,680 points were scored during the 2015 season, the second-highest total all-time (11,985 points in 2013). Games averaged 45.6 points per game, the second-highest average since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger (46.8 points per game in 2013). In all, 1,318 total touchdowns were scored, also the second-most all-time (1,338 in 2013). Nine teams scored at least 400 points this season – Carolina (500), Arizona (489), New England (465), Pittsburgh (423), Seattle (423), the New York Giants (420), Cincinnati (419), New Orleans (408) and Kansas City (405) – tying the 2008, 2012 and 2014 seasons for the second-most all-time. Those nine teams combined for a .667 winning percentage, and seven qualified for the playoffs. PASSING NFL QBs put together a historically proficient and prolific year in 2015. The league-wide completion percentage (63.0), league-wide passer rating (90.2) and league-wide touchdown pass totals (842) were at historic levels, topping the previous records set in 2014 (62.6 completion percentage; 88.9 passer rating; 807 TD passes). The league-wide interception percentage of 2.38 percent was the lowest of any season in NFL history, surpassing the previous mark of 2.52 in 2014. Games averaged 705.3 total net yards per game, the best mark in NFL annals (697.0 in 2013). Explosive passing offenses fueled that trend, with an average of 487.7 net passing yards per game, an all-time high (473.6 in 2014). The league-wide yards per attempt average of 7.25 was the highest in the Super Bowl era, topping the previous record of 7.21 yards per attempt in 2014. There were 59 individual performances with three touchdown passes without an interception in 2015, the most of any season in NFL history (58 in 2014). There were 11 individual games with five or more TD passes this season, tied for the most in a single season in NFL history (2004). An NFL-record 11 quarterbacks had 30+ touchdown passes – TOM BRADY (36), BLAKE BORTLES (35), ELI MANNING (35), CAM NEWTON (35), CARSON PALMER (35), RUSSELL WILSON (34), DREW BREES (32), DEREK CARR (32), MATTHEW STAFFORD (32), RYAN FITZPATRICK (31) and AARON RODGERS (31) – surpassing the previous high of nine in 2014. Denver quarterback PEYTON MANNING (71,940) surpassed BRETT FAVRE (71,838) for the most career passing yards in NFL history.