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Home , 2020 NFL season, Cam Newton, Cam Newton (safety), Dan Pastorini, Drew Bledsoe, Emmitt Smith

FOR USE AS DESIRED 11/10/20

FANTASTIC FINISHES, FASCINATING PLAYERS HEADLINE AS NFL ROLLS INTO WEEK 10

Alex, we’ll take “Historic NFL Seasons” for $1,000.

Answer: In the first half of this season, the produced its most , closest games, most thrilling comebacks and largest crop of budding superstars in recent memory.

What is 2020?

Correct.

COMEBACK NATION: Last week, the STEELERS (8-0) overcame a 13-point deficit to win and remain the NFL’s only undefeated team, continuing their best start in franchise history. The 2020 NFL season joins 2015 as the only seasons in which a team has overcome a deficit of at least 13 points to win in each of the first nine weeks in NFL history.

DOUBLE-DIGIT DEFICITS: Three teams – the (11 points), (10 points) and (13 points) – overcame a deficit of at least 10 points to win in Week 9. There have been 29 games in which a team has overcome a deficit of at least 10 points to win this season, the second-most such games through Week 9 in NFL history. Only the 1987 season (30 games) had more.

PRODIGIES FACE OFF IN : Two of the top selections in the 2020 NFL will be under center when the CHARGERS travel to meet the on Sunday (4:05 PM ET, CBS).  , selected sixth overall, has passed for 2,146 yards and 17 touchdowns, respectively the second- and fourth-most totals by a player over his first seven games in NFL history. Herbert, who plays his eighth game on Sunday, needs 354 passing yards for 2,500, and three passes to reach 20. In NFL history, only , and Pro Football Hall of Famer have reached 20 touchdown passes in their first eight games. Only Mahomes has reached 2,500 passing yards in his first eight games.  , selected fifth overall, has opened his NFL career with victories in each of his first two starts. Last week at Arizona, Tagovailoa orchestrated two fourth-quarter scoring drives, including a game-tying, 10-play, 93-yard touchdown march, to lead the Dolphins to a come-from-behind, 34-31 win.  Since 1967, when the NFL and AFL began selecting players in the same draft, Sunday’s meeting is only the seventh NFL game involving rookie starting both taken among the top-six selections.

The games featuring rookie starting quarterbacks both selected among the top-six overall selections since 1967:

ROAD STARTER HOME STARTER DATE (SELECTION) TEAM (SELECTION) TEAM RESULT Nov. 7, 1971 (3) Oilers (1) New England NE, 28-20 Sept. 19, 1993 (2) (1) New England SEA, 17-14 Oct. 4, 1998 (2) San Diego Chargers (1) IND, 17-12 Oct. 10, 1999 (3) Cincinnati (1) Cleveland CIN, 18-17 Sept. 13, 2015 (2) Tennessee (1) Tampa Bay TEN, 42-14 Oct. 20, 2019 (1) Arizona Daniel Jones (6) N.Y. Giants ARI, 27-21 Nov. 15, 2020 Justin Herbert (6) L.A. Chargers Tua Tagovailoa (5) Miami ???

The Chargers own the NFL’s No. 2 offense, producing 420.0 total yards per game, while the Dolphins are averaging 20.1 points allowed per game, tied with Pittsburgh for fourth-fewest in the NFL.

NO. 1 FACES NFL’S LONE UNDEFEATED TEAM: The other rookie selected in the top six, No. 1 overall pick , leads the Bengals out of their week and into Pittsburgh on Sunday (4:25 PM ET, FOX).  Burrow has five games with at least 300 passing yards, tied with DANIEL JONES (2019) and KYLER MURRAY (2019) for the second-most 300-yard games by a rookie quarterback in NFL history. Only (six games in 2012) had more.  In his last game, a 31-20 win over Tennessee in Week 8, Burrow completed 26 of 37 attempts (70.3 percent) for 249 yards with two touchdowns and zero for a 106.7 rating. Burrow ranks third in the NFL with 221 completions, the most by a player in his first eight career games in NFL history. He also has at least 25 completions in six games this season, tied with KYLER MURRAY (six games in 2019) for the second-most such games by a rookie in NFL history. Only (seven games in 2016) had more.  In Week 7, Burrow became the first rookie quarterback in NFL history with at least 400 passing yards, three passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown in a single game.  Pittsburgh , who led the team with eight receptions in Week 9 as the Steelers overcame a 13-point deficit to defeat , 24-19, is tied for the NFL lead among rookies with seven touchdowns (five receiving, two rushing). Claypool helped the Steelers advance to 8-0 for the first time in franchise history.

DYNAMIC OFFENSES ON DISPLAY IN DESERT: The , who rank first in the NFL with 422.0 yards per game, host the on Sunday (4:05 PM ET, CBS).  Arizona quarterback KYLER MURRAY passed for 283 yards and three touchdowns with zero interceptions for a 150.5 rating and added a career-high 106 rushing yards with one rushing touchdown in Week 9. Murray, who had three touchdown passes and a rushing touchdown in Week 7 and a bye in Week 8, is the fourth quarterback in the era with at least three touchdown passes and a rushing touchdown in consecutive games, joining (Weeks 15 and 16, 2000), Pro Football Hall of Famer (Weeks 9 and 10, 1989) and (Weeks 5 and 7, 2017).  Murray, who had 544 rushing yards as a rookie in 2019, has 543 rushing yards this season and joins (2018-19), (2018-19) and (2011-12) as the only quarterbacks with at least 500 rushing yards in each of their first two seasons in NFL history.  Buffalo quarterback JOSH ALLEN passed for 415 yards and three touchdowns with zero interceptions for a 138.5 rating and added a rushing touchdown in the Bills' 44-34 win over Seattle in Week 9. Allen has four career games with at least three passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown, tied with (four games) for the most such games by a player in his first three seasons in league annals.  Buffalo wide receiver leads the NFL in both receptions (63) and receiving yards (813).

RODGERS-ADAMS AT MAXIMUM EFFICIENCY: Quarterback , who enters Week 10 with the highest career (103.1) among qualified passers in NFL history (minimum 1,500 attempts), leads the Packers against Jacksonville on Sunday (1:00 PM ET, FOX).  Rodgers is one of two players with at least 24 touchdown passes and two-or-fewer interceptions over his team’s first eight games of a season in NFL history, joining (2007).  Rodgers has 52 games with at least three touchdown passes and zero interceptions, the third-most in the Super Bowl era, having surpassed PEYTON MANNING (51) last week. Only Brady (60) and (55) have more such games.  Last week, wide receiver became the first player to reach 50 receptions, 600 receiving yards and eight touchdown catches in his first six games of a season in NFL history. Adams, who has 53 receptions for 675 yards and eight touchdown catches this year, also has four games of at least 150 receiving yards since the beginning of 2019, more than any player.  Jacksonville rookie quarterback last week passed for 304 yards and one touchdown – a 73-yard strike to DJ CHARK on his second NFL pass – and ran for a touchdown in his first NFL start. Luton became the fourth player in NFL history to pass for at least 300 yards and have both a passing and rushing touchdown in his first NFL game.

The players with at least 300 passing yards, one passing touchdown and one rushing touchdown in their first NFL games in league history: PLAYER TEAM DATE PASSING YARDS PASSING TDS RUSHING TDs Jake Luton Jacksonville Nov. 8, 2020 304 1 1 Justin Herbert L.A. Chargers Sept. 20, 2020 311 1 1 Cam Newton Carolina Sept. 11, 2011 422 2 1 Otto GrahamHOF Cleveland Sept. 16, 1950 346 3 1

CLOSE GAMES ARE PREVALENT: This past week, 11 of 14 games were within one score (eight points) in the fourth quarter. Overall this season, nearly 70 percent of NFL contests (92 of 133) have featured a fourth-quarter scoreboard separated by eight-or-fewer points. Only three prior seasons have ever had more games within one score in the fourth quarter through nine weeks.

The seasons with the most games within eight points in the fourth quarter through nine weeks:

SEASON GAMES 2016 99 2013 96 2004 93 2020 92 2015 92

Eight of the nine games played by the this season have been within one score in the fourth quarter. The Bears, who are 5-3 in those games, host NFC North rival Minnesota on (8:15 PM ET, ESPN).  Minnesota totaled a career-high 252 scrimmage yards (206 rushing, 46 receiving) and two rushing touchdowns in the Vikings' Week 9 win.  Cook, who had 226 scrimmage yards and four touchdowns (three rushing, one receiving) in Week 8, is the third player in league annals with at least 225 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns in consecutive games, joining Pro Football Hall of Famer (1963) and DEUCE MCALLISTER (2003).  Cook is the sixth player in NFL history and the first since Pro Football Hall of Famer (1994) with a rushing touchdown in each of his first seven games of a season.  Cook has 12 rushing touchdowns this season, tied for the fourth-most by a player in his first seven games of a season in league annals. Only Pro Football Hall of Famers JIM BROWN (14 rushing touchdowns in 1958) and EMMITT SMITH (13 rushing touchdowns in 1995) as well as (13 rushing touchdowns in 2004) had more.  Minnesota wide receiver leads all rookies with 627 receiving yards this season.

POINTS FACTORIES: The RAVENS have scored at least 20 points in 31 consecutive regular-season games, surpassing the 2012-14 (30 games) for the longest such streak in NFL history.  That stretch parallels the early career of Baltimore quarterback LAMAR JACKSON, who last week improved to 25-5 (.833) over his first 30 NFL starts, tying the best mark by a starting quarterback in the Super Bowl era, held by Pro Football Hall of Famer (also 25-5, .833). Jackson and the Ravens are back in primetime this week, at New England on Sunday Night Football (8:20 PM ET, NBC).  Jackson has 5,841 passing yards and 2,370 rushing yards in his career. He needs 130 more rushing yards to become the first player with at least 5,000 passing yards and 2,500 rushing yards through his first three seasons in NFL history. Also on Sunday, with 31 rushing yards, Jackson will join CAM NEWTON (first five seasons) as the only quarterbacks to rush for at least 500 yards in each of their first three seasons.

The face an NFC West showdown on Sunday at the (4:25 PM ET, FOX). Seattle, which leads the NFL with 34.3 points per game after scoring 34 points in Week 9, became the sixth team to score at least 25 points in each of its first eight games of a season in NFL history. The Seahawks joined the 2018 KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (16 games), 2013 DENVER BRONCOS (13), 2015 NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (nine), 2007 NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (eight) and 2000 ST. LOUIS RAMS (eight).

This season continues to rank as the highest-scoring campaign in NFL history. Through nine weeks, no other season has produced more points (6,737) or touchdowns (778) than 2020.

WATSON & WATT HEAD TO CLEVELAND: Houston quarterback DESHAUN WATSON has an opportunity to join elite company on Sunday in Cleveland (1:00 PM ET, FOX). He needs at least 275 passing yards and a passer rating of 105-or- higher to join AARON RODGERS as the only players in NFL history to achieve those numbers in six consecutive games during a season. Rodgers authored his stretch over seven straight games in 2011.  Watson is the fifth quarterback with at least 275 passing yards and a passer rating of 105-or-higher in five consecutive games within a season, joining Rodgers (seven games in 2011), DREW BREES (five in 2011), PEYTON MANNING (five in 2012 and five in 2013) and Pro Football Hall of Famer (five in 1994).  Teammate J.J. WATT, playing his 120th career game last week, forced a and registered his 100th career sack in the Texans' win. He became the fourth-fastest player to reach 100 career sacks since 1982, when the individual sack became an official statistic. Only Pro Football Hall of Famers (96 games) and (114) as well as DEMARCUS WARE (113) reached the mark in fewer games since 1982.  Meanwhile, Cleveland’s this season has nine sacks, tied with the Rams’ for the NFL lead. Garrett, who turns 25 in December, needs one sack to reach three consecutive seasons with 10-or-more sacks and become just the fifth player since 1982 to achieve that distinction under the age of 25. He would join ROBERT QUINN (2012-14), (2005-07), (2002-04) and Pro Football Hall of Famer (1989-91).

WEEK 10 NFL SCHEDULE THURSDAY, SUNDAY & MONDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 15-16 (All times Eastern)

Thursday, November 12 at 8:20 PM FOX/NFLN/

Sunday, November 15 at 1:00 PM FOX at 1:00 PM FOX at 1:00 PM FOX at 1:00 PM FOX at 1:00 PM FOX Buffalo Bills at Arizona Cardinals 4:05 PM CBS Denver Broncos at Raiders 4:05 PM CBS at Miami Dolphins 4:05 PM CBS Seattle Seahawks at Los Angeles Rams 4:25 PM FOX 49ers at Saints 4:25 PM FOX at Pittsburgh Steelers 4:25 PM FOX at New England Patriots 8:20 PM NBC

Monday, November 16 at Chicago Bears 8:15 PM ESPN

Week 10 Byes: Falcons, , Kansas City Chiefs,