FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 13, 2016 http://twitter.com/NFL345
THE WEEK THAT WAS – KICKOFF WEEKEND 2016
SO CLOSE: Kickoff Weekend featured exciting finishes and close games:
Eleven of the 16 games in Week 1 were decided by seven points or fewer. Fourteen of the 16 games (87.5 percent) were within one score in the fourth quarter.
Six games in Week 1 were decided by two points or fewer, the most of any week in NFL history.
Four games were decided by one point – Denver 21, Carolina 20; Cincinnati 23, New York Jets 22; Oakland 35, New Orleans 34; New York Giants 20, Dallas 19 – marking the first time in NFL history that four games have been decided by exactly one point on Kickoff Weekend.
Nine teams – Cincinnati, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Kansas City, New England, New York Giants, Oakland and Seattle – won when trailing in the fourth quarter this week, the most in a single week since Week 3, 2011 (10 wins).
Kickoff Weekend continued the 2015 trend of close games, as 75 percent were within one score in the fourth quarter of Kickoff Weekend last season. In 2015, 140 of 256 games (54.7 percent) were decided by eight points or fewer, the most of any season in NFL history.
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KICKOFF NOTES: A look at some team notes from across the league on Kickoff Weekend 2016:
The DENVER BRONCOS defeated the Carolina Panthers 21-20 on Thursday night. The Broncos improved their record to 43-13-1 (.768) in home openers, the top mark in the NFL. Denver has won 23 of its past 26 home openers.
The teams with the best winning percentage in home openers:
TEAM RECORD IN HOME OPENERS WIN PCT. Denver Broncos 43-13-1 .768 Chicago Bears 65-27-4 .707 Miami Dolphins 34-15-1 .694 Dallas Cowboys 38-18-1 .679 Oakland Raiders 37-18-1 .670 Note: Ties prior to 1972 did not count in winning percentage.
The GREEN BAY PACKERS defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 27-23 on Kickoff Weekend at EverBank Field. The Packers have 55 wins in road openers, the most in NFL history. The Packers’ .585 winning percentage in openers on the road is the second-best mark in NFL history.
The NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS, who defeated the Arizona Cardinals 23-21 on Sunday Night Football, now have 32 wins on Kickoff Weekend, tied with San Diego for the fourth-most among AFC teams.
Denver’s GARY KUBIAK (7-3) has a six-game winning streak on Kickoff Weekend, the longest current streak among active head coaches.
Tampa Bay’s DIRK KOETTER (31-24 vs. Atlanta), the New York Giants’ BEN MC ADOO (20-19 vs. Dallas), and Philadelphia’s DOUG PEDERSON (29-10 vs. Cleveland) all won in their Kickoff Weekend debuts.
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START ‘EM EARLY: Philadelphia rookie quarterback CARSON WENTZ, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, led the Eagles to a 29-10 victory over Cleveland on Kickoff Weekend. Dallas rookie quarterback DAK PRESCOTT, who was chosen in the fourth round (No. 135 overall), also started in Week 1.
The NFL has now had at least one rookie quarterback start in Week 1 in nine consecutive seasons, the longest streak since at least 1950.
The rookie quarterbacks to start in Week 1 since 2008:
SEASON QUARTERBACK TEAM STARTING RECORD AS ROOKIE 2008 Joe Flacco Baltimore Ravens 11-5 2008 Matt Ryan Atlanta Falcons 11-5 2009 Mark Sanchez New York Jets 8-7 2009 Matthew Stafford* Detroit Lions 2-8 2010 Sam Bradford* St. Louis Rams 7-9 2011 Andy Dalton Cincinnati Bengals 9-7 2011 Cam Newton* Carolina Panthers 6-10 2012 Robert Griffin III Washington Redskins 9-6 2012 Andrew Luck* Indianapolis Colts 11-5 2012 Ryan Tannehill Miami Dolphins 7-9 2012 Brandon Weeden Cleveland Browns 5-10 2012 Russell Wilson Seattle Seahawks 11-5 2013 EJ Manuel Buffalo Bills 4-6 2013 Geno Smith New York Jets 8-8 2014 Derek Carr Oakland Raiders 3-13 2015 Marcus Mariota Tennessee Titans 3-13 2015 Jameis Winston* Tampa Bay Buccaneers 6-10 2016 Dak Prescott Dallas Cowboys 0-1 2016 Carson Wentz Philadelphia Eagles 1-0 *No. 1 Overall Pick
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COOL BREES: New Orleans quarterback DREW BREES passed for 423 yards and four touchdowns against Oakland on Kickoff Weekend. The performance marked Brees’ 14th career 400-yard passing game, tying PEYTON MANNING for the most in NFL history.
Brees also increased his Week 1 career passing yards total to 4,306, becoming the second QB with at least 4,000 passing yards in Week 1 games (Manning, 4,736).
Brees threw a 98-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver BRANDIN COOKS, the fifth touchdown pass of at least 98 yards on Kickoff Weekend in NFL history. The other four quarterbacks to throw a 98+ yard touchdown pass on Kickoff Weekend are GEORGE IZO (99 yards, September 15, 1963), SONNY JURGENSEN (99 yards, September 15, 1968), TOM BRADY (99 yards, September 12, 2011) and EARL MORRALL (98 yards, September 11, 1966).
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FAST LUCK: Indianapolis quarterback ANDREW LUCK passed for 385 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions for a 119.5 passer rating in the Colts’ Kickoff Weekend game against Detroit.
Luck has 15,223 career passing yards and reached 15,000 passing yards in his 56th career game, tied for the second- fastest in NFL history. MATTHEW STAFFORD accomplished the feat in his 53rd game while MARC BULGER, Pro Football Hall of Famer DAN MARINO and KURT WARNER reached 15,000 passing yards in their 56th game.
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FANTASTIC FITZ: Arizona wide receiver LARRY FITZGERALD had eight receptions for 81 yards and two touchdowns in the Cardinals’ Kickoff Weekend matchup against New England.
Fitzgerald, who now has 100 career touchdown receptions, became the 10th player in NFL history to reach the milestone.
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AMAZING ANDRE: Tennessee wide receiver ANDRE JOHNSON had three receptions in the Titans’ opener against Minnesota. Johnson now has 83 catches in 14 career Week 1 games, surpassing MARVIN HARRISON (81), REGGIE WAYNE (81) and ANDRE REED (82) to move into second place all-time.
JERRY RICE has the most career Week 1 catches with 92. Rice, Reed and Harrison are all members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
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FIRST-ROUND FULLER: Houston wide receiver WILL FULLER had five catches for 107 yards in the Texans’ 23-14 victory against Chicago. Fuller, who was selected 21st overall in the 2016 NFL Draft, became the first rookie first-round draft pick to gain 100 yards receiving in his team’s first game since Pittsburgh’s LOUIS LIPP in 1984.