The Pittsburgh Steelers and San Francisco 49ers return to action this week, both clubs on the road. On the other hand, Cleveland, Green Bay, Las Vegas, and Seattle will sit out Week 10. While Matt LaFleur’s club owns a 6-3 record, the Browns (2-7), Raiders (2-7), and Seahawks (4-5) are all below .500, and each is in the basement of their respective division.
That’s an interesting note. Below are some also interesting numbers as well.
1
A look at the NFL rushing leaders and there’s something that stands out. In order, there’s Baltimore’s Derrick Henry (946), Philadelphia’s Saquon Barkley (766), San Francisco’s Jordan Mason (685), Green Bay’s Josh Jacobs (667), and Houston’s Joe Mixon (609).
While Mason is in his third season with the 49ers, the other four are all in their first year with new teams. Henry, Barkley, and Jacobs joined the Ravens, Eagles, and Packers, respectively, via free agency. Meanwhile, Mixon was acquired by the Texans via trade with Cincinnati. This quintet has combined for 20 of the league’s 60 100-yard rushing performances in 2024.
293
It's somewhat amazing that this team has managed to win a game with a defensive unit that has already surrendered 33 offensive touchdowns in nine games. The 2-7 Carolina Panthers could make a little unwanted history this season if they continue to give up yards and points at an absurd rate. Entering Week 10, the club has already given up a whopping 293 points during their 2-7 start.
To put that into perspective, the Ravens gave up the fewest points in the league (280) in 2023, followed closely by the Chiefs (294) and 49ers (298). The 1981 Baltimore Colts own the NFL record for points allowed in a season (533).
4
A year ago, the Texans and Browns bounced back from last-place finishes in 2022 to earn playoff berths. Houston actually won the AFC South and beat Cleveland in the wild card round. This year to date, the Commanders, Cardinals, Chargers, and Panthers, all basement dwellers in ’23, have equaled or surpassed their win total from last season.
In fact, 7-2 Washington and 5-4 Arizona lead the NFC East and NFC West, respectively. The former’s last division title came in 2020, when the club finished 7-9. Meanwhile, the Cardinals’ last NFC West title came back in 2015, when Bruce Arians’s club won a team-record 13 games.
10
After nine weeks of play, 10 of the 32 teams in the league have used at least two different starting signal-callers. That number increases to 11 on Sunday when Cooper Rush gets the nod for the Cowboys in place of injured Dak Prescott—out with a hamstring injury. Rush will also be the 44th different signal-caller in the league this season.
Last season, counting Josh Dobbs twice (Arizona and Minnesota), there were 67 different quarterbacks in 2023. That was down from the previous year (69) and seven more than in 2021—the first season of the 17-game campaign. Keep an eye on Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence as well.
3
There has been a total of 138 regular-season contests played to date, and only seven of the games have ventured into overtime. It’s worthing noting that three of those extra-session tilts in Week 9. The Titans knocked off the Patriots, 20-17, the Rams defeated the Seahawks in Seattle, 26-10, and the reigning NFL champions Chiefs outlasted the Buccaneers, 30-24, on Monday night.
A year ago, there were 13 games that went into OT, down considerably from 2021 (21) and ’22 (20). Meanwhile, there doesn’t appear to be any danger of the league record for overtime games in a season (25 in 2002) being threatened in 2024.