If you love the National Football League, you will be a happy camper this week. There are games on Christmas Day, Thursday night, a Saturday tripleheader, plenty of contests on Sunday, and the final Monday night game of 2024.
Happy Holidays. Here are some numbers to make your viewing a lot more interesting.
120
There is not a large sample size, but it’s safe to say that Kansas City Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes has not had any issues when it comes to facing the Pittsburgh Steelers’ usually-formidable defense. In three encounters with Mike Tomlin’s team, including a playoff clash in 2021, the eight-year signal-caller has connected on 78.4 of his passes for a combined 988 yards, 14 touchdowns and just one interception.
Andy Reid’s team has won by scores of 42-37, 36-10, and 42-21, respectively. The Chiefs have scored a combined 120 points in those contests, and the Kansas City offense has reached the end zone 16 times.
8
It has happened only eight times in NFL history. Philadelphia Eagles’ running back Saquon Barkley has run for 1.868 yards in 2024. The league record for rushing yards in a season (2,105) was set by the Rams’ Eric Dickerson in 1984. The second overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft still has a shot at that number.
The eight is how many times a player has gained 2,000-plus yards rushing in a season. It first occurred in 1973 by Buffalo’s O.J. Simpson (2,003), and most recently happened in 2020 by then-Titans’ running back Derrick Henry (2,027). The Ravens’ running back has gained 1,636 yards on the ground. Can he get to 2K again?
11
There are two week remaining in the 2024 NFL regular season, and 11 players have already run for at least 1,000 yards. A year ago, only 12 players reached the mark, and there were 16 performers who ran for at least 1,000 yards in 2022. There’s little chance that the NFL record will be threatened. In both 2000 and 2006, an amazing 23 players reached the 1,000-yard rushing mark.
Entering Week 17, there are five performers who have run for over 900 yards. This bears watching over the next few weeks, and it’s worth noting that players like Saquon Barkley, Derrick Henry, and Josh Jacobs are with new teams this season.
32
He was the third overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft by the New York Jets. USC quarterback Sam Darnold took his lumps with Green and White, who moved on from the former Trojan after three seasons, 45 TD passes and 46 turnovers. It was off to Carolina for two seasons, where he played in only 18 games.
He landed in San Francisco in 2023, and appeared in 10 contests—making one start. The Vikings have struck paydirt with Darnold this season, and vice versa. In his first NFL six seasons, he threw 63 TD passes and gave up the ball 70 times. In 2024, he’s thrown for 3,776 yards and 32 scores, with only 15 turnovers.
13
It’s a franchise that has been around since 1930 and called the Portsmouth Spartans. In 1934, they were suddenly the Detroit Lions. A year later, they won what would be the first of four NFL championships. However, their last league title came in 1957. This is the only NFC franchise that has yet to play on Super Sunday.
It has been a year of milestones for a club that has won at least 10 games only 12 times. It is worth noting that the club was 12-5 in 2023, and currently 13-2 in ‘24. It’s the first time the Lions have totaled 10-plus wins in back-to-back campaigns, and their 13 victories is a single-season franchise record.