It was another interesting week in the National Football League. After nine weeks of play, every team in the league has lost at least two games. That’s because the Indianapolis Colts and Green Bay Packers both fell in Week 9.
Scoring may be down this week due to a very unusual reason. The Cincinnati Bengals (32nd), Dallas Cowboys (31st), and Tennessee Titans (30th) are all off this week, and are the three easiest teams to score on this season. Go figure.
Speaking of figures, here are five more interesting stats that may be of interest.
Take a look at 5 key numbers for Week 10
5
It’s the number of 2024 playoff teams that have as many or more losses this season than they did a year ago. There’s the 5-4 Kansas City Chiefs (15-2) and 3-5 Baltimore Ravens (12-5) in the AFC. There’s also the 5-3 Detroit Lions (15-2), 4-4 Minnesota Vikings (14-3), and slumping 3-6 Washington Commanders (12-5) in the NFC. Meanwhile, the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, 14-3 a year ago and 6-2 this season, could join this list if they fall to the Green Bay Packers on Monday night at Lambeau Field.
4
Two weeks ago, the Philadelphia Eagles salvaged a season split with the New York Giants, while the Indianapolis Colts completed a sweep of the Tennessee Titans. This Sunday, the Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars, San Francisco 49ers, and Seattle Seahawks are all in position to do what the Colts did. They battle the Dolphins, Texans, Rams, and Cardinals, respectively. Including playoffs, the Bills have beaten the ‘Fins seven straight times, and the Seahawks have bested Arizona in eight consecutive meetings.
133
They say it’s a copycat league. In Week 8, all four AFC East teams came up victorious. The Patriots (32-13), Bills (40-9), Dolphins (34-10), and Jets (39-38) won their games by a combined 145-70 score. In Week 9, the NFC West came up with its own version of a clean sweep. The 49ers (34-24), Rams (34-10), Seahawks (38-14) and Cardinals (27-17) humbled the Giants, Saints, Commanders, and Cowboys, respectively, by an imposing 133-65 count. As you can see, the four NFC West teams all prevailed by at least 10 points.
948
That is the receiving yardage number put up by Seattle Seahawks’ wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. It’s not a record after eight games, but by season’s end the 2024 Pro Bowler may be challenging the mark set by Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Calvin Johnson in 2012. In 16 games with the Detroit Lions, he totaled 122 catches for an NFL-record 1,964 yards. Smith-Njigba has totaled 120-plus receiving yards in each of his last four games. He’s averaging a brisk 16.3 yards per reception via his 58 catches this season.
16
A season ago, Mike Tomlin’s Pittsburgh Steelers were tied for the NFL lead in takeaways. They and the Minnesota Vikings each forced 34 turnovers. This season, only the opportunistic Chicago Bears (19) have more takeaways than the Black and Gold (16). However, this aspect of their game has been inconsistent at best. The Steelers have a combined 14 takeaways in five wins, while forcing only three turnovers in three losses. This week’s foe, the Chargers, have committed at least one turnover in eight straight games.