The Raiders dropped a 20-13 decision to the Chiefs at home last Sunday and have now lost five of six overall. Dating to last season, Oakland has won three straight road games vs. its divisional opponents (two vs. KC, one vs. Denver).
A week after completing 10-of-11 passes (90.9%) against the Broncos, JaMarcus Russell was successful on just 10-of-28 (35.7%) of his throws against the Chiefs last weekend. Russell now has a completion percentage of 50.5% this season — lowest among all Raider starting QBs since Jay Schroeder's 48.6% in 1992.
San Diego lost, 22-16, to the Falcons in Week 13 and is now 3-3 at home this season. The Chargers' three losses at Qualcomm Stadium in 2008 have been by an average of 3.7 points, while their three wins have been by an average of 13.3 points.
The Chargers have defeated the Raiders five straight times at Qualcomm Stadium by a combined score of 146-66 (29.2-13.2). The last time Oakland won a game in San Diego was its Super Bowl season in 2002.
Sebastian Janikowski kicked a 51-yard field goal last weekend against the Chiefs — his ninth 50+ yarder since the beginning of last season (second most of any kicker in the league behind Jason Hanson's 10). Since joining the league in 2000, Janikowski has now attempted 41 field goals of 50 yards or longer — most of any kicker in football.
Oakland is the only team in football without a first-quarter touchdown this season and its 26 total points (8 FG, 1 safety) are the fewest by any team in the league in the opening stanza.
LaDainian Tomlinson scored his 121st career rushing touchdown last Sunday and is now just two shy of tying Marcus Allen for second most on the all-time list (Emmitt Smith-164). LT's 3-yard run in Week 13 was also his 136th career TD overall — tied with Marshall Faulk for fifth most all-time.
If the Chargers can win the AFC West somehow, they will most likely have do it with and 8-8 record. The only team in NFL history to win its division with an 8-8 record was the 1985 Cleveland Browns.
Jacksonville fell into the AFC South cellar with a 30-17 loss to the Texans on Monday night — its third loss in a row. The last time the Jags had a losing regular-season record was in 2003 (5-11) and it appears as though they will miss the playoffs for the second time in the last three campaigns (also 2006).
The Jaguars are 12-4 in their last 16 games vs. NFC teams (1-1 this season) and will take on Chicago for the fifth time in franchise history this weekend. The two teams have split the previous four meetings with Jacksonville winning the last one — 22-3 in 2004.
Chicago was defeated 34-14 by the Vikings last week and has now dropped three of four overall. The Bears have lost nine straight and 12 of their last 13 games when being held to 14 or fewer points.
Including the postseason, Chicago has a 699-514-42 record all-time. With a victory against the Jaguars, the Bears will become the first franchise in NFL history to accumulate 700 wins.
The Jaguars have turned the ball over nine times during their current 3-game losing streak (-6 turnover differential in those contests). Jacksonville had just nine giveaways in its first nine games of 2008 (+3 turnover differential thru Week 10).
Fred Taylor recorded his first touchdown of the season last week on a 4-yard run and now has 62 rushing TDs in his 11-year NFL career — fifth most among all active players.
Matt Forte ran for 96 yards against the Vikes last Sunday and now has 1,012 rushing yards on the season — most among all NFL rookies in 2008. Forte needs 63 yards on the ground against the Jags to pass Rashaan Salaam (1995) and move into second place among all Bear rookies when it comes to rushing the ball in their first NFL campaign.
With one takeaway last weekend, Chicago has now forced at least one opponent turnover in 21 straight games (dating to last season) and its 26 takeaways in 2008 are most in the league.
Minnesota took over sole possession of first place in the NFC North with its 34-14 victory over the Bears in Week 13. The Vikes have now won four of five and six of their last eight games after starting the season 1-3.
The Vikings are 12-1 against the Lions since the beginning of 2002. In the two teams' first meeting of 2008, Minnesota won, 12-10, on a Ryan Longwell 26-yard field goal with nine seconds left — it was the closest that Detroit has come to a victory this season.
With its 47-10 loss to the Titans on Thanksgiving, Detroit has now dropped 13 straight and 19 of its last 20 games overall. The Lions are the seventh team in the Super Bowl era to start a season 0-12 (the last being Miami in 2007).
The 2001 Lions were one of the seven teams since 1966 to begin a season by losing 12 straight and that team won its 13th game of the season, coincidentally, at home against the Vikings (27-24).
Calvin Johnson had five catches for 66 yards last weekend and is now just 29 yards shy of hitting the 1,000-yard plateau in 2008. Since 2000, just three Lions have recorded 1000-yard receiving seasons (J. Morton in 2001, R. Williams and M. Furrey in 2006). Johnson also has eight TD catches in 2008 — tied with three others for the most among all Detroit players since Herman Moore had nine in 1996.
Adrian Peterson had 131 yards on the ground against the Bears last weekend and now has an NFL-leading 1,311 rush yards in 2008. Peterson has recorded 100+ yards rushing in each of his last two games against the Lions and has gone over the 100-yard mark in seven of his 12 overall games this season.
Minnesota's defense has allowed just 14 runs of 10+ yards this season — fewest in football. Adrian Peterson has 14 such runs in his last four games alone.
Jason Hansen made his seventh 50+ yard field goal without a miss this season in Week 13 — the only player with more 50+ yard field goals made in a single season since 1970, was Morten Andersen who had eight in 1995 while a member of the Falcons.
The Texans won their Monday Night Football debut, 30-17, over the Jaguars and for the first time this season do not own at least a share of last place in the AFC South. Houston is now 8-2 at home since Week 11 in 2007, but just 1-8 on the road during that span (the only win coming two weeks ago in Cleveland).
Houston is 8-1 all-time when scoring 30 or more points. However, only one of those 30+ point performances came on the road (34-21 in Carolina — Week 2 in 2007).
The Packers lost, 35-31, at home to the Panthers last weekend and have now dropped two straight and four of their last five contests overall. Since Week 5, Green Bay is 3-5 with four of the losses coming by four points or less.
Green Bay is 5-1 vs. the AFC since the beginning of 2007 with the only loss coming to Tennessee in Week 9 this season. The Pack won these two teams' only all-time meeting (16-13) in 2004 on a Ryan Longwell 46-yard field goal with no time left.
Greg Jennings had eight catches for 91 yards last week and has gone over the 1,000-yard mark in a season for the first time in his career. The Pack has now had at least one 1,000-yard receiver in each of the last five seasons (Walker in 2004, Driver in 2004-07).
Andre Johnson had 75 yards receiving last Sunday and now has 1,146 on the season — one yard shy of tying his own franchise-high set in 2006. Johnson currently leads all NFL players in receiving yards this season.
With his victory in Week 13, Sage Rosenfels is now 4-2 at Reliant Stadium all-time and 6-6 overall as an NFL starting QB.
Green Bay's remaining opponents (Hou, Jax, Chi, Det) have a combined win percentage of .313 — the lowest among all teams in football to complete the 2008 campaign.
Cincinnati had just six first downs and was manhandled, 34-3, by the Ravens at home last Sunday — the six first downs are tied for the second fewest by any team in the league this season and matched the Bengals' all-time low in a single contest.
Kyle Larson punted a franchise-high tying 11 times for Cincinnati in Week 13, the second time in the last three games that he's done so (also vs. Phi in Week 11). With 81 on the season, Larson needs just 13 more punts in 2008 to tie the Bengals' record of 94 set in 2000 by Daniel Pope.
Indianapolis went to Cleveland and beat the Browns, 10-6, improving to 8-4 overall and 5-0 in the month of November. The Colts average margin of victory during their 5-game win streak is a scant four points. The game marked just the fourth time in their last 102 games that Indianapolis has been held to 10 points or less (Colts are 3-1 in those games).
The Colts have beaten the Bengals five straight times since 1998 and in fact, Peyton Manning's third career victory came vs. Cincinnati in his rookie campaign. Manning has 14 touchdowns vs. just three interceptions and has posted a 109.2 rating in his five career wins against the Bengals.
Ryan Fitzpatrick was dropped three times by the Ravens defense last week and has now been sacked at least once in each of his starts this season. Fitzpatrick has been sacked 31 times in 2008 — most of any QB in the game since Week 4 (his first start).
Indianapolis is averaging just 318.9 net yards per game this season — its lowest during the "Peyton Manning era". The last time the Colts averaged fewer net yards per game was 1997 (304.3).
Reggie Wayne has averaged 100.5 receiving yards in his last two games against the Bengals and needs 130 receiving yards in Week 14 to hit the 1,000-yard plateau for the fifth straight season.
Peyton Manning has had 25 catchable passes dropped in 2008 — tied for second most in the league behind Jay Cutler's 27 this season. Manning had 125 or fewer passing yards for just the sixth time in his career last Sunday and is 3-3 in those games.
The Falcons went to San Diego and beat the Chargers, 22-16, last Sunday, improving to 8-4 or better through 12 games for the first time since going 9-3 in 2004 — the last time they made the postseason. Atlanta won just four games all of last season.
Roddy White had six catches for 112 yards last weekend, putting him over the 1,000-yard mark for the second straight season. The last Falcon receiver to garner 1,000+ receiving yards in back-to-back seasons was Terance Mathis in 1998 and 1999.
The Saints fell, 23-20, to the Buccaneers in Tampa last weekend and had their modest 2-game win streak snapped in the process. New Orleans lost the first meeting of 2008 between these teams in Atlanta, but has beaten the Falcons four straight times at the Superdome (Falcons defeated the Saints on the road in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina forced the game to be played in San Antonio).
New Orleans has yet to win a game when trailing entering the fourth quarter under coach Sean Payton and is now 0-17 in such games since the beginning of 2006 (22-3 when leading after three quarters under Payton).
Marques Colston recorded his second 100-yard game of the season in Week 13 (also vs. Atl in Week 10) and the 10th of his career — the Saints are now 3-7 all-time when he goes over the 100-yard receiving mark. Colston has had five 25+ yard catches in four career games against Atlanta — his most vs. any team since joining the league in 2006.
Michael Turner rushed for 130 yards against his former team in Week 13 and is now one of just three backs in the league averaging over 100 yards per game in 2008 (Adrian Peterson and Clinton Portis are the others). The last Falcon running back to average over 100 yards on the ground in any season was Jamal Anderson (115.4) in 1998.
Matt Ryan recorded his sixth 100+ rating game of the season last weekend and Atlanta is 6-0 in those contests. Falcon QBs had a total of just seven such games in 2006 and 2007 combined.
Drew Brees was picked off three times by Tampa Bay last Sunday — his 13th multi-interception game since joining the Saints in 2006. New Orleans has lost 12 straight times when Brees has more than one pick in a game and is 1-12 in such performances over the last 2+ campaigns.
The Eagles defeated the Cardinals, 48-20, on Thanksgiving and are still mathematically alive in the race for the 2008 postseason at 6-5-1. That said, Philadelphia would have to leap over at least three other teams to earn one of the NFC's two wild-card spots and avoid missing the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1998 and 1999.
Philadelphia has lost all three games to its divisional foes this season and is just 2-7 vs. the teams in the NFC East since the beginning of 2007. The Giants have won three straight over the Eagles — the last time New York beat Philadelphia 4+ times in a row was from 1997-2000 (8 straight wins).
The Giants went to Washington D.C. and beat the Redskins, 23-7 last weekend — their third straight win at FedEx Field and their fifth win in the last six meetings between the two squads overall. The Giants are 11-1 for first time in franchise history and 10-0 when leading at the half this season.
Giants are one of just four teams in NFL history to win six straight games over teams with winning records and could tie the 1970 Vikings' record of seven straight with a victory over the Eagles. New York will also clinch the NFC East crown as well as a first-round bye with a win over Philadelphia in Week 14.
Eli Manning recorded his first 300-yard passing game since Week 6 in 2007 last Sunday and now has seven such contests in his 4+ seasons in the NFL — two of those seven 300-yard performances have come vs. the Eagles.
The Giants have turned the ball over just 11 times this season — second fewest in the league (Miami-10). New York has 21 takeaways in 2008 and its turnover differential of +10 is best in the NFC and tied for second-best in football (Ten +13, Mia +10).
DeSean Jackson had 76 yards last weekend and now has 775 receiving yards on the season — highest among all rookies in football. Jackson is now just 94 yards shy of tying Keith Jackson's Eagle rookie record of 869 receiving yards in a season (1988).
John Carney and David Akers have both connected on each of their last 14 field goal attempts and are tied for the longest active streak in football.
The Browns lost their fourth straight home game last weekend — 10-6 to the Colts. Derek Anderson was injured in the game (MCL) and is likely lost for the season. Ken Dorsey will start against the Titans and Cleveland signed Bruce Gradkowski to a 2-year contract on Tuesday as insurance in case Dorsey goes down.
Cleveland has won three of its last four on the road and has beaten Tennessee three straight times overall (two times in Nashville) by an average of just four points per contests.
Ken Dorsey last started an NFL game over three years ago on 11/27/05 against, coincidentally, the Tennessee Titans. He lost that contest as the Niners' starter and is just 2-8 all-time as a starting QB in the league.
The Titans rebounded from their first loss of the 2008 campaign with a 47-10 Thanksgiving Day win over the Lions in Week 13 action. Since moving from Houston to Tennessee in 1997, the Titans have allowed 10 or fewer points 33 times and are 33-0 in those games.
The Browns haven't scored an offensive touchdown in nearly nine quarters (since 14:47 of the fourth quarter against the Bills in Week 11) and their 122 offensive plays without a TD is the longest active streak in football.
Chris Johnson (125 yards) and LenDale White (106 yards) both went over 100-yards rushing for the second time this season last Sunday (also vs. Chiefs in Week 7). Both also scored twice on the ground vs. the Lions and have combined for 20 rushing touchdowns in 2008 — most of any duo in football. Johnson now has three 100-yard games this season and is just 42 yards shy of hitting the 1,000-yard plateau.
Opponents have scored just 30 points off Tennessee's turnovers this season — second fewest in the league (Miami-23).
The Titans will clinch their first AFC South title since 2002 with a win or an Indianapolis loss this weekend. They can also clinch the title if both they and the Colts end up with ties in Week 14. Indy has won the AFC South five straight seasons.
This game marks the third time that a regular-season NFL game will be played on international soil. In 2005, the Cardinals beat the 49ers, 31-14 (Mexico City) and in 2007 the Giants beat the Dolphins, 13-10, (London). The last time two NFL squads met in Toronto was in 1997 — a preseason contest in which the Packers defeated the Bills, 35-3.
A week after the Bills put 54 points on the Chiefs, they lost, 10-3, to the 49ers last Sunday. The 51 point drop from one week to the next was the ninth highest all-time and the second time in the last two seasons that a team has had at least a 51-point decrease in the second of back-to-back contests (Eagles 56 points on 9/23/07 vs. Lions and 3 points on 9/30/07 vs. Giants).
The three points put on the board last week were the fewest by the Bills in a home game since a 20-3 loss to the Dolphins on 12/21/03. The total also marked just the fourth time in the last 38 home contests that Buffalo failed to reach double figures.
The Dolphins beat the Rams, 16-12, last Sunday and have now won five of six overall since beginning the season by losing four of their first six games. The last three Miami wins have been by a total of just eight points (21-19 vs. Sea, 17-15 vs. Oak).
Ronnie Brown scored Miami's lone touchdown in Week 13 and now has eight rushing TDs on the road in 2008 — most of any player in football.
Miami won the first meeting of the season vs. the Bills (25-16), snapping a 4-game losing streak to Buffalo in the process. Overall, the Bills are 7-2 vs. the Dolphins since the beginning of 2004.
Chad Pennington failed to throw a touchdown pass for the fourth time this season last week and the Dolphins are 3-1 in those contests. Pennington also had zero interceptions against the Rams and Miami is now 5-1 when he doesn't throw a pick in 2008.
Buffalo has been behind entering the fourth quarter nine times this season and is 3-6 in those games (3-0 when leading entering the fourth in 2008).
Kansas City got its second win of the season with a 20-13 victory over the Raiders last weekend. The win snapped the Chiefs 7-game losing streak and was their sixth straight at McAfee Coliseum.
With 92 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries in Week 13, Larry Johnson reached paydirt for the first time and had his best game since a 2-TD, 198-yard performance against the Broncos way back in Week 4 (also the Chiefs' only other win in 2008). Johnson has rushed for over 100 yards in each of his five career starts against Denver (154.4 ryg) and has seven touchdowns in those games.
Denver inched closer to its first postseason appearance since 2005 with a 34-17 victory over the Jets last Sunday and has now won three of four overall after being .500 through eight games in 2008. The Broncos have won six straight and are 41-3 overall since the beginning of 2000 when scoring 30 points or more.
Denver will clinch the AFC West with a win coupled with a San Diego loss or tie this week. The Broncos can also clinch with a tie coupled with a Chargers' loss in Week 14 action.
With eight catches for 110 yards last week against the Raiders, Tony Gonzalez now has 33 receptions (3 TDs) for 375 yards in his last four contests after garnering 40 catches (3 TDs) for 431 yards in his first eight games of the season. Gonzalez has 26 career 100-yard games (most of any TE all-time).
Eddie Royal caught his fifth touchdown pass of the season last week — a Broncos' rookie record and most of any Denver player in 2008. Royal's TD was his third in the last five games and his second of 50+ yards since Week 10 (93-yarder vs. Browns).
Jay Cutler threw for 357 yards against the Jets last Sunday and now has six 300-yard games this season — most of any Bronco quarterback in a single season all-time (John Elway had five in 1995 and Brian Griese had five in 2000).
The Chiefs defense has recorded a league-low six sacks in 2008. The record for fewest sacks in any 16-game season by any team since sacks became official in 1982 is 17 (1991 Rams and 1995 Jaguars).
The Jets were defeated, 34-17, by the Broncos last weekend — just their second loss in the last seven games at the Meadowlands. At 8-4, New York still has its best start through 12 games since going 9-3 to start the 2004 season.
With 138 yards on the ground in Week 13, Thomas Jones has 1,088 on the season, going over the 1,000-yard mark for the fourth consecutive campaign. Jones also scored twice and now has a career-high 11 rushing TDs in 2008. Including two TD catches, Jones has 13 touchdowns in 2008 — tied for the league-lead and one shy of tying the Jets' all-time record for a single season.
The 49ers went to Buffalo and beat the Bills, 10-3, last weekend and for the moment, staving off postseason elimination. San Francisco will be officially eliminated by its next loss or Arizona's next win. The game marked just the second time since the beginning of 2002 that the Niners have allowed three points or less in a game (9-3 vs. Min on 11/6/06).
San Francisco had four fumbles in Week 13 action and now has 26 total and 14 lost on the season (one lost to Buffalo) — both numbers are highest in the league.
The Jets have won three straight road games, but have lost both of their contests on the west coast in 2008 (at Oak and at SD). Last weekend the Niners became only west coast team to win in the Eastern Time Zone in 16 tries this season.
Frank Gore had 66 yards on the ground against the Bills and moved into 6th place on the all-time 49er rushing list. Gore now needs just 40 yards to pass J.D. Smith to move into 5th on the Niners' all-time list and 74 yards to reach the 1,000-yard plateau for the third straight season.
Entering Week 13, the 49ers had allowed 93 fourth-quarter points — tied with the Rams for most among all NFC squads. San Francisco allowed zero fourth-quarter points last weekend for the first time in any game since January 1, 2006 vs. Houston.
Brett Favre has never lost a regular-season game in San Francisco (7-0 record) and including the playoffs is 11-1 all-time when taking on the Niners at Candlestick Park (only loss in 1998 postseason in wild-card game).
St. Louis was beaten, 16-12, by the Dolphins in Miami last weekend and has now dropped six straight games overall. The Rams have been outscored in first half of every game during the losing streak by a combined score of 146-32.
Steven Jackson returned for the Rams after sitting out three games with a thigh injury and rushed for 94 yards on 21 carries in the loss. St. Louis still has just five rushing TD on the season (2nd fewest in football) and hasn't reached paydirt on any run during its 6-game losing streak.
The Cardinals went to Philadelphia and lost, 48-20, to the Eagles on Thanksgiving — their worst loss since being beaten 50-14 by the 49ers in December of 2003. Arizona finished the season 1-3 vs. its NFC East foes (beating only Dallas).
Arizona is still looking to claim its first division title since 1975 and will do so with a win over the Rams or a 49ers loss to the Jets on Sunday. With their loss last Thursday, the Cards have now dropped eight straight games when failing to tally more than 20 points.
The Cardinals' defense gave up four passing touchdowns to Donovan McNabb and the Eagles in Week 13 and has now allowed 26 total on the season — most of any team in football.
The Rams have had 19 red-zone drives and scored a touchdown on just five of those drives in 2008 — both numbers are lowest in the league this season. Arizona has had 51 red-zone drives (2nd most in football), scoring a TD on 33 occasions in 2008 (most of any team in the NFL).
Larry Fitzgerald caught two Kurt Warner touchdown passes last week and now has 42 in a Cardinal uniform — 4th most in franchise history. Fitzgerald needs three TD catches to tie Mel Gray for 3rd place on the all-time list.
Josh Brown kicked four field goals last Thursday and has 81 points on the season — the rest of the Rams' players have combined for just 78 points in 2008.
The Patriots jumped out to an early lead at home vs. Pittsburgh last weekend, but were blown out 23-0 in the second half in a 33-10 loss to the Steelers. New England is 7-0 when leading at halftime and 0-5 when trailing or tied after two quarters in 2008.
New England committed five turnovers vs. the Steelers (all in the second half and its most since 11/26/06 vs. Chicago) and now has 20 giveaways on the season. The Pats had just 15 total turnovers all of last season.
With its 34-9 loss to the Cowboys on Thanksgiving, Seattle has been officially eliminated from postseason contention for the first time since 2002 and their 4-season streak of winning the NFC West is also over.
The Seahawks have trailed 10 times at the end of the third quarter this season and have lost each and every game. Seattle is 2-0 when leading entering the fourth in 2008.
Seattle has now been held to 10 points or fewer five times in 2008 — the Seahawks scored less than 11 points in a game just six times combined from 2004 to 2007.
One of the Seahawks' lone bright spots in 2008, rookie John Carlson recorded his first career 100-yard performance last week against the Cowboys. Carlson leads Seattle in catches (38), receiving yards (456) and touchdown receptions (3) in 2008.
Matt Cassel had his worst QB rating of the season against the Steelers last week (39.4) — the Patriots are now 1-4 this season when Cassel's rating is 77 or lower and 0-3 when it's below 70 in 2008.
These two teams last met in 2004 (a 30-20 New England win) — prior to that, Seattle had beaten the Patriots five straight times from 1989-1993, including their last meeting in Seattle (10-9 in 1993).
The Cowboys won their third straight Thanksgiving Day game last Thursday, 34-9, over the Seahawks. Dallas outscored opponents by a combined 106-22 in those three wins and its average margin of victory on Turkey Day is 28 points since 2006.
Each of the Cowboys' four remaining opponents currently has a winning record and their combined win percentage of .719 gives Dallas the toughest remaining strength of schedule in the league (Pittsburgh's is third toughest--.646).
The Steelers outscored the Patriots 23-0 and had all five of their takeaways in the second half last week in their 33-10 victory over New England. Pittsburgh gave up the game's first touchdown and then rallied to win its fifth game of the season (and third straight) after being behind by seven points at any time in the contest.
Steelers are 9-3 or better through 12 games for the second straight season and third time in the last five campaigns (11-1 in 2004 and 9-3 in 2007).
Tony Romo recorded his 16th career 300-yard game last weekend and Dallas is now 13-3 in those contests (two losses came this season). Romo also had a 113.7 rating in the contest and the Cowboys are 15-1 since the beginning of 2007 when he has such a game.
Dallas has committed the most penalties in the NFC this season (104) and had 89 of those accepted by opponents — tied with Green Bay for the most of all NFC squads.
James Harrison (2) and LaMarr Woodley (1) combined for three sacks against the Patriots last weekend. On the season, Harrison now has 14 sacks and Woodley 11.5 — it's the most sacks by any Steeler duo since 1982 (when sacks became an officially stat).
Pittsburgh will clinch a playoff spot with a win over the Cowboys, coupled with losses by both Miami and New England this weekend. The Steelers can also clinch their fourth postseason berth in the last five years with a win over Dallas, coupled with a Dolphin tie and losses by both the Patriots and Jets in Week 14.
The Redskins were soundly defeated, 23-7, at home by the Giants in Week 13 and now find themselves on the outside looking in for a 2008 postseason berth. However, three of the Skins' last four games of the season will be played on the road where Washington has won four straight times (vs. Dal, Phi, Det and Sea).
The Redskins and Ravens have met three previous times with Baltimore holding a 2-1 advantage. This will be the first all-time meeting on the Ravens' home field where Baltimore has won two straight and four of five overall in 2008.
Baltimore went to Cincinnati and beat the Bengals, 34-3, last weekend and has now won two straight and six of seven since starting the season 2-3. The Ravens are 14-0 since the beginning of 2006 when allowing 10 or fewer points.
The Ravens are 10-1 at home since the beginning of 2003 vs. NFC squads, including four straight victories. The only NFC team to beat Baltimore during that stretch was Carolina (23-21) in 2006.
Joe Flacco recorded his fourth career 100+ rating game and has now posted a 99.1 combined rating in his last seven contests — best of any quarterback in the league since Week 7. Flacco has thrown at least one TD pass in each of those last seven games and has a total of 11 touchdowns vs. just two interceptions during that span.
With six catches in Week 13, Chris Cooley now has 66 receptions on this season — most of any NFC tight end and second to Tony Gonzalez (73) among all tight ends in football. Cooley is just five catches shy of tying his career-high of 71 done in 2005.
Jim Leonhard returned a Jordan Palmer pass 35 yards to paydirt last Sunday, giving the Ravens 96 points off opponent turnovers this season — most of any team in football. Last season, Baltimore had just 45 points off turnovers (30th fewest in the league).
Opponents have scored just 36 points off of Redskins' turnovers this season — fewest in the NFC and fourth lowest in the league (Mia-23, Ten-30, Bal-34).
Tampa Bay beat New Orleans, 23-20, at home last weekend and is 6-1 since Jeff Garcia regained his starting quarterback job. The Buccaneers have won four straight games overall and are a perfect 6-0 at Raymond James Stadium this season.
The Bucs are now 9-3 for just the third time in franchise history. In 1979 they started 9-3 and ended up losing the NFC Championship Game to the Rams (9-0) and in 2002, the Buccaneers won nine of their first 12 contests and went on to beat the Raiders, 48-21, in the Super Bowl.
The Panthers went to Lambeau Field and beat the Packers, 35-31, last Sunday — their fifth win in the last six contests. Carolina beat Green Bay despite having the ball for just 22:08 in the game — its lowest time of possession in any game since Week 16 of 2007 against the Cowboys.
Tampa Bay won the first meeting between these two teams this season, 27-3, and is 8-3 since the beginning of 2003 vs. Carolina. That said, the Panthers are 6-0 this season and 8-1 in their last nine contests overall at Bank of America Stadium.
DeAngelo Williams had a team-record four rushing touchdowns last week against the Packers and has now reached paydirt in six straight games overall (9 rush TD, 1 rec TD in that span). Williams is currently just 45 yards shy of becoming the Panthers' first 1,000-yard rusher since Stephen Davis had 1,444 yards on the ground in 2003.
Despite missing the first two games of 2008, Steve Smith is just 42 receiving yards shy of recording his fourth straight 1,000-yard season. Smith had his fifth 100-yard game of 2008 last Sunday (27th of his career) and Carolina is 3-2 this season when he has such a game (16-11 all-time).
Cadillac Williams carried the ball just four times for 20 yards last week, but reached the end zone for the first time since September of 2007. Six of Williams' 11-career touchdown runs have come vs. New Orleans (3) and Carolina (3).
Bucs defensive coordinator, Monte Kiffin is expected to leave Tampa Bay and join his son Lane's coaching staff at the University of Tennessee following the 2008 campaign. Kiffin is currently in his 13th season with the Buccaneers and is the league's longest tenured defensive coordinator.
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NFL on FOX: Cowboys escape 'Skins
Troy Aikman and Joe Buck recap an NFC East battle between Dallas and Washington. Hear how Tony Romo and the Cowboys were able to narrowly avoid a devastating home loss to the Redskins.
NFL on FOX: Vikings punish Seahawks
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