The List: Player milestones, all-time rushers and the death of the NERF football creator
The List: Player milestones, all-time rushers and the death of the NERF football creator
The National Football League had an eventful Week 12, both on and off the field. The week included the announcement of the first set of players on the NFL’s All-Time Top 100, to several players setting milestones, to the weekly injury update to the death of a former player who created a toy that changed backyard play for future generations.
WINNERS
NFL 100 All-Time Team starts with running backs - The NFL opened its naming of the 100 greatest players and 10 best coaches in league history with the running backs last week. The 12 rushers include: Jim Brown (three-time league MVP and eight-time rushing champion); Earl Campbell (won three straight Offensive Player of the Year Awards and was a rushing champion); Earl “Dutch” Clark (three-time NFL scoring champ and six-time All-NFL member); Eric Dickerson (five-time All-Pro with an NFL-record 2,105 yards in 1984); Lenny Moore (five-time All-Pro who was a dual threat out of the backfield); Marion Motley (five-time champion and the all-time leading rusher in the All-America Football Conference); Walter Payton (1977 MVP, seven-time All-Pro, second all-time with 16,726 rushing yards); Barry Sanders (Pro Bowler in each of his 10 seasons, fourth all-time in rushing yards, including 2,053 in 1997); Gale Sayers (five-time All-NFL, threat as a kick returner as well); O. J. Simpson (five-time unanimous All-Pro, 2,003 yards in 1973); Emmitt Smith (four NFL rushing titles, 11 straight 1,000-yard seasons, most all-time rushing yards with 18,355); Steve Van Buren (All-NFL in six straight seasons, four-time rushing champion).
The league also named the first two coaches, and neither was surprising. Bill Belichick holds records among coaches for most Super Bowl appearances (nine) and wins (six). He is a three-time Coach of the Year who ranks third with 292 regular-season wins and first with 31 in the postseason. Paul Brown helped Cleveland win a combined seven titles (all four in the AAFC and three more in the NFL). He had 213 regular-season wins and the Browns had only one losing season in 17 under his tutelage.
Each Friday night through December 27, the league will announce more of the Top 100 players and two more coaches. Next, are the defensive line and linebackers.
Jackson’s case for MVP gets stronger - Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson only threw for 169 yards, but he set a record for a player making his Monday Night Football debut by throwing five touchdowns passes the Ravens’ 45-6 win over the Rams. Jackson added 95 yards rushing, allowing him to become the first player to amass 3,000 passing and 1,500 rushing yards in his first two seasons. Baltimore also became the first team in NFL history to win four games over teams with winning records by a combined 100 or more points (a 30-16 win over Seattle, then 37-20 against New England, 41-7 over Houston and then the Rams game for a 153-49 mark).
Pats, Wilson continue winning ways - With a hard-fought 13-9 victory over Dallas on Sunday, New England improved to 10-1, giving the franchise a double-digit win total for the 17th straight season (beginning in 2003). The accomplishment breaks a tie the Patriots held with 49ers, which had 16 straight seasons with 10 or more wins from 1983-98. Russell Wilson led the Seahawks to a 17-9 win over the Eagles, moving Seattle to 9-2 and assuring the team has a winning record. The Seahawks have had at least nine wins in each of Wilson’s eight seasons, making him the first quarterback to accomplish the feat.
Panthers back has another strong dual-threat performance - Carolina might have lost to New Orleans, 34-31, on Sunday, but don’t fault Christian McCaffrey, who had a touchdown running and another receiving. “CMC” now has 21 rushing and 15 receiving scores in his first three years, making him just the second running back to hit the 20-15 dual-threat mark. Former Vikings star Chuck Foreman had 26 rushing and 17 receiving touchdowns from 1973-75.
Gore moves up the all-time rushing list - Buffalo’s Frank Gore ran for 65 yards in a 20-3 win over Denver, moving him into third place with 15,289 career rushing yards. Barry Sanders, who totaled 15,269 yards in 10 years, drops to fourth.
Two Buccaneers reach marks - Tampa Bay defeated Atlanta, 35-22, on Sunday, and two players reached milestones in the game. Wide receiver Mike Evans had 50 yards receiving, giving him 1,043 yards on the season. Evans joins Hall of Famer Randy Moss as the only players in league history with 1,000 or more receiving yards in each of their first six seasons. Also, Vita Vea caught a touchdown pass from Jameis Winston late in the second quarter. The huge defensive tackle became just the second player in team history at that position to register a receiving touchdown. Hall of Famer Warren Sapp had two scores in 2003.
College teammates find success on NFL stage - Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry were teammates in college at LSU and, after Beckham was traded by Giants, they reunited with the Browns. Landry caught two scoring passes from Baker Mayfield and Beckham had one in a 41-24 win over Miami. Sunday’s game marked the first time the two recorded touchdowns in the same game since LSU’s win over Kent State on Sept. 14, 2013.
Eagles star reaches reception mark - Tight end Zach Ertz caught 12 passes for 91 yards and a touchdown in a loss to the Seahawks. Despite the loss, Ertz reached 500 career receptions in his 102nd game. Only Kellen Winslow Sr. got to the milestone quicker among tight ends (101 games).
Strange result in the Nation’s Capital - Rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins overcame a rough start to lead two late scoring drives that gave the Redskins a 19-16 win over the Lions and snapped Washington’s nine-game home losing streak. The final score wasn’t strange, but the nature of the scoring was. Washington’s points consisted of Steven Sims’ 91-yard kickoff return for a touchdown (which was originally fumbled) and four Dustin Hopkins field goals. The game marked the first time in five seasons that a team scored at least 19 points without the benefit of an offensive or defensive touchdown. Buffalo defeated Green Bay, 21-13, in Week 15 of the 2014 season thanks to a punt return score, four field goals, and a safety.
Week 12 stat leaders - Among passers, Baker Mayfield was the leader with 327 yards and three touchdowns in Cleveland’s win over Miami. Sam Darnold passed for 315 yards and two scores as the Jets routed the Raiders. Jameis Winston had 313 yards and three touchdowns for Tampa Bay and Drew Brees threw for 311 yards and three scores as the Saints slipped past the Panthers on a late field goal. On the other side in that game was Kyle Allen, who totaled 256 yards and three touchdowns for Carolina. Ryan Tannehill threw for two scores and ran for two more as Tennessee topped Jacksonville.
In that Titans win, Derrick Henry ran for a league-high 159 yards and two touchdowns. Other top backs on winning teams included Seattle’s Rashaad Penny (129 yards), Baltimore’s Mark Ingram (111) and Buffalo’s Devin Singletary and Cleveland’s Nick Chubb (106 apiece). Jonathan Williams (104 yards) had his second straight triple-digit rushing total, but the Colts lost to the Texans on Thursday night.
Mike Evans may have hit a milestone, but Tampa Bay’s best receiver in Week 12 was Chris Godwin, who had an NFL-high 184 yards and two touchdowns. Jarvis Landry totaled 13 catches for 148 yards. Houston’s Will Fuller V had 11 receptions for 140 yards and DeAndre Hopkins added 94 yards and two scores. Other top receivers on winning teams were Tennessee’s A. J. Brown (135 yards), Chicago’s Allen Robinson (131) and San Francisco’s George Kittle (129). Finally, D. J. Moore had 126 yards and two touchdowns for Carolina in a losing effort.
LOSERS
Cowboys done in by the Patriots and the Weather - A cold and rainy day in Foxborough, Mass., certainly favored New England, but the usually strong Dallas offense sputtered at times, and the Cowboys converted just 15 percent of their third downs, the lowest mark in a single game by the team since 2016. All this came despite Dallas holding Tom Brady to 17 of 37 passing for 190 yards.
League hands out punishments from Steelers-Browns incident - Last week, Cleveland defensive end Myles Garrett was suspended indefinitely, and two other players were suspended for their parts in the brawl that happened in the final seconds of the Week 11 game between the Browns and Steelers. This week, the NFL announced monetary punishments stemming from the incident. Each team was fined $250,000 and 33 players were also fined a monetary amount of more than $700,000 in total. Garrett’s fine was more than $45,000 and Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey had a $35,000 fine, but the largest monetary punishment was Pittsburgh quarterback Mason Rudolph, who was fined $50,000. In addition, 29 players each received a fine for $3,507 for “entering the fighting area.” Oh, by the way, the teams face off again on Sunday afternoon.
Quarterback changes in AFC - In addition to Rudolph facing a fine, he also had a poor performance on Sunday against the lowly Bengals and was replaced by rookie Devlin “Duck” Hodges, who played well enough to earn a start against Cleveland. Speaking of Cincinnati, an 0-11 record was enough for rookie head coach Zac Taylor to go back to veteran Andy Dalton as starting quarterback after three weeks of rookie Ryan Finley under center. In Jacksonville, three straight bad losses will not lead to a change at quarterback. Nick Foles will remain the starter over rookie sensation Gardner Minshew for Sunday’s game against the Buccaneers.
Injury report: Patriots players face the flu - Eight New England players missed practice on Wednesday due to “illness,” which is reportedly the flu. Among the players out include star cornerback Stephon Gilmore, linebackers Jamie Collins and Dont’a Hightower, tackle Isaiah Wynn and safety Patrick Chung. The Patriots face Deshaun Watson and the Texans this week.
The Bears also were hit by the injury bug with tackle Bobby Massie out several weeks thanks to a high ankle sprain. Several other Chicago players will be out for the Thanksgiving Day game against Detroit. Tight end Ben Braunecker and wide receiver Taylor Gabriel are in concussion protocol. The Bears have also ruled out linebacker Danny Trevathan (elbow), defensive back Sherrick McManis (groin) and tight end Adam Shaheen (foot) playing on Thursday.
Atlanta will most likely get Devonta Freeman (foot) back for Thursday night’s game against the Saints, but wide receiver Julio Jones is questionable with a shoulder injury and tight end Austin Hooper is out while he recovers from a sprained MCL.
The Titans placed two players on season-ending injured reserve. Tight end Delanie Walker after aggravating an ankle injury that cost him the 2018 season. Linebacker Cameron Wake is also out and his injury is undisclosed. Finally, Ravens center Matt Skura suffered a knee injury that will end his year early. Baltimore signed former Dolphins center Jake Brendel to fill Skura’s roster spot.
A different kind of ailment - Eagles two-time Pro Bowler Brandon Brooks was forced out of last week’s loss to the Seahawks, but he did not suffer and injury. Instead, it was a re-emergence of the stress-related anxiety disorder he first had diagnosed in 2016. Brooks had severe nausea and even vomiting on game days, but he looked into his condition and found out the anxiety was due to his desire for perfection and nervousness in not playing up to his own expectations.
Brooks’ normal pregame ritual did not stem the symptoms this time, and he left early in Sunday’s game. He said his this latest bout came when he thought about his newly signed four-year, $56 million contract extension and his desire to live up to the deal. The fact that he is trying to continue fighting through this issue while also addressing the weakness of suffering from anxiety will make him a role model for many football fans and the thousands of people in the U. S. who deal with this condition.
Indoor league suspends operations - After 32 seasons and plenty of exciting action, the Arena Football League filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and ceased operation on Wednesday. The league featured a 66-yard field and high-scoring games, leading to the slogan of the “Indoor war on the floor.” Financial hardship caused the league to cancel the 2009 season and there were only four teams in 2018. There were two expansion teams added this season, and one of them, the Albany Empire, won Arena Bowl XXXII, 45-27, over the Philadelphia Soul (which featured former Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski as one of the owners and was formerly owned by rocker Jon Bon Jovi). The biggest name to come out of the AFL was former Redskins coach Jay Gruden, who won four titles as the quarterback of the Tampa Bay Storm, and was also the league’s MVP in 1992.
Former Vikings kicker, NERF football inventor, Cox dies - Fred Cox holds Minnesota’s career scoring record with 1,365 points, and he led the NFL in points twice. He died last week from kidney failure at age 80. Cox was a member of one NFL championship team and played in four Super Bowls. After winning his second scoring crown in 1970, he teamed with local entrepreneur John Mattox to create a ball kids could use to practice kicking in the backyard. Cox knew what it took to be a successful kicker, so he suggested a light material, and the foam-based prototype impressed the Parker Brothers toy company, which signed the pair to a licensing deal. The NERF football was released in 1972, and since then has inspired millions of children to imitate their favorite football players and try to recreate their favorite game moments.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Enjoy food, football, and family on this special day.
-By: Kevin Rakas
Writer