The List: Records set, NFL 100 expands and ex-players face insurance scam
The List: Records set, NFL 100 expands and ex-players face insurance scam
As Christmas approaches, NFL fans were given early presents in the form of record-setting performances from several games this past weekend. There were some not-so-nice moments as well, so let’s see who made Santa’s “nice” and “naughty” lists this week. (Get comfy with your favorite holiday beverage, plenty happened this week, so this will be a long column!)
“NICE” LIST
Brees sets passing records in Monday night victory - The New Orleans quarterback is nearing the end of his 19th NFL season, but he still can put on a show like no one else. In another fantastic performance, Brees threw for 307 yards and four scoring passes in a 34-7 Saints win over the Colts. His third touchdown, a five-yard pass to tight end Josh Hill midway through the third quarter, moved him past Peyton Manning into the top spot on the all-time list with 540 (he added another in the fourth).
What makes the contest even more special was that Brees set a single-game record by completing 29 of 30 passes (96.7 percent), and he connected on his final 22 throws. The previous record was held by Philip Rivers, who completed 28 of 29 passes in a Chargers win over the Cardinals in Week 12 of last season. Brees is also the NFL’s most accurate career passer, completing 67.6 percent of his throws.
Ravens QB continues his MVP push against the Jets - Lamar Jackson already has led Baltimore to the playoffs in his second season and is one of only two quarterbacks in NFL history that have 1,000 yards rushing in a season. Last Thursday, not only did Jackson throw five touchdown passes in a 42-21 Ravens win over the Jets, but he also set the single-season rushing record at his position.
Jackson topped Michael Vick’s mark with a five-yard carry on Baltimore’s first drive, and he ended the game with 86 yards, upping his 2019 total to 1,103, compared to Vick’s 1,039. The win also clinched a second straight AFC North title for the Ravens.
NFL names 2019 Pro Bowl selections - On Tuesday night, the NFL announced its top players as voted on by the fans. A total of 30 teams sent players to the initial list, led by the Ravens, who tied the record with 12 selections, including Lamar Jackson, running back Mark Ingram and kicker Justin Tucker. On the NFC side, the Saints top all teams with seven players, including Drew Brees and wide receiver Michael Thomas. The Dolphins and Giants are the only teams who did not have players selected.
Who has clinched and who can clinch? - The Packers (21-13 over the Bears) and Bills (17-10 over the Steelers on Sunday night) secured playoff spots this past week, joining the Patriots, Ravens, Chiefs, Seahawks, Saints, and 49ers.
Here is a (brief) look at what spots can be wrapped up this week: Baltimore can clinch home-field advantage in the AFC with a win at Cleveland. New England takes the AFC East with a win at home against Buffalo. Houston can wrap up the AFC South with a win at Tampa Bay on Saturday. The final wild card spot is up for grabs between Pittsburgh (at the Jets) and Tennessee (hosting New Orleans).
In the NFC, Green Bay clinches the North with a win at Minnesota. Dallas can do the same in the East with a win at Philadelphia. The Vikings can clinch the final conference playoff spot with either a win or a loss by the Rams (at San Francisco on Saturday night).
NFL 100 adds tight ends, offensive linemen and more coaches - A total of 23 players and four more coaches were named to the NFL 100 last Friday. This week, ten wide receivers will be added. Here is a look at the new additions.
Tight End: Mike Ditka was the first player at this position to be named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The five-time Pro Bowler was the NFL leader in receptions and second in yards and touchdowns among tight ends upon his retirement in 1972. Tony Gonzalez tops all players at the position with 1,325 receptions (second overall all-time) and 15,127 yards, and he is second with 111 touchdowns. He is a 15-time Pro Bowler and a six-time All-Pro. Rob Gronkowski’s 79 career touchdowns are third among tight ends and the most of any player in the NFL since 2010. The five-time Pro Bowler, four-time All-Pro and three-time champion also holds the single-season record at the position with 17 scores in 2011. John Mackey was the second tight end in the Hall of Fame in 19992. He was a five-time Pro Bowler, a three-time All-Pro and the first NFLPA President from 1970-73. Kellen Winslow was named to five Pro Bowls and three All-Pro teams. His totals of 541 catches, 6,741 yards, and 45 touchdowns ranked first at the position during his career (1979-87).
Offensive tackles: Anthony Munoz went to the Pro Bowl 11 straight years (1981-91) and earned nine All-Pro selections. He won a college football national championship and a College World Series as a pitcher with USC, but a pro title eluded him. Forrest Gregg won six titles with the Packers and Cowboys and Green Bay coach Vince Lombardi (more on him later) called him the “best player I ever coached.” He was a nine-time Pro Bowler and a seven-time All-Pro. Art Shell made eight Pro Bowls and two All-Pro teams. He won two titles with the Raiders, then coached the team, becoming the NFL’s first black head coach in the modern era. Roosevelt Brown started for 13 years with the Giants and was the NFL Lineman of the Year in the team’s 1956 title season. He was a nine-time Pro Bowler and a six-time All-Pro. Jonathan Ogden went to 11 straight Pro Bowls (1997-2007), was a four-time All-Pro and helped paved the way for Jamal Lewis’ 2,000-yard season in 2003. Cal Hubbard was a two-way player who won four titles with the Giants and Packers. The four-time All-Pro is the only member of both the Pro Football and Baseball Halls of Fame (he was a major league umpire). Walter Jones was a nine-time Pro Bowler and a four-time All-Pro with Seattle who helped Shaun Alexander to his 28-touchdown MVP season in 2005.
Guards: Jim Parker was the first full-time offensive lineman named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame (in 1973). He went to eight straight Pro Bowls and was named to eight straight All-Pro teams (1958-65). John Hannah was a nine-time Pro Bowler, a seven-time All-Pro and a four-time Offensive Lineman of the Year with the Patriots. Larry Allen was an 11-time Pro Bowler and a six-time All-Pro while blocking for Hall of Fame “triplets” Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, and Michael Irvin in Dallas. Gene Upshaw played in 10 league/conference championship games and three Super Bowls with the Raiders. The seven-time Pro Bowler and five-time All-Pro was also the longtime head of the NFLPA. Dan Fortmann was a six-time All-Pro who captained the Bears to three championships. Randall McDaniel started 202 straight regular-season games and led the Vikings to a then-record 556 points in 1998. He was selected to 12 Pro Bowls and seven All-Pro teams. Bruce Matthews started at every position on the offensive line over 19 seasons with the Oilers and Titans, and his 296 games played were the most of any positional player at the time of his retirement (2001). He was a 14-time Pro Bowler and a seven-time All-Pro.
Centers: Mike Webster was Pittsburgh’s team captain for nine seasons and led the Steelers to six AFC championship games and four Super Bowl titles. He was a nine-time Pro Bowler and a five-time All-Pro. Although Dwight Stephenson played just eight seasons (he retired after the 1987 season after sustaining a knee injury in a game against the Jets), he captained the Dolphins to two Super Bowls and was selected to five Pro Bowls and four All-Pro teams. Jim Otto played in all 210 games over 15 seasons with the Raiders. He played in Super Bowl II and was a 12-time Pro Bowler and a 10-time All-Pro. Mel Hein was a two-way player (also a defensive lineman) who played in seven NFL championship games and won two titles in 15 years with the Giants. The five-time All-Pro and four-time All-Pro also won the 1938 Joe F. Carr MVP Award.
Coaches: George Halas’ mark of 324 victories in both the regular season and the playoffs stood for nearly 30 years after he stopped coaching in 1967. He led the Bears to six championships and was the only person associated with the NFL in each of its first 50 years. Earl “Curly” Lambeau founded the Packers in 1919, a year before the NFL’s precursor, the American Pro Football Association. He was a running back until 1929 and also was the coach and general manager in Green Bay until 1949, amassing 229 wins and six championships in 33 seasons on the bench. While Lambeau was the first to fully utilize the forward pass, Tom Landry perfected the shotgun and spread offensive schemes. He led the Cowboys to 270 career wins, five NFC titles, two Super Bowl wins and 20 straight winning seasons. Like Landry, Vince Lombardi got his start as a coach with the New York Giants during the 1950s. In nine seasons, Lombardi led the Packers to 95 wins, five NFL titles and two Super Bowl victories. After leaving Green Bay, he guided the Redskins to their first winning season in 14 years in 1969 before retiring from coaching.
Other milestones from Week 15 – Jameis Winston is having an up-and-down season, but right now he is up… WAY up. After a 458-yard, four-touchdown performance in a win over the Lions on Sunday, Winston became the first player in NFL history to pass for at least 450 yards in back-to-back games.
Last week, Washington’s Adrian Peterson became the sixth running back in NFL history to reach the 14,000-yard mark. He needed 66 to pass Curtis Martin to move into the top five all-time, and that is exactly how many he got on Sunday. “All Day” also scored, giving him 110 rushing touchdowns and tying him with Walter Payton for fourth on the all-time list.
The Chiefs continued their strong play with a 23-3 win over the Broncos on Sunday. In the game, Travis Kelce had 142 yards. He has now going over the 1,000-yard mark in each of the past four seasons, making him the first tight end in league history to accomplish the feat.
The matchup of the past two top overall picks (Cleveland’s Baker Mayfield and Arizona’s Kyler Murray) saw the ground game players in starring roles. Nick Chubb ran for 127 yards for the Browns, while new Cardinals acquisition Kenyan Drake had 137. Drake also had four rushing scores, which tied him for the most in a game this season. Aaron Jones also scored four times on the ground in Green Bay’s win over Dallas in Week 5.
The Chargers had seven turnovers in their loss to the Vikings, matching the Buccaneers’ Week 6 performance against the Panthers for the most giveaways in a game this season. No team had that many turnovers in a contest in either of the previous two years.
Tom Brady threw two touchdown passes, leaving him one short of Peyton Manning’s all-time regular-season record of 539. Brady did pass Manning with 20 passing touchdowns for the 17th season, breaking their tie.
Best statistical performances from Week 15 - In addition to Brees and Winston, Patrick Mahomes threw for 340 yards and two touchdowns in Kansas City’s win over Denver.
On the ground, Drake and Chubb were among nine backs who ran for 100 or more yards this week. Joe Mixon rushed for 136 in Cincinnati’s loss to New England. Tony Pollard (131 yards) and Ezekiel Elliott (117 and two scores) both helped the Cowboys to a big win over the Rams. Chris Carson ran for 133 yards and two touchdowns in Seattle’s win in Carolina. Miles Sanders had 122 yards in Philadelphia’s victory in Washington. Finally, Saquon Barkley hit the 100-yard mark for the first time in ten weeks, rushing for 112 yards in a 36-20 Giants win over Miami.
Jones and Kittle were among 18 players with 100 or more yards receiving this past week. Topping the list was Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, who caught 11 Mahomes passes for 142 yards. Other leaders include Washington rookie Terry McLaurin (130 yards), Saints star Michael Thomas (128 on Monday night) and Chicago’s Allen Robinson (125 in a loss to the Packers).
Another crazy finish for 49ers - After last week’s phenomenal game between the Saints and 49ers, I’m sure there were many who thought San Francisco’s game against Atlanta would be boring, given their records (11-2 vs. 4-9). Well, that wasn’t the case. Sunday’s contest was certainly as high-scoring as the previous week’s game. The teams traded scores into the third quarter before San Francisco got a Robbie Gould field goal and a Jimmy Garoppolo pass to fullback Kyle Juszczyk to take a 19-10 lead with 10:12 remaining.
After a touchdown run by Atlanta’s fourth-string running back, Qadree Ollison, Gould put the 49ers up, 22-17 with a 43-yard field goal. Matt Ryan took over with 1:42 left and led the Falcons on a 10-play drive. He completed five passes, including one to his favorite target, Julio Jones, with five seconds left. Jones leaned back, but was appeared to be stopped short. However, instant replay showed the ball BARELY breaking the plane of the goal line, giving Atlanta a one-point lead. San Francisco tried multiple laterals on the ensuing kickoff, but the ball was fumbled away and recovered by Olamide Zaccheaus in the end zone for the 29-22 final score.
Jones and 49ers tight end George Kittle each had 13 catches for 134 yards, but Jones had two touchdowns. San Francisco is the first team since the 2000 Eagles to have at least 10 wins and lose three or more games in the final 10 seconds or regulation or in overtime.
Bears and Packers met for 200th time - Mitchell Trubisky (335 yards passing) outgained Aaron Rodgers (203), but Aaron Jones scored two touchdowns in Green Bay’s 21-13 win on Sunday. The Packers now hold a 99-95-6 overall record in the series, which dates to 1921.
Walter Payton Man of the Year finalists named - The list of 32 players includes superstars (David Johnson, Cam Newton, Jarvis Landry, Travis Frederick, Blake Martinez, Calais Campbell, Kyle Van Noy, Nate Solder, Richard Sherman, Bobby Wagner and Mike Evans), along with several lesser-known names. The award is given to a player who shows “exceptional character and work off the football field as well as on.”
Each nominee will receive up to $50,000 for a charity of their choice. The winner, who will be announced on Feb. 1, will receive a $200,000 charity donation in his name.
Getting in the Christmas spirit - Even though the Bears lost to the Packers on Sunday, star linebacker Khalil Mack proved that the game was not the only thing that mattered. He used his foundation to pay off about 300 layaway orders in his hometown of Fort Pierce, Fla., totaling nearly $80,000. Also proving true the holiday saying that it’s “better to give than to receive” was Vikings wide receiver Stefon Diggs partnered with Operation Warm to give away 300 winter coats to needy young students in his hometown Washington, DC, area.
McCaffrey gets college coaching gig - While his son, Christian, racks up yards in the NFL, Ed McCaffrey has been winning at the high school level and will now try his luck in the college ranks. After a 24-2 record and a 5A Colorado state title at Valor Christian, McCaffrey was named the head coach at Northern Colorado. The three-time Super Bowl champion replaces Earnest Collins Jr., who went 28-72 in nine seasons with the Bears.
“NAUGHTY” LIST
Raiders fans angry after the team loses its final home game - Patrons of the “Black Hole,” like their counterparts in Philadelphia may sometimes get a bad rap. Then there are incidents like Sunday, the final home contest before the franchise moves to Las Vegas for the 2020 season. The Raiders were leading the Jaguars, 16-3, late in the third quarter, and fans thought the team would pull this one out, despite another lost season. However, “Minshew Magic” came back just long enough to throw two late touchdowns to Chris Conley, including the game-winner with 31 seconds left, and stun the home team and its fans, 20-16.
Raiders fans became angry, throwing glass bottles, cans and anything else they could find onto the field (with one woman in the section bloodied in the face from a full beer can). Some fans even jumped onto the field and were quickly captured by security. Quarterback Derek Carr was roundly booed when he came over to talk to fans after the game (although, he almost deserves it after saying it was “nothing new” in the postgame press conference, almost like him leading his team to loss after loss is “nothing new”).
While money- and power-hungry owner Mark Davis basically brushed off the reaction of the fans, so apparently, he doesn’t understand how this whole fan-team thing works. You put a good team on the field FIRST and then expect the fans to come out and pay to support your team and maybe help fund a new stadium, not put out a mediocre product and expect them to foot the bill.
Ex-NFL players face health care fraud charges - A total of 12 former players allegedly made more than $3.9 million in fraudulent claims from the Gene Upshaw NFL Player Health Reimbursement Account Plan, resulting in more than $3.4 million in false payments being made. Ten have officially been charged, including former Redskins and Broncos Pro Bowl running back Clinton Portis, ex-Chiefs kick returner Tamarick Vanover, as well as Robert McCune and Correll Buckhalter, who both recruited other players to participate in exchange for kickbacks and called health insurance companies pretending to be other players.
The government also plans to file charges against former receivers Joe Horn (Saints) and Reche Caldwell (Chargers and Patriots). The charges involved include conspiracy, wire fraud and health care fraud.
Spygate 2.0 punishments coming soon - Final score: New England 34, Cincinnati 13. So why exactly did the Patriots need to spend eight minutes filming nothing but the Bengals sideline last week? Apparently, the videographer (an employee of the Kraft Group’s sports and entertainment division) said he had no intention of giving the video to the Patriots or using it for anything other than the internet segment it was intended for. The NFL probably will not buy this defense, and the punishment could come as early as this week and might include a six-figure fine and the loss of multiple draft picks.
Players facing backlash - All-Pro linebacker Terrell Suggs was cut by the Cardinals last week after posting 5½ sacks in 13 games, his lowest full-season total since 1999. He expressed interest in going back to Baltimore, where he spent the first 16 years of his career, but the team had the lowest waiver claim. At first, “T-Sizzle” flat out refused to go anywhere but to the Ravens, but changed his mind after he was claimed by the 10-4 Chiefs. Kansas City needs some help after losing defensive end Alex Okafor to a torn pectoral muscle on Sunday.
Broncos safety Kareem Jackson was suspended the final two games of the regular season after a Driving Under the Influence arrest back in September. While Jackson was given a fine, community service, and is on probation for a year, he will also lose about $350,000 in pay for the two games. He had 71 tackles and two interceptions his first season in Denver. Jackson had 16 interceptions in his first nine seasons, tying him for the most in Texans franchise history.
Well, the “Jackrabbit” didn’t spend long off a roster. Three days after the Giants cut cornerback Janoris Jenkins for calling another use the “R-word” on Twitter, he was claimed off waivers by the Saints. Jenkins, had four interceptions in 13 games with the Giants this season, was getting into a text battle while receiving medical treatment during practice. Sounds like someone who either doesn’t have his head in the right place, worries more about his stats than his actual play on the field, or was simply trying to work his way off a bad team in time for the playoffs.
Two weeks ago, Ravens cornerback Marcus Peters made the game-winning stop on fourth down against the Bills, then proceeded to hop into the stands at Buffalo’s New Era Field and dump a beer on his face. The move cost him more than $14,000 in fines for “unsportsmanlike conduct.” At least Bud Light agreed to match the fine with a donation to a charity of Peters’ choosing.
The not-so-secret life of pets - Apparently, humans aren’t the only ones getting in fights these days. The dog of holdout-turned-injured Redskins tackle Trent Williams fought and killed a dog of a neighbor in Missouri City, Texas, last week. Other neighbors say they are afraid of Williams’ pets, but he said his pitbull received stitches on several deep cuts after the incident that resulted in around $5,000 in damages. Neither Williams nor his neighbor was charged.
Stacy El-Muhammad, the father of Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott, is facing 21 charges, including one felony, after releasing an illegally owned wild African cat in the Columbus, Ohio, area. The pet was a serval, which is like a bobcat but more slender and with a smaller head. The cat attacked a neighbor’s dog before being shot and killed by police.
Injuries continue to pile up - Okafor was not the only injured player from Week 15. Eagles wide receiver Alshon Jeffery was placed in injured reserve before Sunday’s game with a foot injury, and he was joined on IR by Jets tight end Ryan Griffin and Lions defensive lineman Da’Shawn Hand (ankle), 49ers tight end Garrett Celek (back). They could soon be joined by Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin, who was carted off the field during Sunday’s game against the Lions with a hamstring injury.
Other injuries from last week’s games include: Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner and Patriots center Shaq Mason (ankle), Lions defensive tackle Mike Daniels and guard Kenny Wiggins (arm), Dolphins linebacker Raekwon McMillan and Lions linebacker Devon Kennard (hamstring), Chargers tackle Russell Okung and Patriots cornerback Jonathan Jones (groin), Bengals guard John Miller (concussion) and Falcons linebacker Takk McKinley, Vikings running back Dalvin Cook and Jaguars defensive end Josh Allen (shoulder).
Detroit officially ended Matthew Stafford’s season, putting the quarterback on IR due to a pair of fractured bones in his back.
-By: Kevin Rakas
Writer