Friday, September 25, 2015

32 Interesting Facts Through NFL Week 2

     Two weeks of the NFL season have already passed, and they have brought us tons of great football and several huge upsets.  They've also created a bunch of interesting stats, most of which never see the light of day.  That's why I've done some digging to find a cool fact about each team's performance so far this season.  They can be about anything.  Some are crazy, some are random, some are really obscure.  However, I can guarantee you haven't heard any of these stats before, so here they are.

Bears: Chicago’s 48-23 loss to the Cardinals marked the 8th time since the start of the 2013 season (34 games) that the Bears allowed at least 40 points in a game.  They’ve lost all of those games. 

Bengals: In the team’s 24-19 week 2 win against the Chargers, both teams scored in every quarter, but neither team scored more than 7 points in any one quarter.

Bills: With three minutes remaining in the third quarter of both of their games, the Bills had allowed 34 points to the Patriots and 0 to the Colts.

Broncos: Peyton Manning threw 2 pick-sixes before his first touchdown this season.  The Broncos are also last in the league in passing yards per attempt and longest completion.

Browns: Four of the Browns’ five touchdowns this season have been Travis Benjamin catches or punt returns of 50+ yards.

Buccaneers: In the Bucs’ 26-19 win against the Saints in week 2, no receiver caught more than three passes.

Cardinals: Rookie David Johnson, who began the season as the team’s #3 running back, has recorded a rushing, receiving, and return touchdown this season.

Chargers: Philip Rivers has the NFL’s highest completion percentage through two weeks despite throwing three interceptions, tied for third most in the league.

Chiefs: The Chiefs are the only team to lose three fumbles in a single game (week 2 vs. the Broncos).

Colts: The Colts haven’t scored a single point in the first half of games this season.

Cowboys: The Cowboys lead the league with an average time of possession of 38:50 per game.

 Dolphins: Ryan Tannehill was the team’s leading rusher week 2 against the Jaguars with just 17 rushing yards on 2 carries.  The team had 359 passing yards and 42 rushing yards.

Eagles: The average length of a Demarco Murray carry this season is just 18.9 inches, shorter than the average newborn baby (20 inches).

Falcons: The Falcons have a point differential of +6, lower than all other 2-0 teams.

49ers: The 49ers lost to the Steelers 43-18 in week 2 despite having just seven fewer yards of offense. 

Giants: The Giants have allowed more pass yards than any team in the league, but are third best in rushing defense.

Jaguars: The Jaguars have scored 29 points in the first half of games, compared to just three in the second half.

Jets: The Jets forced five turnovers in each of their first two games.  Only the Broncos (7) have more than five total takeaways through two weeks.

Lions: The Lions have committed the fewest penalties (10) in the league this year, for the fewest yards (68).

Packers: The Packers are the only team not to return a punt this season.

Panthers: Only two teams have had a field goal blocked this season.  The Panthers are the only one to have two field goals blocked.

Patriots: The Patriots allow a league-worst average 5.7 yards per carry, and only average 3.5 yards per carry on offense, 25th in the league.

Raiders: In nine all-time games against the Baltimore Ravens, week 2 was the first time the Raiders scored over 20 points.  They scored 36 for their second ever win versus the Ravens.

Rams: The Rams have only ran 101 offensive plays in two games, eight fewer than the second fewest (the Cardinals).

Ravens: The Ravens are the only team in the league to not have an opposing team return a kickoff.

Redskins: Alfred Morris has run the ball more times (43) through two games than any other player in the league, despite backup Matt Jones also running the ball 25 times during that span.

Saints: The Saints receiver with the most catches this season is actually running back Mark Ingram with 11.

Seahawks: The Seahawks’ opponents lead in the league in only committing 10 penalties for 65 yards this season.

Steelers: Ben Roethlisberger leads the league in yards per pass attempt with 11.07, over 1.5 yards more than second place Philip Rivers.

Texans: With 155, the Texans have run the most offensive plays in the league through two weeks.

Titans: The Titans are the only NFL team that has yet to attempt a field goal.  They are also the only team that has not had a field goal attempted against them.

Vikings: Adrian Peterson rushed for 31 yards week 1 against the 49ers and had 50 yards on the Vikings’ first drive against the Lions.

Thursday, September 24, 2015

TLS Experts Pick: NFL Week 3 2015

Our experts will be looking for redemption after a historically brutal week 2- not just for our guys, but basically everyone.  ESPN's team of 13 experts couldn't manage a single winning record, and neither could we.  However, that will change this week.  Here's who we're picking in week 3.


ConnorLuisMatthewKaustubhStephenDylanWill
Redskins @ GiantsGiantsGiantsRedskinsRedskinsGiantsGiantsGiants
Falcons @ CowboysFalconsFalconsFalconsFalconsFalconsFalconsCowboys
Colts @ TitansColtsColtsColtsColtsColtsColtsColts
Raiders @ BrownsRaidersRaidersRaidersRaidersBrownsBrownsRaiders
Bengals @ RavensRavensRavensBengalsBengalsBengalsBengalsRavens
Jaguars @ PatriotsPatriotsPatriotsPatriotsPatriotsPatriotsPatriotsPatriots
Saints @ PanthersPanthersPanthersPanthersPanthersPanthersPanthersPanthers
Eagles @ JetsEaglesJetsEaglesEaglesJetsEaglesJets
Buccaneers @ TexansTexansTexansTexansTexansTexansBuccaneersTexans
Chargers @ VikingsVikingsVikingsChargersChargersChargersVikingsChargers
Steelers @ RamsSteelersRamsSteelersSteelersSteelersSteelersSteelers
49ers @ CardinalsCardinalsCardinalsCardinalsCardinalsCardinalsCardinalsCardinals
Bills @ DolphinsDolphinsBillsBillsBillsBillsBillsBills
Bears @ SeahawksSeahawksSeahawksSeahawksSeahawksSeahawksSeahawksSeahawks
Broncos @ LionsBroncosLionsBroncosBroncosBroncosBroncosBroncos
Chiefs @ PackersPackersPackersPackersPackersChiefsPackersPackers
Last Week4-126-106-104-125-117-94-12
Season13-1915-1715-1714-1814-1812-2013-19

Sunday, September 20, 2015

TLS Experts Pick: NFL Week 2 2015

     The experts are back to tackle week 2 of the NFL season.  I have to admit, week 1 wasn't the best week for us, as most of us settled for 9-7, including myself.  Kaustubh took the early lead at 10-6.  However, week 1 is tough because you never know how teams are going to play, and there were a couple upsets almost no one saw coming.  Here's how we see this week going down as we hope to bounce back with a strong outing.

ConnorLuisMatthewKaustubhStephenDylanWill
Broncos @ ChiefsChiefsChiefsChiefsChiefsChiefsBroncosChiefs
Texans @ PanthersPanthersTexansTexansTexansPanthersTexansTexans
49ers @ SteelersSteelersSteelersSteelers49ersSteelersSteelersSteelers
Buccaneers @ SaintsSaintsSaintsSaintsSaintsSaintsSaintsSaints
Lions @ VikingsLionsVikingsLionsLionsLionsVikingsLions
Cardinals @ BearsCardinalsCardinalsCardinalsCardinalsBearsCardinalsCardinals
Patriots @ BillsBillsBillsPatriotsPatriotsBillsBillsPatriots
Chargers @ BengalsChargersBengalsChargersChargersBengalsBengalsChargers
Titans @ BrownsTitansTitansTitansTitansTitansBrownsTitans
Falcons @ GiantsGiantsFalconsFalconsFalconsFalconsGiantsGiants
Rams @ RedskinsRamsRamsRamsRamsRamsRamsRams
Dolphins @ JaguarsDolphinsDolphinsDolphinsDolphinsDolphinsDolphinsDolphins
Ravens @ RaidersRavensRavensRavensRavensRavensRavensRavens
Cowboys @ EaglesEaglesEaglesEaglesEaglesEaglesEaglesEagles
Seahawks @ PackersPackersPackersPackersPackersPackersPackersPackers
Jets @ ColtsColtsColtsJetsColtsColtsColtsColts
Last Week9-79-79-710-69-75-119-7
Season9-79-79-710-69-75-119-7

     The survival pool pick of the week this time around is definitely the Saints.  For one, playing whoever is against the Bucs doesn't seem like a bad strategy as long as the other team is decent.  But realistically, this is by far the most clear cut game and the Saints aren't going to have a lot of opportunities to be picked for the rest of the year.
     Good luck,
     Connor