NFL Week 8 Bullet Points: 3 must-know stats previewing every game

This week's NFL slate serves up plenty of interesting matchups, including Sunday's anticipated showdown between the Packers and Chiefs.

Here is a look at Week 8’s Bullet Points from Omnisport’s data-driven Stats Perform colleagues. (If you like what's served up see here, check out @StatsbySTATS each Sunday on Twitter.)

THURSDAY
(All Times Eastern)

Redskins (1-6) at Vikings (5-2), 8:20 p.m. (NFL)

• The Redskins are allowing 134.4 rush yards per game, second most in the NFC behind only the Lions (148.9). The Vikings are running the ball on 52.8 percent of plays, second in the NFL behind only the 49ers (57.1 percent), and are tied with the Cowboys for the most rushing touchdowns in the NFC with 11.

• Case Keenum went 9 for 12 in the loss to the 49ers. No other Washington player threw a pass in the game — the 12 attempts were the fewest in a game by the Redskins since Mark Rypien threw 11 passes in Week 15 of 1990 in a 25-10 win against the Patriots.

• Kirk Cousins has thrown for 300+ yards with multiple passing touchdowns in three straight games, tying the franchise single-season record jointly held by Daunte Culpepper (2004), Randall Cunningham (1998) and Warren Moon (1995).

SUNDAY

Seahawks (5-2) at Falcons (1-6), 1 p.m. (Fox)

• Bobby Wagner is third in the NFL with 69 total tackles this season and ranks second in the league with 983 since the start of the 2012 season (Luke Kuechly – 1,010). In five career games — including playoffs — against the Falcons, Wagner has 47 total tackles and an interception.

• Russell Wilson completed 48.8 percent (20 of 41) of his passes Sunday for his lowest percentage since hitting on 46.7 against the Raiders on December 17, 2017. He also threw his first interception of the season, ending his streak of 202 attempts without one. Only Patrick Mahomes (212) had a longer streak this season.

• Julio Jones is on pace for his sixth consecutive season with 1,000 receiving yards. Among active players, only Antonio Brown (six) has more. Jerry Rice (11) is the all-time leader. Jones leads all active players with 8,554 receiving yards since the 2014 season and is second to Brown (580) with 564 catches during that span.

Chargers (2-5) at Bears (3-3), 1 p.m. (Fox)

• Philip Rivers has six consecutive 4,000-yard passing seasons and is on pace for his seventh with 2,114 yards so far in 2019. He ranks second among active players (Matt Ryan — eight) in that category. Rivers’ 2,114 yards this season through seven games is the fourth-highest total of his career.

• Melvin Gordon is averaging just 2.3 yards per carry this season after he averaged a career-best 5.1 last season. That 2.81 decrease is the largest of any running back (minimum three games played). Gordon’s 81 rushing yards through three games is the lowest total of his career, with the next-closest 146 in 2017.

• Mitchell Trubisky has a career 55.7 completion percentage in October, his lowest in any month and the second lowest of any quarterback with a minimum of 150 attempts (Sam Darnold — 52.9). Trubisky has gone 10 straight games without a 300-yard performance after achieving that in four of his previous six contests.

Giants (2-5) at Lions (2-3-1), 1 p.m. (Fox)

• Matthew Stafford is completing 62.4 percent of his passes, which would be his lowest mark since 2014, but his 8.0 yards per attempt is on pace for a career high and his 6.0 touchdown percentage would be his highest since 2011 (6.3), when he ranked third in the NFL with 41 touchdown passes.

• Daniel Jones was sacked eight times last week and since taking over as the starter in Week 3, he has taken 18 sacks, tied with Joe Flacco for second most in the NFL (Jameis Winston, 19). His seven interceptions since Week 3 are tied for the most in the NFL.

• Saquon Barkley has accumulated 2,419 scrimmage yards through 20 career games. Among players to begin their careers in 2000 or later, only two had more yards from scrimmage through 20 games: Ezekiel Elliott (2,521) and Clinton Portis (2,422).

Jets (1-5) at Jaguars (3-4), 1 p.m. (CBS)

• The Jets have accumulated 1,254 net yards this season, the fewest by any team through six games in a year since the 2005 Texans. The Jets have been held to 175 net yards or fewer three times this season, more than the rest of the NFL combined.

• Le’Veon Bell and Leonard Fournette are accounting for 54.7 percent and 50.9 percent of their team’s total touches this season, two of the four players currently over 50.0 percent (Christian McCaffrey, 56.4; Nick Chubb, 53.8).

• The Jaguars are the first team to rush for at least 900 yards through seven games while rushing for just one touchdown since the 1977 Bills. No team has ranked top 3 in yards per rush (Jags are third) and bottom 3 in rushing touchdowns (Jags are worst) for a full season since the 1996 Raiders.

Bengals (0-7) at Rams (4-3), 1 p.m. (CBS)

• The Bengals have allowed at least 200 rushing yards and 200 net passing yards in each of their last three games, the first team to do that in three straight games since the New York Yanks in 1950.

• Andy Dalton won his first eight starts of the 2015 season, but this year he is 0-7 as a starter. With a loss on Sunday, he would be the first QB in NFL history to both start a season 8-0 and 0-8 at some point in his career.

• Among players to play in at least 75 percent of their team’s games in both seasons, Joe Mixon (-47.1) and Todd Gurley II (-37.6) have had the two largest decreases in rushing yards per game in the NFL from last year to this year.

Buccaneers (2-4) at Titans (3-4), 1 p.m. (Fox)

• Tennessee has tied a franchise record by holding its first seven opponents in a season to 20 points or fewer, tying the 2000 Titans. Before the Titans and Patriots both accomplished this feat in 2019, the last team with as long a streak to start a season was the 2013 Chiefs.

• Last week was Ryan Tannehill’s first 300-yard passing game since Week 3, 2016. In the last two games, Tannehill has completed 80.0 percent of his passes — the only other player to complete 80.0+ percent of his passes in a two-game span this season (min. 40 attempts) was Dak Prescott (Week 1 and 2).

• Jameis Winston became the first player to throw for 400+ yards and at least five interceptions in a game since Mark Brunell in 1996. Since entering the league in 2015, he has had four games of at least four interceptions, as many as the next two players combined (Andy Dalton, Sam Darnold — two apiece).

Eagles (2-3-1) at Bills (2-4), 1 p.m. (Fox)

• Carson Wentz has thrown at least one touchdown pass in 10 consecutive games, tied with Seattle’s Russell Wilson for the longest active run in the league. Wentz has thrown 21 interceptions in 24 career road games while throwing 11 in 23 at home.

• Frank Gore has rushed for more than 100 yards in four of his last five games against the Eagles, averaging 101.2. With 15,136 rushing yards, Gore is 134 away from surpassing Barry Sanders for fourth on the all-time list.

• John Brown has at least four receptions in all six games this season, tied for the third-longest single-season streak by a Bills player since 2005. Brown, Andre Reed (1989) and Eric Moulds (2002) are the only players in Bills’ history to start a season with six consecutive games with at least four catches and 50 yards.

Broncos (2-5) at Colts (4-2), 1 p.m. (CBS)

• The Colts’ six games have all been decided by seven points or fewer, tying the longest such streak to start a season in franchise history (1983, 1995). Indianapolis is the only team in the NFL with at least 20 first downs in every game this season.

• Jacoby Brissett already has more touchdown passes in six games this season (14) than he had in 23 games from 2016-18 (13). Last week, Brissett had his first game with 300+ passing yards, 4+ TD passes and zero interceptions, joining Andrew Luck (five), Peyton Manning (four) and Johnny Unitas (three) as the only Colts to do so in a game.

• Joe Flacco is 107 passing yards shy of becoming the 22nd player all-time with 40,000 passing yards. He would be the seventh player with 40,000 passing yards and a Super Bowl win before turning 35, joining Brett Favre, Peyton and Eli Manning, Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger and Aaron Rodgers.

Cardinals (2-4) at Saints (2-4), 1 p.m. (CBS)

• Arizona has won three straight games, all by six points or fewer and all against teams that are currently a combined 3-18. The Cardinals have not turned the ball over in 15 consecutive quarters. The Cardinals have allowed 21+ points in 10 straight games, the longest active streak in the NFL.

• The Saints have won five straight and are 6-1 for the second consecutive season. In the first 51 seasons of the franchise, the Saints started 6-1 (or better) five times, and have now done so in back-to-back seasons.

• Michael Thomas has had at least four receptions in 34 consecutive games, tied for the third-longest such streak in NFL history. The only streaks longer are Julio Jones’ 38-game streak from 2013-16 with Atlanta and Antonio Brown’s 36-game streak from 2013-15 with Pittsburgh.

Panthers (4-2) at 49ers (6-0), 4:05 p.m. (Fox)

• Carolina’s Kyle Allen and San Francisco’s Jimmy Garoppolo are two of four active quarterbacks to have won their first five career starts (Patrick Mahomes, Ben Roethlisberger). Allen is the only QB during the Super Bowl era to win his first five starts without throwing an interception, while Garoppolo is the first to win 14 of his first 16 starts since Philip Rivers in 2006.

• The 49ers have allowed 10 points over their last three wins, the fewest by any team in a three-game span since 2010 (Packers, 10, Oct. 31-Nov. 21, 2010). They’re also the fourth team since 1992, and first since the Patriots from Dec. 4-17, 2005, to hold opponents to seven or less points and less than 200 total yards in three straight games.

• In their Week 6 win at Tampa Bay, the Panthers became the first team since Nov. 9, 2003 (Rams vs. Ravens) to have seven sacks and seven takeaways in a game. Carolina leads the NFL with 27 sacks, the most by any team over its first six games since the Chiefs had 30 in 2013.

Raiders (3-3) at Texans (4-3), 4:25 p.m. (CBS)

• The Raiders are allowing the second-most pass yards per game this season at 289.8 behind the Buccaneers (320.7). The Texans are just behind, allowing the fourth-most pass yards per game at 294.6.

• Derek Carr leads the NFL in completion percentage at 74.1 percent, on pace to be the second-highest completion rate in NFL history among qualifiers. However, Carr is averaging just 10.07 yards per completion, the fourth-lowest mark this season (minimum 100 attempts).

• Deshaun Watson has accounted for at least one touchdown in all 30 of his games, the longest streak ever to start a player's career. Watson has the highest passer rating (103.3) and completion percentage (67.2) by a player through 30 career games in the Super Bowl era (minimum 450 pass attempts).

Browns (2-4) at Patriots (7-0), 4:25 p.m. (CBS)

• Former Browns head coach Bill Belichick is in his 20th season as the Pats’ head man and Sunday seeks his 300th career win, combining regular season and playoffs. Belichick has led NE to 30 postseason wins, including six Super Bowl titles, in his 20 seasons in Foxborough. Over that same period, the Browns have reached the postseason once, failing to win a game.
   
• Tom Brady has been intercepted in four straight games. An interception Sunday would tie the longest streak of Brady’s career (five in 2002 and again in 2017).
   
• Baker Mayfield has thrown an NFL-high 11 interceptions in 2019 and has struggled mightily in the fourth quarter with six interceptions and no touchdown passes. After throwing multiple TD passes in nine of 13 starts in 2018, Mayfield has not thrown for more than a single touchdown in any game in 2018.

Packers (6-1) at Chiefs (5-2), 8:20 p.m. (NBC)

• Veteran Matt Moore will start at quarterback for Kansas City after Patrick Mahomes was injured in last week’s 30-6 win at Denver. At 35 years old, Moore will be the oldest Chiefs player to start at QB since Damon Huard (also 35) in 2008.

• Kansas City’s defense recorded nine sacks and held the Broncos to 1 of 13 on third-down conversions last week. It’s the fourth time since 1991 a team has had nine or more sacks while limiting an opponent to less than 10 percent on third downs, and the first time since Oct. 3, 2010 (Giants vs. Bears).

• In last week’s 42-24 win over Oakland, Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers joined Norm Van Brocklin (1951) and Mark Rypien (1991) as the only quarterbacks in NFL history with at least 400 passing yards, five passing touchdowns and a rushing TD in a game. Rodgers also threw his 350th career TD pass and reached the milestone in fewer games (172) than anyone in NFL history (Drew Brees, 180).

MONDAY

Dolphins (0-6) at Steelers (2-4), 8:15 p.m. (ESPN)

• Miami and Pittsburgh are the only two teams without a 100-yard rusher or receiver this season. It’s the first time the Steelers have gone six straight games without a player rushing for 100 or more yards to begin a season since 2013 (14 straight).

• Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick will face the Dolphins for the first time since being traded from Miami to Pittsburgh on Sept. 14. Since inserting the 2018 first-round pick in the lineup in Week 3, Pittsburgh has limited opposing quarterbacks to a 68.0 passer rating — third-best in the NFL over that span.

• Miami has lost nine straight games dating back to last season, the third-longest streak in franchise history and longest since a 10-game skid from Dec. 19, 2010-Oct. 30, 2011. The Dolphins also have nine consecutive losses on the road, their longest in away games since dropping a franchise-record 11 straight from Dec. 17, 2006-Sept. 14, 2008.