48 Things That Never Happened in the NFL Until 2014
History is made during the course of every NFL season, and while some of the milestones will be etched on a Hall of Fame bust (Tom Brady’s six Super Bowl starts), some are a little more obscure (LaGarrette Blount’s seven career playoff touchdowns against the Colts).
Certainly, the 2015 season will add to this list of monumental and not-so-monumental firsts.
As the NFL season nears, let’s take a look back at 2014’s weird firsts.
2014 was the first time…
A TEAM
• Won a game by 17 points after being shut out by at least that many points in the first half (Eagles over Jaguars).
• Shoveled itself out of 14-point second-half deficits to win each of its first two games of the year (Eagles).
• Opened a season 3–0 despite trailing in each game by at least 10 points (Eagles).
• Won a game on the road that it once trailed by 25 points (Browns).
• Fielded a running back who rushed for four touchdowns (Marshawn Lynch) and a quarterback who rushed for 100 yards (Russell Wilson) in the same game (Seahawks).
• Lost at least nine of its first 10 games for a third consecutive season (Jaguars).
• Scored 28 or more first-half points in four consecutive home games (Packers).
• Won three games in a row by 20 or more points against teams who were at least three games over .500 (Patriots).
• Fielded a rookie rusher (Andre Williams) and a rookie receiver (Odell Beckham Jr.) who each piled up at least 130 yards in the same game (Giants).
• Went 14 consecutive seasons without being swept in a multiple-game series by a team in its own division (Patriots).
• Allowed an opposing QB to complete 80 percent of its passes and throw for three TDs in three games of a season (Bears).
• Rushed for as many as 355 yards and lost (49ers).
• Had two different backs who broke runs of 85 yards or longer in the same season (Bengals: Gio Bernard and Jeremy Hill).
• From the NFC South won its division for a second straight year (Panthers).
• Got a non-offensive TD from 10 different players (Eagles).
• Limited another team to as few as 78 yards in a postseason game (Panthers vs. Cardinals).
• Dropped a fourth consecutive opening-round playoff game (Bengals).
• Fell to 0–7 in postseason road contests (Bengals).
• Overcame a deficit as large as 16 points to win a conference title game (Seahawks).
• Blew a fourth-quarter lead as large as 10 points to lose a Super Bowl (Seahawks).
A QUARTERBACK
• Passed for 400 yards for the 14th time in a career (Peyton Manning).
• Compiled a TD-to-INT ratio as high as 18-to-1 the first seven games of a season (Aaron Rodgers).
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• Threw a fifth TD pass less than 20 minutes into a game (Joe Flacco).
• Passed for 300 yards and rushed for 100 in the same game (Russell Wilson).
• Completed more than 85 percent of his passes (min. 20 atts.) in a game against a defending Super Bowl champion (Austin Davis).
• Completed seven game-winning TD passes inside the two-minute warning in his first six seasons (Matthew Stafford).
• Passed for 350-plus yards in five consecutive road games (Andrew Luck).
• Completed at least five TD passes in a game nine times in a career (Manning and Drew Brees).
• Threw 418 consecutive passes without an interception in home games (Rodgers; still active).
• Threw for at least three TDs without being picked off in four straight road games (Tony Romo).
• Lost his first 20 road starts against teams that finished with a winning record (Ryan Fitzpatrick).
• Attained a 100.0 passer rating in a sixth consecutive season (Rodgers).
• Lost nine one-and-done starts in the postseason (Manning).
• Started two Super Bowls in his first three seasons (Wilson).
• Started six Super Bowls (Tom Brady).
A RUNNING BACK
• Rushed for more than 525 yards in his first three games facing a specific team (DeMarco Murray vs. St. Louis).
• Began a season with eight consecutive 100-yard games (Murray).
• Caught 102 passes in a season (Matt Forte).
• Rushed for seven career TDs against one particular team in postseason play (LeGarrette Blount vs. Colts).
A RECEIVER
• Made at least five catches for 50 or more yards in 32 consecutive games (Antonio Brown).
• Age 35 or older caught 400 yards worth of passes in his first four games (Steve Smith).
• Went more than nine years between 80-yard touchdown catches (Brandon Lloyd).
• Caught a dozen or more TD passes from the tight end position in successive seasons (Julius Thomas).
• Collected more than 100 yards in a season debut that was as late as Week 12 (Josh Gordon).
• Got to 10,000 yards in as few as 115 games (Calvin Johnson).
• Age 36 or older caught a pass of at least 80 yards (Reggie Wayne).
• Threw a TD pass of longer than 50 yards in a postseason game (Julian Edelman).
• Scored an overtime TD on the only pass he caught in a playoff contest (Jermaine Kearse).
This story and more appears in the 2015 Athlon Sports NFL Preview Magazine, available online now and on newsstands everywhere.