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).

•  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.