48 Things That Never Happened in the NFL Until 2014
Aaron Rodgers
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).
Recommended Articles
• 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.
