NFL Stats Quiz

1.

With inspiration from the Colt McCoy stat above, which NFL quarterback (since 1960) has the most total wins in games (min. 10 pass attempts) in which he threw zero touchdown passes?

A.

Kordell Stewart
B.

John Elway
C.

Brad Johnson
D.

Steve McNair

Correct Answer
B. John Elway

Explanation
The Hall of Fame quarterback won 148 games over his career. In a pretty remarkable 32 of those wins (21.6% of them!), Elway let his RBs do the dirty work and threw no TD passes. Kerry Collins and Steve McNair are tied for second-most with 23. Brad Johnson had 22 such wins. Kordell Stewart had 19, a fun stat in and of itself considering he played for only seven seasons and had 48 wins.

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2.

Jerry Rice has the most wins of any skill position player (QB, RB, WR, TE) in NFL history, winning 193 of the 303 games played over his career. Which skill position player has the most losses in their career?

A.

Brett Favre
B.

Tony Gonzalez
C.

Irving Fryar
D.

Vinny Testaverde

Correct Answer
D. Vinny Testaverde

Explanation
Testaverde lost 134 games in his career, but if we take out the skill position player caveat, he isn’t even close to the NFL record of 213 losses, held by Jason Hanson, the Detroit Lions kicker from 1992-2012. Testaverde is actually 22nd overall among all NFL players. 49ers’ K Phil Dawson leads active players with 150 L’s.

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3.

We all know Peyton Manning broke the career passing TDs record this year. There were many graphics that showed his passing distribution and we learned that Manning to Marvin Harrison is the most prolific QB-to-receiver touchdown combo of all time with 112. Let’s take QBs out of the mix. Since 1960, what is the most prolific non-QB-to-receiver duo?

A.

RB Keith Lincoln to WR Lance Alworth
B.

WR Antwaan Randle El to WR Hines Ward
C.

RB Marcus Allen to TE Todd Christensen
D.

RB Tom Moore to WR Max McGee

Correct Answer
A. RB Keith Lincoln to WR Lance Alworth

Explanation
Lincoln threw five touchdowns in his career, four of them to Alworth. The other three options listed each had two hookups. The most prolific non-QB-to-QB duo would be Walter Payton to Jim McMahon, who connected for touchdowns twice.

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4.

Let’s stay in the same realm. Of quarterbacks with 200+ passing touchdowns, who has thrown a touchdown to the largest number of different receivers?

A.

Peyton Manning
B.

Fran Tarkenton
C.

Brett Favre
D.

Vinny Testaverde

Correct Answer
D. Vinny Testaverde

Explanation
Testaverde is 10th on the all-time TD list with 275 career touchdown passes to an incredible 70 different receivers. 20-year ironman Brett Favre threw to 61 TD receivers, making him second on the list. Passing TD leader Peyton Manning has thrown to just 45 players, which is actually a fewer than three other active quarterbacks in the 200+ TD category, Tom Brady (54), Drew Brees (47) and Carson Palmer (48).

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5.

That was fun. Now let’s try the opposite. Of players with 75+ receiving touchdowns, who has caught TD passes from the largest number of different quarterbacks?

A.

Andre Rison
B.

Joey Galloway
C.

Jerry Rice
D.

Randy Moss

Correct Answer
B. Joey Galloway

Explanation
Of course the answer wouldn’t be as easy as the all-time receiving touchdown leaders, though Rice is second having caught TDs from 14 different quarterbacks. Galloway caught 77 TDs from 15 different QBs on five different teams. Rison and Moss got their scores with 13 different QBs.

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6.

202 NFL players have 1,000+ yards rushing. 3,830 have at least one yard. I, like (mostly) everyone reading this, have zero career rushing yards in the NFL. Congratulations! We have more yards on the ground than 329 professional football players (since 1960)! The player who has traveled backwards the most has rushed for -36 yards. Who is he?

A.

Ricky Watts
B.

Todd Pinkston
C.

Chris Sanders
D.

Brandon Lloyd

Correct Answer
C. Chris Sanders

Explanation
Sanders played wide receiver from 1995-2001 for the Houston Oilers and Tennessee Titans, ending his career with 177 receptions for 3,285 yards and 17 touchdowns. He also ran the ball four times, at an average of -9 yards per carry. Combined, all four players have -98 rushing yards. They did make up for it with 13,595 combined receiving yards and 75 TDs.

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7.

Everyone loves a quick touchdown like a kickoff return, or a first-play 80-yard pass to give your team all the momentum. But there have been a lot of plays like that. So let’s shift to the opposite end of the spectrum and find the most disappointing drive. Can you blindly guess which team since 1998 put together longest drive (94 yards) that resulted in no points?

A.

Cincinnati Bengals, vs. Baltimore 12/26/1999
B.

New Orleans Saints, vs. Carolina 10/07/2007
C.

New England Patriots, vs. Jacksonville 12/27/09
D.

Chicago Bears, vs. San Francisco 11/12/09

Correct Answer
A. Cincinnati Bengals, vs. Baltimore 12/26/1999

Explanation
94 yards, 9:44 minutes, 21 plays. The Bengals drove to the opponent’s two-yard line and had their field goal blocked. Ouch. The other games mentioned are all upsetting in their own right. New Orleans has the most plays on a drive that resulted in nothing, 24 plays and a blocked field goal. New England has the longest in terms of time, running 12:12 off the clock before ending the drive on downs. The Bears drive went 88 yards to the 49ers one-yard line before heartbreakingly ending in an INT.

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8.

In 1962-63, Oakland DB Tom Morrow had eight consecutive games with an interception, a feat that has never been matched. Which NFL quarterback has the longest streak of consecutive games with an interception thrown?

A.

Terry Bradshaw
B.

Ryan Leaf
C.

Frank Tripucka
D.

Joe Namath

Correct Answer
D. Joe Namath

Explanation
The Hall of Famer went 20-straight games with a pick in a streak that lasted from October 10, 1970, to September 17, 1973. He had 37 total interceptions in that time frame. Leaf and Bradshaw each had streaks of over a dozen games, while Denver’s Frank Tripucka holds the record with 11 consecutive games with two or more interceptions.

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9.

There’s been a lot of negative in this quiz, so let’s look at some wins. Which player has been a part of the most game-winning overtime touchdowns (passing, rushing and/or receiving)?

A.

Drew Bledsoe
B.

LaDainian Tomlinson
C.

Warren Moon
D.

Jerome Bettis

Correct Answer
A. Drew Bledsoe

Explanation
Bledsoe has thrown four touchdown passes to take the win in overtime. He is also the youngest player to throw an OT game-winner at the age of 21 years, 322 days. LaDainian Tomlinson is next on the list with three, tied with Terry Bradshaw.

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10.

Everyone loves a good streak. DeMarco Murray has started this season on a well-known eight-game streak of 100+-yard rushing games, chasing Barry Sanders’s record of 14 straight. Drew Brees received quite the celebration when breaking the games with a TD pass streak, a record he now holds with 54. Let’s look at one of the most impressive defensive streaks I could find. Which NFL team holds the record with 69 consecutive games registering a sack?

A.

Los Angeles Raiders
B.

Chicago Bears
C.

Dallas Cowboys
D.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Correct Answer
D. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Explanation
Of course I had to end on a Buccaneers record, but this one is pretty remarkable. The record spans five seasons from 1999-2003. The Dallas Cowboys are a close second with 68 straight games from 1976-1980. The closest current team is the Green Bay Packers, sitting at 28. The Bucs allowed just 60 passing touchdowns during their streak, 0.87 per game. They had 191 sacks and 118 interceptions in that time frame, 2.77 and 1.71 per game, respectively.

To try and put that number in perspective, 2.77 sacks per game over an entire season would be 44. 1.71 INTs per game would be 27 in a season. In 2013, only nine teams managed 44 sacks or more, only one topped 27 picks. The Bucs did that for essentially five seasons in a row.

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