Blowouts on the rise through first 7 weeks
The NFL has been highlighting the big number of late comebacks, overtimes and last-minute finishes so far this season.
There also has been an increase in blowouts — with last week one of the most lopsided the league has seen in years.
Cincinnati, New England, the Giants, Tennessee, Tampa Bay and Arizona all won by at least 22 points Sunday as more than half of the games that day were blowouts.
There have been 21 games so far decided by more than 21 points, tied for the second-most since the merger through seven weeks. Only the 2009 season had more with 23. The NFL averaged less than 13 of these blowouts in the first seven weeks in the past six seasons.
The six games decided by at least 22 points on Sunday marked the third time that has happened on a single day in the past 100 years, with the others coming on Oct. 25, 2009, and Sept. 7, 1986.
The average margin of victory Sunday was 20 points,
marking the third day since the merger when at least four games were played and the average margin of victory was at least 20 points.
When it comes to nail-biters, there have been 24 contests decided by a score in the final minute, 11 OT games and 29 wins by teams that trailed at some point in the fourth quarter.
Turnaround teams
Half of the division leaders are teams that didn’t make the playoffs in 2020, led by the NFL’s sole remaining undefeated team in NFC West-leading Arizona. The Cardinals (7-0) last made the postseason in 2015.
AFC North leading Cincinnati (5-2) also hasn’t made the playoffs since 2015, and finished last in the division the previous three years. In 16 of the past 18 seasons, a team has gone from last to first.
The droughts for two other division leaders are slightly shorter, with the AFC West-leading Raiders seeking their first playoff bid since 2016 and the NFC East-leading Cowboys (5-1) looking to get back for the first time since 2018.
At least two teams have won their divisions the season after missing the playoffs in 17 of the last 18 years.
Chasing history
Rookie receiver Ja’Marr Chase is doing his best to settle the debate about whether the Bengals made the right choice to draft him fifth overall instead of an offensive lineman.
The 21-year-old Chase had eight catches for 201 yards and a TD last week against Baltimore, becoming the second-youngest to record a 200-yard receiving game. Mike Evans did it at 21 years, 87 days old — 150 days younger than Chase.
Chase did set a record with his 754 yards receiving so far this season, the most for a player in his first seven games, 69 yards more than Harlon Hill had in 1954.
Chase, who also had 159 yards receiving and a touchdown catch in Week 5, is the fifth rookie since the merger to have multiple games with at least 150 yards receiving and a TD catch. Randy Moss is the only player with three games in 1998.
Chase isn’t the only rookie pass catcher putting up impressive stats. Atlanta tight end Kyle Pitts had seven catches for 163 yards last week, the fourth-most yards by a rookie tight end.
Pitts also had 119 yards receiving in his previous game before a bye, joining the Raiders’ Raymond Chester (1970) as the only rookie tight ends with at least 100 yards receiving in back-toback games.
Pitts’ 471 yards receiving broke Mike Ditka’s mark of 444 for the most by a tight end in his first six games.