Seven From Sunday – Week 12

A look at seven statistical highlights from games played at 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, November 28, the 12th week of the 2021 season.

• Including Chicago and Las Vegas’ game-winning field goals as time expired earlier in Week 12 on Thanksgiving, there have been 25 games decided by a game-winning score on the final play this season, the most such games through Week 12 all-time.
  
  With two games remaining in Week 12, there have been 40 games with a game-winning score in the final two minutes of regulation or in overtime this season, the third-most such games through Week 12 all-time. Only 2003 (45) and 2015 (42) had more.
  
• Tampa Bay quarterback TOM BRADY had one touchdown pass, running back LEONARD FOURNETTE totaled four touchdowns (three rushing, one receiving) and tight end ROB GRONKOWSKI had seven receptions for 123 yards in the Buccaneers’ 38-31 win over Indianapolis.
  
  Brady, who has 30 touchdown passes this season, has nine career seasons with at least 30 touchdown passes, tied with Pro Football Hall of Famers BRETT FAVRE (nine seasons) and PEYTON MANNING (nine) for the second-most seasons ever with at least 30 touchdown passes. Only DREW BREES (10) has more.
  
  Last week, Indianapolis running back JONATHAN TAYLOR (five touchdowns) and Los Angeles Chargers running back AUSTIN EKELER (four) each recorded at least four touchdowns. Along with Fournette in Week 12, it marks the first time since Weeks 10-11 of the 2014 season [MARSHAWN LYNCH (Week 10) and JONAS GRAY (Week 11)] that there has been a running back with a four-touchdown game in consecutive weeks.
  
  Gronkowski recorded his 30th career game with at least 100 receiving yards and joins Pro Football Hall of Famer TONY GONZALEZ (31 games) as the only tight ends with at least 30 games with 100-or-more receiving yards all-time.
  
• Green Bay quarterback AARON RODGERS passed for 307 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions for a 97.2 rating and rushed for a touchdown in the Packers’ 36-28 win over the Los Angeles Rams.
  
  Rodgers recorded his 60th career game with at least 300 passing yards and two touchdown passes and joined DREW BREES (97 games), TOM BRADY (84) and Pro Football Hall of Famer PEYTON MANNING (70) as the only players all-time with at least 60 such career games.
  
• Miami quarterback TUA TAGOVAILOA completed 27 of 31 pass attempts (87.1 percent) for 230 yards and one touchdown with a 108.3 rating while rookie wide receiver JAYLEN WADDLE had nine receptions for a career-high 137 yards and one touchdown in the Dolphins’ 33-10 win over Carolina. Cornerback XAVIEN HOWARD recorded his third interception of the season in the win.
  
  At 23 years and 271 days old, Tagovailoa joins DAK PRESCOTT (88.9 completion percentage on 32 of 36 attempts, December 18, 2016 at 23 years, 142 days old) as the only quarterbacks under the age of 24 with a completion percentage of 85-or-higher (minimum 30 attempts) in a single game all-time.
  
  Tagovailoa, who completed 27 of 33 pass attempts (81.8 percent) in Week 11, is the fourth player in NFL history with a completion percentage of 80-or-higher (minimum 30 attempts) in consecutive games, joining DREW BREES (Weeks 1-2, 2018), Pro Football Hall of Famer PEYTON MANNING (Weeks 3-4, 2013) and KYLER MURRAY (Weeks 2-3, 2021).
  
  Waddle has 77 receptions this season, the second-most receptions by a player in his first 12 career games in NFL history. Only ODELL BECKHAM JR. (91) had more.
  
  Appearing in his 67th career game, Howard registered his 25th career interception and surpassed MARCUS PETERS (68 games) as the fastest player to reach 25 interceptions since 1990.
  
• San Francisco wide receiver DEEBO SAMUEL rushed for 66 yards and two touchdowns in the 49ers’ 34-26 win over Minnesota.
  
  Samuel, who had an eight-yard touchdown run in Week 10 and a 25-yard touchdown run in Week 11, is the first wide receiver since 1970 to record a rushing touchdown in three consecutive games.
  
  Samuel has five rushing touchdowns this season and surpassed TAVON AUSTIN (four rushing touchdowns in 2015) for the most rushing touchdowns by a wide receiver in a single season in the Super Bowl era.
  
• New England defensive back J.C. JACKSON registered his seventh interception of the season and one forced fumble in the Patriots’ 36-13 win over Tennessee.
  
  Jackson has 24 career interceptions, tied with Pro Football Hall of Famer KENNY EASLEY (24 interceptions) and RICHARD SHERMAN (24) for the third-most by a player in his first four seasons since 1970. Only LESTER HAYES (25 interceptions) and EVERSON WALLS (25) have more.
  
  Jackson, who ranked second in the NFL with nine interceptions last season, is the first player since RICHARD SHERMAN (2012-13) to record at least seven interceptions in consecutive seasons.
  
• Denver rookie cornerback PAT SURTAIN II recorded two interceptions, including a 70-yard interception return for a touchdown, in the Broncos’ 28-13 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
  
  Surtain – who had his first-career interception return for a touchdown in Week 12 – and his father PATRICK SURTAIN, who had two career interception returns for touchdowns during his 11-year NFL career, are one of four known father-son combinations each with an interception return for a touchdown, along with GIL BYRD and his son JAIRUS BYRD, DAVE GRAYSON and his son DAVID GRAYSON, and CLAY MATTHEWS and his son CLAY MATTHEWS.
  
• Other notable performances from Sunday include: 

• Cincinnati running back JOE MIXON rushed for 165 yards and two touchdowns in the Bengals’ 41-10 win over Pittsburgh.
  
  Mixon has two touchdowns in four consecutive games and is the first player since STEVEN JACKSON in 2006 (Weeks 14-17) with at least two touchdowns in four consecutive games within a single season.
  
• Los Angeles Chargers quarterback JUSTIN HERBERT completed 28 of 44 pass attempts (63.6 percent) for 303 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday.
  
  Herbert, who has 55 career touchdown passes, surpassed DEREK CARR (53 touchdown passes) for the second-most touchdown passes by a player in his first two seasons. Only Pro Football Hall of Famer DAN MARINO (68) has more.
  
  Herbert has 685 career completions and surpassed ANDREW LUCK (682 completions) for the third-most completions ever by a player in his first two seasons. Only KYLER MURRAY (724 completions) and DEREK CARR (698) had more.  
  
• Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver KEENAN ALLEN had seven catches for 85 yards against Denver in Week 12.
  
  Allen, who appeared in his 111th career game on Sunday, has 705 career receptions and tied ANTONIO BROWN (111 games) as the fastest player to reach 700 receptions in NFL history.
  
• Los Angeles Chargers running back AUSTIN EKELER totaled 99 scrimmage yards (68 receiving, 31 rushing) and a touchdown reception on Sunday.
  
  Ekeler, who has 5,057 career scrimmage yards, became the third undrafted player to reach 5,000 scrimmage yards in his first five seasons in the common-draft era, joining ARIAN FOSTER and WILLIE PARKER.
  
• Minnesota wide receiver ADAM THIELEN had two touchdown receptions in Week 12.
  
  Thielen, who has 50 career touchdowns (49 receiving, one rushing), is the fourth undrafted wide receiver with at least 50 career touchdowns in the common-draft era, joining ROD SMITH (69), GARY CLARK (65) and WES WELKER (50).
  
  Thielen, who has 10 touchdown receptions this season and had 14 touchdown catches in 2020, is the fourth undrafted player to record at least 10 touchdown receptions in multiple seasons, joining ANTONIO GATES (four), STEPHONE PAIGE (two) and ROD SMITH (two).
  
• Minnesota rookie running back KENE NWANGWU, who recorded a 99-yard kickoff-return for a touchdown on Sunday and a 98-yard kickoff-return touchdown in Week 9, is the first rookie with two kickoff-return touchdowns in a season since CORDARRELLE PATTERSON in 2013.

COURTESY NFLmedia.com