NFL News: Seven From Sunday – Week 7

By Lydia Jane Allison

A look at seven statistical highlights from games played during the 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. ET windows on Sunday, October 22, the seventh week of the 2023 season.

  • With two games remaining in Week 7, nine of 11 games (81.8 percent) have been within one score (eight points) in the fourth quarter, with seven games having been decided by one score.This season, 68.3 percent of all games (71 of 104) have been within one score in the fourth quarter.

    Three games were decided by a game-winning score in the final two minutes of regulation of the fourth quarter.

    • ATLANTA defeated Tampa Bay, 16-13, on a game-winning 51-yard field goal by YOUNGHOE KOO as time expired.
    • CLEVELAND defeated Indianapolis, 39-38, as KAREEM HUNT recorded the go-ahead one-yard touchdown run with 15 seconds remaining. This marked the first game in NFL history to feature three touchdowns of at least 50 yards and three made field goals of 50-or-more yards.
    • NEW ENGLAND defeated Buffalo, 29-25, as MAC JONES threw the go-ahead one-yard touchdown pass to MIKE GESICKI with 12 seconds remaining.With the Patriots victory in Week 7, head coach BILL BELICHICK became the third head coach in NFL history with 300 career regular-season wins, joining Pro Football Hall of Famers DON SHULA (328 regular-season wins) and GEORGE HALAS (318).

      Including Jacksonville’s go-ahead touchdown with 3:08 remaining in the fourth quarter on Thursday, this week marks the first time since Week 6 of the 2022 season that there were at least three game-winning touchdowns in the final five minutes of regulation in a single week.​

  • Baltimore quarterback LAMAR JACKSON passed for 357 yards and three touchdowns with a 155.8 rating and added a rushing touchdown while tight end MARK ANDREWS recorded two touchdown receptions in the Ravens’ 38-6 win over Detroit.Jackson recorded his 50th regular-season win in his 68th career regular-season start, the fifth-fewest starts by a quarterback to reach 50 regular-season wins in NFL history. Only Pro Football Hall of Famer KEN STABLER (62 starts), PATRICK MAHOMES (63), TOM BRADY (65) and Pro Football Hall of Famer ROGER STAUBACH (67) reached the mark in fewer starts.

    Jackson is the fourth player in NFL history to record at least 350 passing yards, three touchdown passes, one rushing touchdown and a passer rating of 150-or-higher in a single game, joining DREW BREES (December 29, 2013), RYAN FITZPATRICK (September 9, 2018) and AARON RODGERS (October 20, 2019).

    Jackson has five rushing touchdowns this season and is the fifth quarterback in the Super Bowl era with at least five rushing touchdowns in four-or-more career seasons, joining CAM NEWTON (nine seasons), JOSH ALLEN (five), RANDALL CUNNINGHAM (four) and KORDELL STEWART (four).

    Jackson has 29 career rushing touchdowns since entering the NFL in 2018 and surpassed DAUNTE CULPEPPER (28 rushing touchdowns) for the fourth-most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in his first six career seasons in the Super Bowl era. Only CAM NEWTON (48), JOSH ALLEN (42, currently in his sixth season) and JALEN HURTS (31, currently in his fourth season) have more.

    Andrews recorded his ninth career game with at least two touchdown receptions, tied with ANTONIO GATES (nine) for the third-most such games by a tight end in his first six career seasons in NFL history. Only ROB GRONKOWSKI (14) and JIMMY GRAHAM (12) have more.

  • Kansas City quarterback PATRICK MAHOMES passed for 424 yards and four touchdowns and tight end TRAVIS KELCE had 12 receptions for 179 yards and one touchdown in the Chiefs’ 31-17 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.Mahomes has connected with Kelce for 50 touchdown passes in the regular-season, the fourth-most regular-season touchdowns between a quarterback-tight end combination in NFL history. Only the combinations of TOM BRADY and ROB GRONKOWSKI (90), PHILIP RIVERS and ANTONIO GATES (89) and DREW BREES and JIMMY GRAHAM (51) have more.

    Mahomes has 17 career games with at least four touchdown passes and surpassed Pro Football Hall of Famer DAN MARINO (16 games) for the most such games ever by a player in his first seven seasons.

    Mahomes has 10 career games with at least 400 passing yards, tied with Pro Football Hall of Famer DAN MARINO (10 games) for the most such games ever by a player in his first seven seasons.

    Mahomes has 44 games with at least 300 passing yards in his first seven seasons, tied with DREW BREES (44 games) and Pro Football Hall of Famer DAN MARINO (44) for the second-most such games by a player in his first 10 career seasons in NFL history. Only MATT RYAN (45 games) has more.

    Mahomes has 63 career games with at least two touchdown passes and surpassed RUSSELL WILSON (62 games) for the third-most such games by a quarterback in his first seven seasons in NFL history. Only Pro Football Hall of Famers DAN MARINO (65 games) and PEYTON MANNING (64) have more.

    Mahomes recorded his 26th career game with at least 300 passing yards and three touchdown passes, tied with Pro Football Hall of Famer DAN MARINO (26 games) for the most such games by a quarterback in his first seven career seasons all-time.

    Mahomes recorded his 50th career game with a passer rating of 100-or-higher and became the third quarterback with 50 such games in his first seven seasons in NFL history, joining RUSSELL WILSON (56 games) and DAK PRESCOTT (50).

    Kelce has five career games with at least 150 receiving yards and joined Pro Football Hall of Famer SHANNON SHARPE (six games) as the only tight ends in NFL history with at least five career games of at least 150 receiving yards.

    Kelce has 10 career games with at least 10 receptions and became the fourth tight end in NFL history with at least 10 such career games, joining Pro Football Hall of Famer TONY GONZALEZ (15 games), ZACH ERTZ (11) and JASON WITTEN (11).

    Kelce has 20 career games with at least 100 receiving yards and a touchdown reception and joined ROB GRONKOWSKI (23) as the only tight ends ever with at least 20 such career games.

  • Cleveland defensive end MYLES GARRETT, appearing in his 90th career game, registered two sacks, two forced fumbles and blocked a field goal while kicker DUSTIN HOPKINS converted three 50-yard field goals (54, 54 and 58 yards) in the Browns’ 39-38 win over Indianapolis.Garrett is the first player to record two-or-more sacks, two-or-more forced fumbles and a field goal block in the same game since 2000.

    Garrett, who has 82 career sacks and turns 28 years old later this season, surpassed Pro Football Hall of Famer REGGIE WHITE (80 sacks) for the most NFL sacks by a player prior to his 28th birthday since 1982, when the individual sack became an official statistic.

    Garrett has recorded at least one sack in 55 of his first 90 career games, tied with VON MILLER (55 games) for the most games with at least one sack in a player’s first 90 career games since 1982, when the individual sack became an official statistic.

    Hopkins is the first kicker in NFL history convert a 50-yard field goal in five consecutive games in a single season.

  • Chicago undrafted rookie quarterback TYSON BAGENT completed 21 of 29 pass attempts (72.4 percent) with one touchdown pass and no interceptions for a 97.2 rating in the Bears’ 30-12 win over Las Vegas.Bagent recorded the third-highest completion percentage (72.4 percent) by an undrafted rookie quarterback making his first career start in the common-draft era, trailing SAM WYCHE [80 percent (20 of 25) on November 3, 1968 with Cincinnati against the Houston Oilers] and DEVLIN HODGES [75 percent (15 of 20) on October 13, 2019 with Pittsburgh against the Los Angeles Chargers].
  • Los Angeles Rams rookie wide receiver PUKA NACUA registered eight receptions for 154 yards in Week 7.Nacua has 58 receptions in his first seven games, the most by a player in his first seven career games all-time and tied with SAQUON BARKLEY (58 receptions in 2018) for the most receptions by a player in his first eight career games in NFL history.

    Nacua has 752 receiving yards this season and joined JA’MARR CHASE (754 receiving yards in 2021) as the only players with at least 700 receiving yards in their first seven career games in NFL history.

    Nacua is the fourth player in NFL history with at least 100 receiving yards in four of his first seven career games, joining BILL GROMAN (1960), HARLON HILL (1954) and BYRON WILLIAMS (1983-84).

    Nacua, who had 163 receiving yards in Week 4, is the fourth player ever with at least 150 receiving yards in two of his first seven career games, joining BILLY HOWTON (1952), JA’MARR CHASE (2021) and JUSTIN JEFFERSON (2020).

  • Buffalo quarterback JOSH ALLEN registered three touchdowns (two passing, one rushing) and wide receiver STEFON DIGGS recorded six receptions for 58 yards and one touchdown on Sunday.Allen has 17 career games with at least two touchdown passes and one rushing touchdown, tied with Pro Football Hall of Famer STEVE YOUNG (17 games) for the third-most such games in NFL history. Only CAM NEWTON (22) and AARON RODGERS (20) have more.

    Diggs is the sixth different player in the Super Bowl era to record at least six catches in each of his team’s first seven games of a season, joining JIMMY SMITH (2001), STEVE SMITH (2006), ADAM THIELEN (2018), HINES WARD (2004) and WES WELKER (2008 and 2009).

COURTESY NFLmedia.com

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