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10/28 05:00 CDT Turnaround by the Vikings and collapse by the Chargers make for
a first in the NFL
Turnaround by the Vikings and collapse by the Chargers make for a first in the
NFL
By JOSH DUBOW
AP Pro Football Writer
The Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Chargers are the surprising last teams
standing with a zero in either the win or the loss column.
The Vikings beat Indianapolis 16-10 on Sunday and are now the only undefeated
team remaining after losses by San Francisco and Kansas City, while the
Chargers are the last winless team after Miami beat the New York Jets.
That makes this season the first in the Super Bowl era, according to
Sportradar, when the last undefeated team missed the playoffs the previous
season and the last winless team made the previous postseason.
While the Vikings and Chargers are on opposite sides of the standings, they are
tied in one statistic that shows just how unlikely this 6-0 start is for
Minnesota. The teams are averaging 1.5 offensive touchdowns per game for the
second-lowest mark in the NFL.
The Vikings scored five TDs on offense in the opener against Green Bay and have
only four in five games since then but still keep winning. Minnesota has scored
125 points overall to tie for the second fewest for any 6-0 team in the last 90
seasons.
The Rams scored 116 in the first six games in 1978 on the way to a 12-4 record
and a trip to the NFC title game. The Vikings also scored 125 points in the
first six games in 1973 in a season that ended with a Super Bowl loss to Miami.
The fast start should bode well for Minnesota as the final undefeated team has
made the playoffs every season since 2017. The last team to miss out were the
Vikings in 2016 when they were the only undefeated team at 5-0 after six weeks
before finishing 8-8 and falling short of the postseason.
Ravens blow another double-digit lead; 49ers fail to make a big late comeback Three teams overcame double-digit deficits to win in Week 7, with one of the teams that blew the lead not a surprise. Cleveland fell behind 14-0 early before beating Tennessee 27-24, Atlanta rallied from 14-3 down to beat San Francisco 29-20 and Cincinnati overcame a 13-0 halftime deficit to beat Baltimore 35-13. That gives the league 20 double-digit comebacks this season to tie for the third most through seven weeks in a nonstrike season. The Bengals' comeback was particularly noteworthy as it marked the 10th time in the last five seasons that the Ravens lost a game after leading by at least 10 points in the second half. No other team has done it more than six times in that span. But it's extremely rare for a team to fall behind by that much at halftime and win such a lopsided game. In fact, Cincinnati became the third team in NFL history to win a game by least 20 points after trailing by 13 or more at the half. It last happened on Nov. 19, 1950, when the Giants came back from 20-7 down at the half to beat the first version of the Baltimore Colts 55-20. Those Colts folded after the season and a new version that now plays in Indianapolis started three years later. Only one other team has done it in NFL history with the Bears coming from 14-0 down at the half to beat the Eagles 49-14 on Nov. 30, 1941. The Falcons built a 26-14 lead in the fourth quarter after their first-half deficit and that proved too much for San Francisco to overcome. The 49ers are 0-49 in 10 seasons under Kyle Shanahan, playoffs included, when trailing by at least eight points in the fourth quarter. Every other team has at least one win in that scenario in that span, led by the eight for Green Bay and Pittsburgh. The comeback by Cleveland prevented Tennessee from winning back-to-back games for the first time since 2022. The Titans have gone 65 straight games without consecutive wins to tie the Browns for the longest streak ever at 65, according to Sportradar. Tennessee will set the record next week with a 66th game. Tampa Bay did go 74 straight without winning consecutive games in a season in the 1980s but did win the final game in 1988 and the opener in 1989 to break up that streak.
Kickers struggling early in the season The kicking revolution that took over the NFL last season after a change in the kicking ball has abated early this season with the most misses at this point in a season in five years. There have been 98 missed field goals and extra points so far for the most in the first seven weeks since there were 102 in 2021. The problem was especially costly for Green Bay last week. Trey Smack missed a 26-yarder in the first quarter and had a 35-yarder blocked in a tie game in the fourth quarter, contributing to the Packers' 20-17 loss to Detroit. Smack became the first kicker to miss two field goals from 35 yards or closer in the same game since Mike Nugent did it for New England in a 27-13 win against Cleveland in 2019. It was the first time it happened in a loss of three points of fewer since Shaun Suisham did it for Pittsburgh in a 21-18 loss to the Raiders in 2013. There has been only one other miss in 172 attempts this season from 37 yards or closer and that came in Week 2 when Chicago's Cairo Santos had a 23-yarder blocked in a 9-3 loss to Minnesota. The Packers aren't the only team with kicking issues this season. The Rams released Harrison Mevis after he missed two field goals in a Week 5 overtime loss to Buffalo, Eddy Pineiro became the first 49ers kicker in 40 years to miss a kick in at least five straight games and Harrison Butker missed two field goals for Kansas City on Sunday night to give him an NFL-worst 15 missed kicks since the start of last season.
Seahawks shut down Mahomes and the Chiefs Seattle's Dark Side defense proved to be too much against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. The Seahawks beat the Chiefs 20-3 on Sunday night in a win that was more dominating than even the score indicated. Kansas City failed to make it into the red zone even once in the game for the first time in 153 starts for Mahomes in the regular season and playoffs. The Chiefs went scoreless in the first half for the fifth time with Mahomes at quarterback, tied their fewest points ever in a Mahomes start with a 27-3 loss to Tennessee in 2021 and finished with their second-fewest yards (213) and fewest first downs (11) in those 153 games. In fact, the Chiefs only had one touchdown the previous week against the Chargers on a run by Kenneth Walker III, marking the first time a Kansas City quarterback started back-to-back without throwing or running for a TD since Alex Smith did it in 2013. ___ Inside the Numbers dives into NFL statistics, streaks and trends each week. For more Inside the Numbers, head here. ___ See AP's full NFL coverage here
Ravens blow another double-digit lead; 49ers fail to make a big late comeback Three teams overcame double-digit deficits to win in Week 7, with one of the teams that blew the lead not a surprise. Cleveland fell behind 14-0 early before beating Tennessee 27-24, Atlanta rallied from 14-3 down to beat San Francisco 29-20 and Cincinnati overcame a 13-0 halftime deficit to beat Baltimore 35-13. That gives the league 20 double-digit comebacks this season to tie for the third most through seven weeks in a nonstrike season. The Bengals' comeback was particularly noteworthy as it marked the 10th time in the last five seasons that the Ravens lost a game after leading by at least 10 points in the second half. No other team has done it more than six times in that span. But it's extremely rare for a team to fall behind by that much at halftime and win such a lopsided game. In fact, Cincinnati became the third team in NFL history to win a game by least 20 points after trailing by 13 or more at the half. It last happened on Nov. 19, 1950, when the Giants came back from 20-7 down at the half to beat the first version of the Baltimore Colts 55-20. Those Colts folded after the season and a new version that now plays in Indianapolis started three years later. Only one other team has done it in NFL history with the Bears coming from 14-0 down at the half to beat the Eagles 49-14 on Nov. 30, 1941. The Falcons built a 26-14 lead in the fourth quarter after their first-half deficit and that proved too much for San Francisco to overcome. The 49ers are 0-49 in 10 seasons under Kyle Shanahan, playoffs included, when trailing by at least eight points in the fourth quarter. Every other team has at least one win in that scenario in that span, led by the eight for Green Bay and Pittsburgh. The comeback by Cleveland prevented Tennessee from winning back-to-back games for the first time since 2022. The Titans have gone 65 straight games without consecutive wins to tie the Browns for the longest streak ever at 65, according to Sportradar. Tennessee will set the record next week with a 66th game. Tampa Bay did go 74 straight without winning consecutive games in a season in the 1980s but did win the final game in 1988 and the opener in 1989 to break up that streak.
Kickers struggling early in the season The kicking revolution that took over the NFL last season after a change in the kicking ball has abated early this season with the most misses at this point in a season in five years. There have been 98 missed field goals and extra points so far for the most in the first seven weeks since there were 102 in 2021. The problem was especially costly for Green Bay last week. Trey Smack missed a 26-yarder in the first quarter and had a 35-yarder blocked in a tie game in the fourth quarter, contributing to the Packers' 20-17 loss to Detroit. Smack became the first kicker to miss two field goals from 35 yards or closer in the same game since Mike Nugent did it for New England in a 27-13 win against Cleveland in 2019. It was the first time it happened in a loss of three points of fewer since Shaun Suisham did it for Pittsburgh in a 21-18 loss to the Raiders in 2013. There has been only one other miss in 172 attempts this season from 37 yards or closer and that came in Week 2 when Chicago's Cairo Santos had a 23-yarder blocked in a 9-3 loss to Minnesota. The Packers aren't the only team with kicking issues this season. The Rams released Harrison Mevis after he missed two field goals in a Week 5 overtime loss to Buffalo, Eddy Pineiro became the first 49ers kicker in 40 years to miss a kick in at least five straight games and Harrison Butker missed two field goals for Kansas City on Sunday night to give him an NFL-worst 15 missed kicks since the start of last season.
Seahawks shut down Mahomes and the Chiefs Seattle's Dark Side defense proved to be too much against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. The Seahawks beat the Chiefs 20-3 on Sunday night in a win that was more dominating than even the score indicated. Kansas City failed to make it into the red zone even once in the game for the first time in 153 starts for Mahomes in the regular season and playoffs. The Chiefs went scoreless in the first half for the fifth time with Mahomes at quarterback, tied their fewest points ever in a Mahomes start with a 27-3 loss to Tennessee in 2021 and finished with their second-fewest yards (213) and fewest first downs (11) in those 153 games. In fact, the Chiefs only had one touchdown the previous week against the Chargers on a run by Kenneth Walker III, marking the first time a Kansas City quarterback started back-to-back without throwing or running for a TD since Alex Smith did it in 2013. ___ Inside the Numbers dives into NFL statistics, streaks and trends each week. For more Inside the Numbers, head here. ___ See AP's full NFL coverage here
