13 fascinating facts from Week 15 NFL games so far

The NFL postponed two games this weekend into next week because of COVID-19 issues within a pair of teams. Twelve games are in the books, though, and there have been plenty of incredible feats and facts so far.

The biggest shocker of the weekend was the lowly Detroit Lions knocking off the Arizona Cardinals, 30-12. The Lions had the worst record entering the league at 1-11-1 while the Cardinals had the best record at 10-3.

Detroit’s win was the 10th time this season a team won a game over an opponent that had at least four more wins than them. On Sunday night, the New Orleans Saints (6-7) made it 11 times this season with a 9-0 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-3).

Here are 12 more interesting facts from the weekend so far:

• Detroit’s win over Arizona marked the second time in two years that a team with one win or fewer beat a team with 10 or more wins. In 2020, the New York Jets (1-13) beat the Cleveland Browns (10-4), 23-16 in Week 16.
• The Buccaneers led the league in points per game, but were shutout Sunday night. They became the first team since the 1970 NFL merger to lead the league in points and get shutout in either December or January—and it happened at home in Tampa.
• Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger passed for 148 yards in a 19-13 win over the Tennessee Titans, giving “Big” Ben 63,562 career passing yards. That moves him past Philip Rivers and into fifth all-time in that category.
• Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt had 1.5 sacks on Sunday, giving him 67 for the first five years in his career, which is now third all-time to start a career, passing Derrick Thomas (66) on that list. The top two for sacks in their first five years are Reggie White (81) and J.J. Watt (74.5).
• Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers passed for 268 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-30 win over Baltimore on Sunday, giving him at least 30 touchdown passes for eight seasons now. He’s only the fifth quarterback to achieve that: Drew Brees (10 seasons), Tom Brady (9), Brett Favre (9) and Peyton Manning (9).
• With their win, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur became the third coach since 1970 to win at least 11 games in each of his first three seasons as an NFL head coach. Jim Harbaugh (San Francisco, 2011-13) and Chuck Pagano (Indianapolis, 2012-14) are the others.
• Baltimore tight end Mark Andrews had 10 catches for 136 yards and two touchdowns in that 31-30 loss to the Packers. He had 11 receptions for 115 yards and a touchdown the previous week, making him only the second tight end in NFL history to have at least 10 receptions, 100 yards and a touchdown in back-to-back games, matching Travis Kelce’s feat in 2018.
• Since the Indianapolis Colts defeated the New England Patriots on Saturday, no AFC teams can clinch a division title by Week 15, marking the first time since 2002 that AFC teams enter Week 16 with no divisional winners declared yet.
• With five games remaining this weekend, 28 of the league’s 32 teams are still in contention for a playoff spot. The most teams ever in contention at this point of the season has been 27, which was set three times (1982, 1995, 2004).
• Dallas Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs grabbed his league-leading 10th interception of the season in his team’s 21-6 win over the New York Giants.
• The Cowboys forced four turnovers Sunday for their third-consecutive game, a feat that hasn’t been done in a three-game span since the 2007 Detroit Lions.
• Cincinnati rookie kicker Evan McPherson booted three field goals Sunday in the Bengals’ 15-10 win at Denver, distances of 26, 53 and 58 yards. He now has nine field goals of 50 yards or more, which is now second all-time among rookie kickers. The record is 10, set by Blair Walsh in 2012.

There are still two more games to play on Monday night and two more on Tuesday, so things could get even more interesting.