Welcome to Statistically (in)Significant, the place to find great stats that probably only matter at the water cooler (or bar). Each week I'll dig through the stats of the week gone by and deliver you some choice conversation starters.
30.24 Points
Through Sunday, Joe Flacco leads all players with 30.24 points in Week 13, after a monster 381 yard, 4 TD performance against the Dolphins. It's only the third time he's gone over 300 yards, and only the second time he's thrown for more than 2 TDs all season, so you probably didn't have him in your lineup. Owned in 23% of leagues, he's been a regular face on our waiver wire article, but I don't think anyone saw this game coming from him. This is the type of performance that he was signed for - 'member when Flacco was the highest paid player in the league? I 'member. I suppose he's not paid for big numbers - he's paid to keep his team in first place, which they are.
175 Yards from Scrimmage
David Johnson has gone over 100 yards from scrimmage in each of his 12 games this season and is making a strong MVP argument. This remarkable streak seems to really just be the norm for him - last season 4 of his last 5 games were over 100 yards from scrimmage as well. This season, he's the 4th highest scoring player in fantasy, and it's hard for anyone other than QBs to top that list. Last year, the top 16 players were QBs, then came Antonio Brown. Johnson is even pulling away from Ezekiel Elliott to dominate the RB position all by himself. So far, he has 1709 yards from scrimmage and 15 touchdowns and you still have 3 more games with him in the fantasy playoffs. Johnson can easily eclipse the 300 point mark this season.
4 Passing Yards
Well, we don't get all of them right. On Sunday, Colin Kaepernick had just 4 passing yards and was benched in the second half after being just absolutely awful. I didn't see this coming, and I'm sure some around these parts would like to attribute it to "Bear Weather", but really, the 49ers are just that bad, Kaepernick included. Players that always rely on garbage time to score their points aren't always going to be given that opportunity, and I suppose that's something worth remembering when going hunting for replacement QBs.
2 Point Return
Eric Berry found a new way to win a game in Atlanta on Sunday - the Pick-Two. I suppose we'll have to work on that name, it doesn't roll off the tongue like a pick-six, which he also had earlier in the game. This is the second time that I've seen a lead change in the 4th quarter of a game as the result of a return for two points. DEN-NO had this happen when the Broncos blocked an extra point attempt and returned it for two to win the game 25-23. The Chiefs are now 9-3 and have only lost to the Steelers, Texans and Buccaneers, all quality teams this season. Suddenly I need to stop complaining about Thursday Night Football, since we got the Cowboys-Vikings last week and the Raiders-Chiefs this week. I'll take it!
60 Straight Home Games
Sunday marked the end of Drew Brees's streak of 60 straight home games where he threw a passing touchdown. In an era where Brady and Manning will be remembered as bigger names, Rodgers as the better "pure QB", it's still possible that Brees winds up as a more prolific passer than all of them. He is, yet again, leading the league in completion percentage, passing yards, touchdowns and passing attempts. He's also the active career leader in all of those categories. You're freaking awesome, Drew. I just wish you had better teams, like those other three guys. On a side note, the Saints somehow became the first team this season NOT to lead the Detroit Lions in the 4th quarter.
Welcome to Statistically (in)Significant, the place to find great stats that probably only matter at the water cooler (or bar). Each week I'll dig through the stats of the week gone by and deliver you some choice conversation starters.
298 Yards from Scrimmage
Le'Veon Bell was the beast of all beasts this week, managing 298 yards from scrimmage and 3 TD's, putting up a ridiculous 47.80 points in standard leagues. This is particularly shocking in a week where only six players totaled over 20 fantasy points. Bell easily outscored the top two QB's and was just 5 points shy of beating the top THREE wide receivers. He had more yards from scrimmage that all but two QB's had passing yards. Hell, he had more yards than the entire team he was playing against. I could go on and on about Bell's big day.
27.14 Points per Game
Since I can, I will go on about Bell. He's now averaging over 27 points per game in his last 4 games, almost 5 points higher than second place - David Johnson. Johnson got his 13th game in a row of 100+ yards from scrimmage on Sunday in Miami. He ties Edgerrin James for the most consecutive games to start a season with at least 100 yards from scrimmage. Unfortunately for Johnson, it almost feels like his talents are wasted on a team that has been awful this season. No RB should have to suffer a QB that has -2.5 points late in the third quarter. That's not good for anyone.
1053 Rushing Yards
Le'Veon Bell is now 4th on the season for total rushing yards, despite having played only 10 games compared to everyone else's 12 or 13. He trails only Ezekiel Elliott in average yardage, who is at 107.1 yards per game. Elliott was exactly at his season average last night, but no more, continuing a mostly down fantasy week. He was also absent from the field for large parts of the 4th quarter, in favor of Lance Dunbar who managed a weak 3 receptions on 5 targets for 12 yards. The image of Romo and Elliott standing next to each other on the sideline during the final drive(s) will resonate in the heads of radio callers all week in Dallas, I suspect.
6.7 Receptions Per Game
If you have Le'Veon Bell in a PPR league (yes, yes more about Bell), then you are very smart indeed. Bell leads all RB's in catches per game, and leads all but three WR's at 6.7 catches per game. He has more receptions than all but one of the Detroit Lions (OK, so I'm reaching a bit for a transition), who managed another comeback victory. Matthew Stafford now has tied Manning (Eli, not Peyton) and Jake Delhomme for the most GWD's in one season. With three games left and the Lions completely unable to hold a lead in the fourth quarter, I'd wager that Stafford breaks this record.
38 Rushing Attempts
Rounding out this week's Le'Veon Bell stats is the ridiculous volume that he has in basically every game. his 42 total touches last week tied him for 17th all time in a single game (the record is 48, held by fellow fantasy god LaDainian Tomlinson). Speaking of former Chargers, tip of the hat to Nick Novak, who went 5/5 on FG's and scored 19 points, which would have been good for 7th among all offensive players. What does this have to do with Le'Veon Bell? Nothing, I just couldn't finish this article without a mention of a kicker.