Jack Andrade and the ¹ú²úÍâÁ÷ÍøMedia Research team put together the best stats and records from Sunday's slate of games. Here are the most notable research notes from Week 6:
- The Steelers routed the Browns 38-7 on Sunday and have started a season 5-0 for the 2nd time in franchise history. The previous time Pittsburgh started 5-0 (1978) they finished 14-2 and went on to win Super Bowl XIII.
- Chase Claypool scored a rushing touchdown Sunday against the Browns, bringing his season total to 6 total touchdowns (4 receiving touchdowns and 2 rushing touchdowns). Claypool is the first player since at least the 1970 merger with at least 4 receiving touchdowns and at least 2 rushing touchdowns over his first 5 career games. Claypool's 6 total touchdowns are tied for the most by any wide receiver and tied for 5th-most by any player regardless of position in his first 5 career games since 1970.
- It's not quite the perfect season the 1972 Dolphins put together, but the Steelers have their own 17-0 record to brag about. Since drafting Ben Roethlisberger in 2004, the Steelers are 17-0 at home against the Browns (Roethlisberger has started 12 of those games).
- Minkah Fitzpatrick had a pick-six on the Browns' first offensive drive of the game, scoring what turned out to be the game-winning points as the Steelers took a 10-0 lead and went on to win 38-7. The Steelers have won each of their last 16 games in which they scored a defensive touchdown.
- There was no shortage of offensive fireworks when the Titans knocked off the Texans 42-36 in overtime on Sunday. Deshaun Watson had 335 passing yards for Houston, while Ryan Tannehill had 364 passing yards and Derrick Henry had 212 rushing yards for Tennessee. It was the first game in ¹ú²úÍâÁ÷Íøhistory featuring 2 players with at least 330 passing yards and a player with at least 200 rushing yards. The Titans set a single game franchise record with 601 total yards of offense, and also became the first team in ¹ú²úÍâÁ÷Íøhistory to have a player with at least 350 passing yards and a player with at least 200 rushing yards in the same game.
- Henry had 212 rushing yards and 2 rushing touchdowns as the Titans beat the Texans on Sunday. It was Henry's 2nd game with at least 200 rushing yards and at least 2 rushing touchdowns, and the other was also against the Texans (211 rushing yards, 3 rushing touchdowns in Week 17, 2019). Henry is the 2nd player in ¹ú²úÍâÁ÷Íøhistory with multiple games with at least 200 rushing yards and 2 rushing touchdowns against a single opponent. The other player is former Ravens running back Jamal Lewis, who had 2 such games against the Browns in a single season in 2003.
- The Buccaneers manhandled the Packers 38-10 on Sunday, improving to 4-2 this season and increasing their point differential to +55 in 2020. That's the 2nd-highest point differential in the first 6 games of a season in team history, trailing only the 2002 Buccaneers (+87) that went on to win Super Bowl XXXVII.
- Jamel Dean had a pick-six in the 2nd quarter of the Buccaneers' win over Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. It was the 3rd pick-six of Rodgers' career and the 2nd time he threw a pick-six and lost a game — the previous such loss was in 2009 also against the Buccaneers (Tanard Jackson had the pick-six).
- The 49ers defeated the Rams on Sunday night behind 3 pass touchdowns from Jimmy Garoppolo, improving to 3-3 this season and rebounding from their Week 5 loss to the Dolphins. Garoppolo is 6-0 in his career in the ensuing game following a loss (within a season), with a 72.0 completion percentage and 117.1 passer rating in those games.
- The Falcons beat the Vikings 40-23 on Sunday to earn their first win of 2020. The Falcons are the 3rd team since the 1970 merger to start a season 0-5 or worse and then score at least 40 points in their first win of the season. The 0-5 Packers beat the Patriots 45-3 in 1988 and the 0-10 Colts beat the Packers 41-38 in 1997.
- Justin Jefferson had 166 receiving yards in the Vikings' loss on Sunday, his 3rd game in the last 4 with at least 100 receiving yards. Jefferson has 537 receiving yards this season, breaking Hall of Famer Randy Moss franchise record (since at least the 1970 merger) for most receiving yards in a player's first 6 career games (Moss had 527 in 1998).
- 38-year-old Philip Rivers led the Colts to a 31-27 win over the Bengals Sunday after Indianapolis fell behind 21-0 early in the 2nd quarter. Rivers is the oldest QB to win a game after trailing by at least 21 points since 40-year-old Earl Morrall led the Dolphins to a 34-27 win over the Patriots after trailing 24-0 in Week 14, 1974. Rivers is the oldest QB in ¹ú²úÍâÁ÷Íøhistory to have at least 3 pass touchdowns and lead his team to a win after trailing by at least 20 points in a game.
- The Ravens held off a 4th-quarter Eagles rally to win on Sunday and improved to 5-1 this season, matching their best record through the first 6 games of a season in franchise history. That's super news for Baltimore -- each of its 2 previous 5-1 starts (2000 & 2012) culminated in a Super Bowl victory that season.
- The Broncos pulled off the road upset over the Patriots on Sunday. While Drew Lock's box score won't wind up on display in Canton, Ohio, he still joined some Hall of Fame company with the win. Lock and Kurt Warner (Week 10, 2001) as the only quarterbacks to throw multiple interceptions but still win a road game against the Patriots in the Bill Belichick era (since 2000)
- The Bears won 23-16 at Carolina on Sunday. Not only did the win (coupled with the Packers loss) vault Chicago into 1st place in the NFC North, but the Bears also improved to 3-0 on the road in 2020. The last time Chicago won each of its first 3 road games in a season (2006), they made the Super Bowl.
- D'Andre Swift had 116 rushing yards and 2 rushing touchdowns Sunday against the Jaguars. Swift is the first Lions rookie with at least 100 rushing yards and at least 2 rushing touchdowns in a single game since Hall of Famer Barry Sanders did so twice in 1989. Kenny Golladay added 105 receiving yards in the win for Detroit. This was the first game in which the Lions had a player with at least 100 rushing yards and a player with at least 100 receiving yards since Reggie Bush & Calvin Johnson in Week 13, 2013 versus the Packers.
