Below are a few tidbits for this weekend's NFC games.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 11, 2014
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS–NFC SOUTH (12-5) AT SEATTLE SEAHAWKS–NFC WEST (13-3)
SERIES
|
SAINTS |
SEAHAWKS |
|
LEADER (REG. SEASON) |
Series tied, 6-6 |
|
|
STREAKS (REG. SEASON) |
|
4 of past 6 |
|
COACHES VS. OPP. (REG. & POSTSEASON) |
Payton: 2-2 |
Carroll: 3-1 |
|
COACHES PLAYOFF RECORD |
Payton: 6-3 |
Carroll: 3-4 |
|
VS. COMMON OPP. (REG. SEASON) |
NO: 7-2 (Arz. 1-0; Atl. 2-0; Car. 1-1; StL 0-1; SF 1-0; TB 2-0) Sea.: 7-2 (Arz. 1-1; Atl. 1-0; Car. 1-0; StL 2-0; SF 1-1; TB 1-0) |
||
PLAYOFF RECORD |
7-8 |
9-12 |
|
LAST WEEK |
W 26-24 at Eagles |
Bye (Wk. 17: W 27-9 vs. Rams) |
|
LAST GAME (REG. SEASON) |
12/2/13: Saints 7 at Seahawks 34. Seattle QB Russell Wilson completes 22 of 30 for 310 yards & 3 TDs for 139.6 rating. Seahawks DE Michael Bennett scores on 22-yard FR-TD. |
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LAST GAME AT SITE (REG. SEASON) |
12/2/13 |
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LAST PLAYOFF |
1/8/11: Saints 36 at Seahawks 41. Seattle QB Matt Hasselbeck throws 4 TDs, including 2 to TE John Carlson. Seahawks RB Marshawn Lynch rushes for 131 yards & TD (67 yards). |
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BROADCAST |
FOX (1:35 PM PT): Kevin Burkhardt, John Lynch, Erin Andrews (Field reporter). Westwood One: Dave Sims, Mark Malone, Scott Kaplan (Field reporter). SIRIUS: 88 (WW1), 92 (NO), 86 (Sea.). XM: 88 (WW1), 225 (NO), 86 (Sea.). |
||
REGULAR SEASON STAT LEADERS
PASSING |
Brees: 446-650-5,162 (1C)-39 (1C)-12-104.7 |
Wilson: 257-407-3,357-26-9-101.2 |
RUSHING |
Thomas: 147-549-3.7-2 |
Lynch: 301-1,257-4.2-12 (T1L) |
RECEIVING |
J. Graham (TE): 86-1,215-14.1-16 (1L) |
Tate: 64-898-14.0-5 |
OFFENSE |
399.4 (3C) |
339.0 |
TAKE/GIVE |
0 |
+20 (1L) |
DEFENSE |
305.7 (3C) |
273.6 (1L) |
SACKS |
Jordan: 12.5 (3C) |
Bennett: 8.5 |
INTs |
Lewis: 4 |
Sherman: 8 (1L) |
PR |
Sproles: 6.7 |
Tate: 11.5 |
KR |
Sproles: 21.3 |
Kearse: 21.8 |
PUNTING |
Morstead: 46.9 |
Ryan: 42.7 |
KICKING |
S. Graham: 13 (7/7 PAT; 2/2 FG) |
Hauschka: 143 (1C) (44/44 PAT; 33/35 FG) |
NOTES
TEAMS MEET for 2nd time in postseason (Sea. 41-36 in 2010 WC). In Week 13, Sea. defeated NO 34-7 on MNF. Seahawks lead all-time series (incl. playoffs) 7-6.
SAINTS: Are in playoffs for 5th time under head coach SEAN PAYTON. Club has won 5 of past 7 postseason games, incl. win in SB XLIV…Saints had 5 players selected to Pro Bowl: QB DREW BREES (8th), G JAHRI EVANS (5th), TE JIMMY GRAHAM (2nd), G BEN GRUBBS (2nd) & DE CAMERON JORDAN (1st)…Team ranked 2nd in NFL in pass offense (307.4) & pass defense (194.1) & ranked 4th in NFL in total offense (399.4) & total defense (305.7)…QB Brees was 2nd in NFL in pass yards (5,162), TDs (39), comp. (446) & comp. pct. (68.6). Had 104.7 passer rating, his 4th season with 100+ rating. Brees has 3 consecutive 5,000-yard seasons & 4 overall. There have only been 8 such seasons in NFL history & Brees is only player with multiple 5,000-yard performances. In postseason career, has 102.1 rating, 4th-best mark in NFL history. His 67.0 comp. pct. in postseason is highest mark ever. Brees has 3 400-yard postseason games (incl. 1 vs. Sea.), most in NFL history. Has 5 300-yard games in playoffs, tied for 5th all-time. Brees has 1.43 INT pct. (6 INTs, 421 att.) in playoffs, 2nd best mark in NFL history…RB MARK INGRAM rushed for 97 yards in WC, 2nd most by Saint in playoff game, & had TD. RB DARREN SPROLES has 7 TDs (4 rush, 3 rec.) in 9 career playoff games. Since 2011 (incl. playoffs), leads NFL RBs with 255 catches, 2,164 rec. yards & 17 rec. TDs. RB PIERRE THOMAS has 4 TDs (2 rush, 2 rec.) in 5 career playoff games. Rookie RB KHIRY ROBINSON averaged 5.6 yards per carry last week (8 att., 45 yards)…TE Graham had 86 catches for 1,215 yards & 16 TDs. Is 1st TE in NFL history with 1,200+ yards & 10+ TDs in 2 different seasons. Graham’s 16 TDs are 2nd most by TE in season. Had 6 100-yard games, tied for most ever in season by TE. Since 2011 (incl. playoffs), leads NFL TEs with 285 catches, 3,709 yards & 39 TDs. WR MARQUES COLSTON has 47 catches & 644 yards in postseason, both team records. Had 75 catches for 943 yards, his 7th season with 70+ catches & 900+ yards. WR LANCE MOORE had 1st career postseason TD last week (24 yards). Rookie WR KENNY STILLS led NFL with 20.0 avg. (32 catches for 641 yards)…DE Jordan (12.5) & LB JUNIOR GALETTE (12) each set career-highs in sacks. 1st Saints teammates with 12+ sacks each since 2000. Jordan ranked 5th in NFL in sacks & Galette was 6th. Jordan had 1.5 sacks in WC. LB CURTIS LOFTON led team with 125 tackles & LB DAVID HAWTHORNE was 2nd on club with 89 tackles. CB KEENAN LEWIS led team with career-best 4 INTs & was 2nd on club with 11 PD. Since entering NFL in 2006, S ROMAN HARPER leads NFL DBs with 18.5 sacks (incl. playoffs).
SEAHAWKS: Are No. 1 seed for 2nd time (2005) since current 12-team format started in 1990. Over past 2 seasons, are 15-1 at home. Have won past 5 postseason home games, outscoring opp. 151-94…Seahawks had 6 players selected to Pro Bowl: S KAM CHANCELLOR (2nd), RB MARSHAWN LYNCH (4th), CB RICHARD SHERMAN (1st), S EARL THOMAS (3rd), C MAX UNGER (2nd) & QB RUSSELL WILSON (2nd)…QB Wilson has 24 wins & 15 home wins in 1st 2 seasons, both are most in SB era. Has 52 pass TDs, 1 of 3 in NFL history with 50+ pass TDs in 1st 2 seasons. Had 101.2 passer rating & is only QB in NFL history to have 100+ rating in both rookie & 2nd season. Is 15-1 with 112.8 rating at home. In 2 career postseason starts, has 102.4 rating. Threw 3 TDs & had 139.6 rating in Week 13…RB Lynch rushed for 1,257 yards & 12 TDs, his 3rd consecutive season with 1,200+ yards & 10+ TDs. Is only NFL player to rush for 1,000+ yards & 10+ TDs in each of past 3 seasons. Since Nov. 2011 (incl. playoffs), leads NFL with 3,966 rush yards & 34 rush TDs. In 4 career playoff games, has 3 rush TDs & 2 100-yard games. Had 131 rush yards & 67-yard TD in 2010 WC. Has 311 rush yards in postseason career, 2nd most in franchise history (SHAUN ALEXANDER, 564)…WR-PR GOLDEN TATE led team with career-high 64 catches & 898 yards. Was only player with 800+ rec. (898) & 500+ PR (585) yards. Had 6 catches for 103 yards & TD in last playoff game. WR DOUG BALDWIN was 2nd on team with 778 rec. yards. Tate, Baldwin & TE ZACH MILLER all tied for team lead with 5 rec. TDs. In last playoff game, Miller had 8 catches for 142 yards & TD. Baldwin, Miller & RB DERRICK COLEMAN each had TD catch in Week 13. WR JERMAINE KEARSE had career-high 4 TDs…Seahawks led NFL with 39 takeaways, 28 INTs & +20 turnover differential. Seattle was 1st in NFL in points allowed (231), total defense (273.6) & pass defense (172)…CB Sherman led NFL with 8 INTs, 1st Seahawk to lead NFL in INTs since 1993 (EUGENE ROBINSON). Has 4 INTs in past 3. Since entering NFL in 2011, Sherman leads NFL with 20 INTs. In past 12 at home, has 9 INTs, 2 TDs (INT & blocked fumble return), FF & FR. S Thomas was 1 of 2 in NFL with 100+ tackles (100), 5+ INTs (5) & 2+ FFs (2). Thomas is only S in past decade to record 100+ tackles, 5+ INTs & 2+ FFs in single season. Aims for 3rd consecutive playoff game with INT. Since 2011, DE CLIFF AVRIL is 1 of 2 in NFL with 25+ sacks (28.5) & 13+ FF (13). Had sack & FF in Week 13 & DE MICHAEL BENNETT returned fumble 22 yards for TD.LBs BOBBY WAGNER (17) & K.J. WRIGHT (16) led team in tackles in 2012 postseason. Wagner led team in 2013 with 119 tackles. S Chancellor had 93 tackles, his 3rd consecutive seasons with 90+ tackles.
SUNDAY, JANUARY 12, 2014
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS–NFC WEST (13-4) AT CAROLINA PANTHERS–NFC SOUTH (12-4)
SERIES
|
49ERS |
PANTHERS |
LEADER (REG. SEASON) |
|
11-7 |
STREAKS (REG. SEASON) |
|
Past 4, 8 of past 10 |
COACHES VS. OPP. (REG. & POSTSEASON) |
Harbaugh: 0-1 |
Rivera: 1-0 |
COACHES PLAYOFF RECORD |
Harbaugh: 4-2 |
Rivera: 0-0 |
VS. COMMON OPP. (REG. SEASON) |
SF: 7-2 (Arz. 2-0; Atl. 1-0; NO 0-1; StL 2-0; Sea. 1-1; TB 1-0) Car.: 6-3 (Arz. 0-1; Atl. 2-0; NO 1-1; StL 1-0; Sea. 0-1; TB 2-0) |
|
PLAYOFF RECORD |
29-19 |
6-4 |
LAST WEEK |
W 23-20 at Packers |
Bye (Wk. 17: W 21-20 at Falcons) |
LAST GAME (REG. SEASON) |
11/10/13: Panthers 10 at 49ers 9. Carolina RB DeAngelo Williams rushes for 48 yards on 8 attempts (5.8 avg.), including 27-yard TD run. Panthers defense holds San Francisco to 151 total net yards (105 rushing, 46 passing). |
|
LAST GAME AT SITE (REG. SEASON) |
10/24/10: Panthers 23, 49ers 20. Carolina WR David Gettis catches 8 passes for 125 yards & 2 TDs from QB Matt Moore. Panthers K John Kasay converts 3 FGs, including game-winning 37-yarder with 0:39 remaining. |
|
LAST PLAYOFF |
--- |
|
BROADCAST |
FOX (1:05 PM ET): Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Pam Oliver (Field reporter). Westwood One: Kevin Kugler, James Lofton, Hub Arkush (Field reporter). SIRIUS: 88 (WW1), 92 (SF), 86 (Car.). XM: 88 (WW1), 225 (SF), 86 (Car.). |
REGULAR SEASON STAT LEADERS
PASSING |
Kaepernick: 243-416-3,197-21-8-91.6 |
Newton: 292-473-3,379-24-13-88.8 |
RUSHING |
Gore: 276-1,128-4.1-9 |
D. Williams: 201-843-4.2-3 |
RECEIVING |
Boldin: 85-1,179-13.9-7 |
Olsen (TE): 73-816-11.2-6 |
OFFENSE |
323.8 |
316.8 |
TAKE/GIVE |
+12 (T2C) |
+11 |
DEFENSE |
316.9 |
301.3 (2L) |
SACKS |
Brooks, A. Smith: 8.5 |
Hardy: 15 (3L) |
INTs |
Brock: 5 |
Kuechly, Mitchell: 4 |
PR |
James: 10.9 |
Ginn: 12.2 |
KR |
James: 26.8 |
Ginn: 23.8 |
PUNTING |
Lee: 48.2 (1C) |
Nortman: 47.8 (2C) |
KICKING |
Dawson: 140 (3C) (44/44 PAT; 32/36 FG) |
Gano: 114 (42/42 PAT; 24/27 FG) |
NOTES
TEAMS MEET for 1st time in postseason. Clubs have met 18 times in regular season. Car. is 11-7 in those meetings, incl. Week 10 win at SF (10-9). Panthers have won 4 in a row vs. SF & 8 of past 10.
49ERS: Are 29-19 (.604) in postseason. Team’s 29 playoff wins are 4th most in NFL history & .604 win pct. is 3rd among teams with 25+ playoff games…JIM HARBAUGH is 1st head coach in franchise history to lead team to playoffs in each of 1st 3 seasons…49ers had 8 players selected to Pro Bowl, tied for most in NFL:LB NA VORRO BOWMAN (2nd), LB AHMAD BROOKS (2nd), TE VERNON DAVIS (2nd), RB FRANK GORE (5th), G MIKE IUPATI (2nd), DT JUSTIN SMITH (5th), T JOE STALEY (3rd) & LB PATRICK WILLIS (7th)…QB COLIN KAEPERNICK (3,197 pass, 524 rush) joined HOFer STEVE YOUNG (1992) as only 49ers QBs with 3,000+ pass & 500+ rush yards in season. Has 93.9 passer rating in postseason career, 2nd highest by SF QB with 100+ att. (HOFer JOE MONTANA, 98.2). Is 1 of 7 QBs in NFL postseason history with 1,000+ pass (1,025) & 300+ rush (362) yards. Incl. playoffs, when Kaepernick starts & has 100+ rating, 49ers are 13-0…RB Gorerushed for 1,128 yards, his franchise-record 7th 1,000-yard season. Averages 91.3 rush yards per game in postseason career (548 yards, 6 games). Has 5 rush TDs in past 4 postseason games and aims for 5th playoff game in row with rush TD…TE Davis has 100+ rec. yards in 4 of 6 career postseason games. Averages 97.2 yards per playoff game (583 yards, 6 games), 4th highest in NFL history & highest by TE (min. 5 games). Has 6 career postseason TDs, tied for 2nd most by TE. Since 2009 (incl. playoffs), leads NFL TEs with 50 TDs. Has 12 TDs in past 14 (incl. playoffs). WR MICHAEL CRABTREE has 28 catches for 410 yards (102.5 per game) & 3 TDs in past 4 playoff games. Had 8 catches for 125 yards last week & has 3 100-yard games in past 4 in postseason. WR ANQUAN BOLDIN had 1,179 yards, his 6th 1,000-yard season. Has 55 catches for 844 yards & 7 TDs in 12 playoff games. His 7 rec. TDs rec. yards are tied for most by active player in 2013 playoffs…LB Bowman led team with 143 tackles. Only player in NFL this season with 100+ tackles (143), 5+ sacks (5), 4+ FFs (4) & INT-TD (1, 89 yards). LB Willis was 2nd on team with 104 tackles, his 6th season with 100+ tackles. Since entering NFL in 2007, is only player with 20+ sacks (20.5), 15+ FF (16) & 7+ INTs (7). Since 2010 (incl. playoffs), DT Smith has 27.5 sacks, 3rd most by NFL DT. Since entering NFL in 2011, LB ALDON SMITH has 45.5 sacks, 2nd most in NFL (incl. playoffs). Had 1.5 sacks last week. LB Brooks had career-high 8.5 sacks & tied for team lead (A. Smith). Had 2 sacks last week & has 3 sacks in past 2 playoff games. CB TRAMAINE BROCK led team with 5 INTs & 15 PD, both career highs. Rookie S ERIC REID was only NFC player this season with 4 INTs & 2 FR…K PHIL DAWSON had 140 points, 2nd most in team history. Made all 3 FGs in WC.
PANTHERS: Won division for 4th time (1996, 2003, 2008). Team’s 12 wins are tied for most in franchise history (1996, 2008)…Panthers had 5 players selected to Pro Bowl: DE GREG HARDY (1st), C RYAN KALIL (4th), LB LUKE KUECHLY (1st), QB CAM NEWTON (2nd) & FB MIKE TOLBERT (1st)…QB Newton is only player with 50+ pass (64) & 25+ rush (28) TDs in 1st 3 NFL seasons. Has 11,299 pass & 2,032 rush yards in career. His 11,299 pass yards are 3rd most in 1st 3 seasons & his 2,032 rush yards are most by QB in 1st 3 years…RB DE ANGELO WILLIAMS is franchise leader in rush att. (1,370), yards (6,627) & TDs (46). Had 843 rush, 333 rec. & 1,176 scrimmage yards, his 3rd season with 1,000+ scrimmage yards, tied for most by RB in team history (DE SHAUN FOSTER)…FB Tolbert led team with 7 TDs (5 rush, 2 rec.)…WR STEVE SMITH is franchise leader in catches, yards & TDs in both regular & postseason. Has 836 catches for 12,197 yards with 67 TDs in regular season & 47 catches for 782 yards with 7 TDs in postseason. Aims for 4th postseason in row with TD. His 7 rec. TDs are tied for most by active player in 2013 postseason. TE GREG OLSEN led team with 6 rec. TDs. Is 1 of 2 TEs in NFL (TONY GONZALEZ) with 5+ rec. TDs in every season since 2008. Led team with career-best 73 catches. WR BRANDON LA FELL has 13 career rec. TDs & averages 27.1 yards per TD (352 yards). Tied WR TED GINN, JR. for 2nd on team with 5 rec. TDs, career-highs for both players…Panthers ranked 2nd in NFL in points allowed (241), total defense (301.3) & rush defense (86.9)…LBs Kuechly (156) & THOMAS DAVIS (123) led team in tackles. Kuechly (156 tackles, 2 sacks, 4 INTs) & Davis (123 tackles, 4 sacks, 2 INTs) are only LB teammates with 120+ tackles, 2+ sacks & 2+ INTs. Since entering NFL in 2012, Kuechly leads NFL with 320 tackles. DE Hardy has 24 sacks in past 25, incl. 7 in past 2. Is 1st to enter playoffs with consecutive 3+ sack games. Had franchise-record 4 sacks in Week 17. Tied single-season team record with 15 sacks (KEVIN GREENE, 1998). In Week 17, Panthers had team-record 9 sacks. Team’s 60 sacks tied club record (1996). Since 2010, DE CHARLES JOHNSON is 1 of 2 in NFC with 40+ sacks (44) & 10+ FFs (10). Was 2nd on team with 11 sacks, his 4th consecutive seasons with 9+ sacks. CB CAPTAIN MUNNERLYN has 4 INT-TDs since 2012, most in NFL. S MIKE MITCHELL was 1 of 2 in NFL with 4+ INTs (4), 4+ sacks (4) & 2+ FFs (2). CB DRAYTON FLORENCE has 3 INTs in 5 career postseason games.