Week 11 is in the books. We no longer have an undefeated team in the NFL. And with Turkey Week upon us, we now begin the dubious period in the NFL schedule where fantasy owners make mistake after mistake forgetting to check who is playing early games in the week. On Thanksgiving, we'll start some of the early play games, so make sure you get your rosters set early. And for those of you who can still make changes to players who play after Thursday, make sure to stay on top the injury reports even after the games on Thursday have been played. Turkey day also begins the NFL Network's somewhat controversial broadcast schedule, which stinks only because it will cause many folks to miss local games. Nonetheless, here are the numerological ins and outs from Week 11:
3 - Shutouts posted by defenses this week. The dominating Baltimore defense wasn't in the mix, but three other highly rated defenses were. So this should be no surprise that the Chicago Bears, Carolina Panthers, and New England Patriots blanked their opponents. The Bears took it to Chad Pennington and the New York Jets in the Meadowlands, while host Carolina handed the Rams their first goose egg since 1998. And believe it or not, the Patriots clobbered Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau.
43 - Age of the recently signed veteran quarterback Vinny Testaverde. The color-blinded one continues to find work in the NFL. This time he found it with the New England Patriots, who appear to believe in veteran leadership in the backup QB position. Last season they had Doug Flutie serve as Tom Brady's backup. So when you saw Testaverde come on the field at the end of Sunday's game, the answer to your question is, "No, you didn't fall into a time warp placing you back in 1989."
4, 102 - Touchdowns for San Diego Chargers LaDainian Tomlinson Sunday night against the Denver Broncos and the total for his career. He's now the fastest player in NFL history to 100 TDs surpassing Jim Brown and Emmitt Smith. LT might not be competing for any dance trophies in the near future, but it sure if fun to watch him dance and glide on the gridiron. It just doesn't seem fair with him out there. It's like you're playing Madden football on PlayStation and LT has an overly inflated rating in all categories when compared to the other players. Then again maybe he really does.
510 - Passing yards by New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees in a losing effort against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. He completed 37 of 52 passes and will likely still need an ice bag come Wednesday provided his arm just doesn't fall off. And he did this without the NFL's top receiver, rookie sensation Marques Colston, who injured his ankle early in the game.
22 - Consecutive completions by David Carr in a losing cause Sunday afternoon against the Bills. After going 1-for-3 to start the game, Carr rattled off 22 in a row before a pass to Andre Johnson failed on the connection. The mark ties the NFL record set by Washington Redskins quarterback Mark Brunell, who set the mark against Houston back on September 24th this season.
11, 265, 2 - Receptions, yards, and touchdowns by Buffalo Bills wide receiver Lee Evans Sunday. Evans set a franchise record in receiving yards and was a thorn in the side of the Houston defense. Despite his heroics, it was the veteran Peerless Price who delivered the decisive blow catching the go-ahead TD pass from J.P. Losman with just seconds remaining in the game.
2 - Field goals missed by Dallas kicker Mike Vanderjagt Sunday afternoon against his former club, the Indianapolis Colts. Indy fans were loving it as last-season's goat, who missed the final-second field goal wide right against the eventual Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers, faltered in his first two attempts against the old horseshoes. Coincidentally the number "2" is also the number of times the Colts were inside the 10-yard line and failed to score any points. In the end it was the Cowboys fans that got the last laugh, knocking the Colts from their undefeated perch.
20, 114 - Carries and rushing yards for Carolina's rookie running back DeAngelo Williams against the Rams on Sunday afternoon. Panthers fans have been waiting for the start of a new era in Carolina, and it might just be here. Starting RB DeShaun Foster went down with an elbow injury in the second quarter of Sunday's game, and this might just be the injury that opens the door for that new era to begin. Keep an eye on Foster's status. If Williams gets the opportunity, he'll be a star before you know it.
212 - Rushing yards Sunday by Frank Gore against the Seattle Seahawks. With the return of Shaun Alexander this week, many would have thought last season's MVP would be the best bet to break the 200-mark, but not this time. Gore has been one heckuva surprise this season, and so have his San Francisco 49ers. With their upset win over fellow NFC West foe, the 49ers are a steadily improving 5-5 and are just one game behind the 6-4 Seahawks.
5-5 - Record for the Philadelphia Eagles. After dropping a big one this weekend to the Tennessee Titans, the Eagles are in big trouble. Not only did they fall to the .500 mark, but they also lost Donovan McNabb for the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). It was a freak play where McNabb got knocked awkwardly out of bounds after making a pass. He pulled up immediately grabbing his knee, and all knew it would be a devastating blow to the Eagles. Jeff Garcia is a capable quarterback, but the Eagles chances of making the playoffs took a nosedive this weekend.
3 - Number of games the Chicago Bears lead all contenders in the NFC by. With both Seattle losing at San Francisco and the injury-riddled Giants losing in Jacksonville, the Bears are coasting in the NFC. They've got one tough contest ahead of them, though. This Sunday the Bears get to travel to Foxborough, where the Monsters of the Midway get to pair up against Bill Bellichick, Tom Brady, and the rest of the Patriots. The contest will be hyped-up big time and shouldn't disappoint.
Got questions or comments? Send them to pete@petekhazen.com