Happy New Year! The 2006 NFL regular season came to a close just as the calendar year did. And if you were in one of those fantasy leagues whose championship game was this week, you had one heck of a time figuring out who might not play. I feel for you if you had Jeff Garcia or Brian Westbrook and cringed as they got yanked off the field after just one series. Still it was one eventful last week of the season, and the playoff picture wasn't finalized until the Broncos vs. 49ers overtime thriller came to an end.
20 - With a touchdown pass in the waning minutes of Sunday's game, the number of consecutive seasons that Vinny Testaverde has thrown at least one touchdown pass. It was a storybook, momentous ending for the Patriots regular season. And now Bill Bellichick has his club steamrolling into the playoffs. I'm sorry, but you're not going to hear those joyous "J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets!" cheers for very much longer.
39 - Length in yards of the field goal that Cincinnati placekicker Shayne Graham missed with eight seconds to go in regulation during Sunday's game against the Steelers. In hindsight, that kick would have sent the Bengals to the playoffs instead of the Chiefs. Carson Palmer hooked up with Tony Stewart to give the Bengals a 17-14 lead with 2:47 to play, but Ben Roethlisberger led the Steelers downfield for a game-tying field goal with 1:03 left on the clock. After Graham missed that heartbreaking 39-yarder, there was still hope by way of the overtime session. Alas Big Ben connected with Santonio Holmes for a 67-yard touchdown pass, giving Bill Cowher one thrilling potential end to his tenure in Pittsburgh.
0 vs. 46.9 - Passer rating for Rex Grossman Sunday night against the Green Bay Packers compared to that of Brian Griese. In an arguably meaningless game, neither Bears quarterback could muster any productivity in the great shadow of Brett Favre, and the combination served up five picks. The game left a bitter taste in Bears fans' mouths, not just because they got blown out 26-7 by the rival Packers, but because it opened up those quarterback worries for the postseason. The good news for Lovie Smith and the Bears is that they've got two weeks to get some things figured out.
416 - New NFL record for number of carries by a single running back during the season. Larry Johnson proved the most durable running back this season, taking the Chiefs on his shoulders and carrying them into the postseason with a little help from his NFC counterpart Frank Gore and the 49ers. Johnson averaged 111.8 yards per game this season and 4.3 yards per carry. You think the Chiefs aren't excited to get Colts run defense for the first round of the playoffs?
4,208 - Total yards passing by John Kitna this season. Not too shabby. That ranks fourth this season in the NFL. And with the way he passed the ball against the hapless Dallas Cowboys, you'd think Kitna was a guaranteed Pro Bowler. Kitna lit up the Dallas defense for 308 yards and four touchdowns en route to spoiling any chance the Cowboys had at winning the NFC East.
2,334 vs. 2,323 - All-purpose yards from scrimmage this season for Rams running back Steven Jackson compared to this season's inarguable Most Valuable Player LaDainian Tomlinson. LT won the rushing title with 1,815 yards, but thanks to many a checkdown by Marc Bulger, Jackson racked up 90 receptions for 806 yards to go along with his 1,528 rushing yards.
31 vs. 9 - Say what you want about Peyton Manning, but his numbers don't lie. He passed for 31 touchdowns this season compared to just 9 interceptions. His overall passer rating was an NFL best 101.0.
11 - Number of wide receivers throughout the league who finished the 2006 regular season with more receiving yards per game than Terrell Owens. Yes, TO might have scored 13 touchdowns, but he doesn't stand out from the pack in most receiving categories. In fact, he's right in the middle of it. With all his baggage and antics, is he worth having on your team?
2 - Number of NFL head coaches who were given their walking papers with the start of 2007. Writers like me weren't even done drafting our stories for the final week of the season, but that didn't stop the Cardinals and Falcons for firing Dennis Green and Jim Mora, respectively. Dennis Green's Cardinals greatly underachieved after some high hopes this preseason, as did Jim Mora's Falcons. Add in some serious tension with Michael Vick and some spectacularly unwise comments to the media in recent weeks, and this Atlanta front office decision is no surprise.
24 - That's how many years young, Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams was when he was gunned down tragically in a drive-by shooting Monday morning shortly after the New Year was born. Falling short of the playoffs is peanuts in comparison to such a loss for the Broncos family.
Got questions or comments? Post them here or send an email to pete@petekhazen.com