Every weekend in the NFL, elements capture our attention, such as the powers present, the records that are within reach, or certain historical notes. Here for the 16the Week full of activities, 5 elements to pay attention to.
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1. The Super Bowl before its time?
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Every season we joke once or twice that a game might be the Super Bowl before its time. Sometimes we mess up and sometimes we hit the mark, but the matchup between the Ravens (11-3) and the 49ers (11-3) honestly looks like a potential Super Bowl. Additionally, it will be only the third time that the two teams with the best records in both conferences will face each other in December or January. The last time was on December 24, 2005, when the Colts (13-1) lost to the Seahawks (12-2). Otherwise, we have to go back to December 18, 1977, when the Cowboys (11-2) defeated the Broncos (12-1). The Cowboys eventually beat the same Broncos in the Super Bowl a month later, while the Seahawks lost to the Steelers in the Super Bowl.
2. Great recruit duo
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The Lions had an excellent draft and several of their rookies are already making solid contributions. Tight end Sam LaPorta (9 TDs) and running back Jahmyr Gibbs (8 TDs) have a combined 17 TDs. It's the first time since the 2006 Saints with Reggie Bush and Marques Colston that two offensive rookies have scored eight or more touchdowns on the same team. The Saints reached the National Conference Finals in 2006. Note that the record for the number of touchdowns scored by rookies on the same team is 22, and that record is shared by the 1983 Rams and the 2016 Cowboys.
3. The Chiefs on their way to another title
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By defeating the Raiders, the Chiefs would win their eighth straight division title in the West. This would put them over the Rams (from 1973 to 1979) in second place for the longest streak as division champions. The mark belongs to the Patriots, with 11 consecutive seasons from 2009 to 2019. That would put the Chiefs on par with the Cowboys (from 1975 to 1983) and the Colts (from 2002 to 2010) with a ninth consecutive season in the playoffs. Again, the Patriots hold the award with their 11 consecutive seasons.
4. The Ravens and the advance
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A loyal and dedicated reader alerted me earlier this week that the NFL Live show on ESPN had aired a very interesting statistic. This season, the Ravens became just the fifth in history to hold the lead, averaging 43 to 45 minutes per game. The others are the 1972 Dolphins, the 1999 Rams and the 2007 and 2016 Patriots. Do you see a common denominator? Everyone made it to the Super Bowl during those dominant seasons, and only the 2007 Patriots didn't win it. That bodes well, Baltimore!
5. The hourly penalty
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The most talked about penalty in the NFL right now is the offensive offside penalty. This has been particularly the case since the Kadarius Toney incident late in the game against the Bills two weeks ago, but I don't believe that was the only time such offsides were reported. Five violations were committed in this regard last week alone, bringing the total this season to 18. From 2000 to 2022, there were an average of just 1.9 penalties per season for offensive offsides. The referees are clearly instructed to emphasize the offensive alignment of the players at the line of scrimmage.