Inside the Numbers takes a closer look at the latest statistics, patterns, and trends emerging in the NFL each week.
This NFL season has turned into a competition for the lowest standings.
A record-tying nine teams have already racked up six losses within the first eight weeks, causing many fan bases to shift their focus from playoff aspirations to scouting potential draft picks and positioning themselves for the upcoming draft.
The previous instance of nine teams accumulating six or more losses during the initial eight weeks occurred in the year 2000.
The Miami Dolphins can also join this troubling group if they fail to secure a win on Sunday in Buffalo, having already experienced an early bye in Week 6. This would result in a total of ten teams reflecting a 2-6 record or worse—matching the 2000 season.
The AFC East is particularly grim, featuring three of these underperformers: the New York Jets and New England Patriots, both at 2-6, and the Dolphins at 2-5. Consequently, the Buffalo Bills (6-2) have become the eighth team since the NFL’s 2002 realignment to have a minimum of four more wins than any other division team following the first eight weeks.
Two other divisions also feature pairs of teams with at least six losses: Jacksonville (2-6) and Tennessee (1-6) at the bottom of the AFC South, along with New Orleans (2-6) and Carolina (1-7) at the bottom of the NFC South.
New Orleans finds itself in this position despite an encouraging start, as they became the ninth team in NFL history to experience six consecutive losses after winning their first two games of the season.
Other struggling franchises include Cleveland, Las Vegas, and the New York Giants, each with a record of 2-6.
An interesting highlight came from the Detroit Lions, who obliterated the struggling Tennessee Titans with a score of 52-14.
While this lopsided victory wasn’t shocking, the manner in which it unfolded certainly was.
The Lions achieved this remarkable score despite managing only 225 total yards of offense and 61 net passing yards—marking the lowest yardage output for any team scoring 50 or more points in a game since 1948.
Furthermore, it was the least amount of net passing yards for a team in a 50-point scoring affair since the New York Giants registered 51 yards during a 55-20 win over the Baltimore Colts in 1950.
Key scoring plays included a 90-yard punt return by Kalif Raymond, with five of their six touchdowns starting from inside the Tennessee 30-yard line, largely due to other teams’ turnovers and substantial returns.
Lions quarterback Jared Goff threw three touchdown passes on just 15 attempts, accumulating only 85 yards. This performance represented the fewest passing yards recorded in a three-touchdown game, a record last seen in 1976.
Remarkably, despite the score, the Titans outgained the Lions by a margin of 191 yards, marking the highest yardage discrepancy for a team that lost by at least 26 points in recorded history since 1948.
In another notable performance, Kirk Cousins showed consistent success against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
In a hard-fought 31-26 victory that completed a series sweep, Cousins delivered another impressive outing, following up his previous 509-yard, four-touchdown game from Week 5 with 276 yards and four touchdowns in the rematch.
As a result, Cousins has now become only the fourth player to exceed 750 passing yards with eight or more touchdowns against a single opponent over the course of a season, joining legends Joe Montana, Dan Marino, and Y.A. Tittle.
The Indianapolis Colts have decided to cut back on their all-or-nothing strategy regarding rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson.
Reports indicate that the organization has benched the No. 4 overall pick from the 2023 draft after a disappointing showing where he completed only two out of 15 passes in the first half of last week’s game against Houston.
Richardson finished the match with 10 completions out of 32 attempts, resulting in a season completion percentage of 44.4%.
This puts him in a challenging position, as only one quarterback in the last two decades has recorded a lower percentage for an entire season with over 100 attempts.
However, Richardson has still demonstrated the ability to deliver significant plays, co-leading the league with four completions of 50 yards or more and accumulating seven throws of 25 yards or deeper.
His ability to make big plays contributes to an impressive average of 16.2 yards per completion, ranking him second among all players since 1990 with at least 100 attempts, falling just short of Chris Chandler’s 16.6 mark in 1998.
Meanwhile, teams are facing unprecedented challenges when attempting 2-point conversions this season.
The current success rate sits at a record-low 31%, a drastic decline from last year’s 55%. If this trend continues, it will be the first season since 1999 where the conversion rate falls below 40%.
Over the past two decades, the effectiveness of 2-point attempts has rested at around 48.3%, making it practically a coin toss on whether or not to attempt a conversion.
This year, the rate drops even further when focusing on standard plays that start at the 2-yard line, with conversions occurring only 28.6% of the time, down from last season’s 55.8%.