A look back at the surprises, highlights, achievements and milestones plus a review of the week that was for games played the final week of the NFL 2013 regular season
The Denver Broncos, who defeated Oakland 34-14, clinched home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. The New England Patriots, who defeated Buffalo 34-20, secured a first-round bye.
The remaining AFC playoff clubs are the Cincinnati Bengals (No. 3), Indianapolis Colts (No. 4), Kansas City Chiefs (No. 5) and San Diego Chargers (No. 6). The Chargers clinched a playoff berth with a 27-24 overtime win over Kansas City combined with losses by Miami and Baltimore. The Cincinnati Bengals host the San Diego Chargers while the Kansas City Chiefs travel to Indianapolis next weekend in the AFC Wild Card Playoffs.
The Seattle Seahawks, who defeated the Rams 27-9, won the NFC West and clinched home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. The Carolina Panthers, who defeated Atlanta 21-20, won the NFC South and secured a first-round bye. The Green Bay Packers, who defeated Chicago 33-28, won the NFC North in a win-and-in game and will be the No. 4 seed. The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Dallas Cowboys to win the NFC East and secure the No. 3 seed.
The New Orleans Saints defeated Tampa Bay 42-17 to clinch a playoff berth and earn the No. 6 seed. The San Francisco 49ers, who secured a playoff spot last week, defeated Arizona 23-20 and earned the No. 5 seed.
Next weekend in the NFC Wild Card Playoffs, the Philadelphia Eagles host the New Orleans Saints while the San Francisco 49ers travel to Green Bay.
[ Check Out: NFL 2013 Playoff Schedule & Playoff Seedings
Since the 12-team playoff format was adopted in 1990, at least four teams have qualified for the playoffs in every season that were not in the postseason the year before.
Five teams -- Carolina (12-4, NFC South champions), Philadelphia (10-6, NFC East champions), Kansas City (11-5, Wild Card), New Orleans (11-5, Wild Card), and San Diego (9-7, Wild Card) -- accomplished the feat this season.
The teams since 1990 to make the playoffs a season after failing to qualify:
| Season | Teams |
|---|---|
| Source: NFL | |
| 1990 | 7 (Bengals, Bears, Chiefs, Raiders, Dolphins, Saints, Washington) |
| 1991 | 5 (Falcons, Cowboys, Broncos, Lions, Jets) |
| 1992 | 6 (Dolphins, Vikings, Eagles, Steelers, Chargers, 49ers) |
| 1993 | 5 (Broncos, Lions, Packers, Raiders, Giants) |
| 1994 | 5 (Bears, Browns, Dolphins, Patriots, Chargers) |
| 1995 | 4 (Falcons, Bills, Colts, Eagles) |
| 1996 | 5 (Panthers, Broncos, Jaguars, Vikings, Patriots) |
| 1997 | 5 (Lions, Chiefs, Dolphins, Giants, Bucs) |
| 1998 | 5 (Cardinals, Falcons, Bills, Cowboys, Jets) |
| 1999 | 7 (Lions, Colts, Rams, Seahawks, Bucs, Titans, Washington) |
| 2000 | 6 (Ravens, Broncos, Saints, Giants, Raiders, Eagles) |
| 2001 | 6 (Bears, Packers, Patriots, Jets, Steelers, 49ers) |
| 2002 | 5 (Falcons, Browns, Colts, Giants, Titans) |
| 2003 | 8 (Ravens, Panthers, Cowboys, Broncos, Chiefs, Patriots, Rams, Seahawks) |
| 2004 | 5 (Falcons, Vikings, Jets, Steelers, Chargers) |
| 2005 | 7 (Panthers, Bears, Bengals, Jaguars, Giants, Bucs, Washington) |
| 2006 | 7 (Ravens, Cowboys, Chiefs, Saints, Jets, Eagles, Chargers) |
| 2007 | 6 (Packers, Jaguars, Steelers, Bucs, Titans, Washington) |
| 2008 | 7 (Cardinals, Falcons, Ravens, Panthers, Dolphins, Vikings, Eagles) |
| 2009 | 6 (Bengals, Cowboys, Packers, Patriots, Saints, Jets) |
| 2010 | 5 (Falcons, Bears, Chiefs, Steelers, Seahawks) |
| 2011 | 6 (Bengals, Broncos, Lions, Houston, Giants, 49ers) |
| 2012 | 4 (Colts, Vikings, Seahawks, Washington) |
| 2013 | 5 (Panthers, Chiefs, Saints, Eagles, Chargers) |
High Scores
A record 11,985 points were scored during the NFL 2013 regular season, with games averaging 46.82 points, the highest of any season in NFL history (1948, 46.48 points per game).
The seasons with the highest scoring average in NFL history:
| Season | Points Per Game |
|---|---|
| Source: NFL | |
| 2013 | 46.82 |
| 1948 | 46.48 |
| 1950 | 45.88 |
| 2012 | 45.51 |
| 1960 | 45.29 |
| 1962 | 45.21 |
The Denver Broncos defeated Oakland 34-14 on Sunday, bringing their season total to 606 points. Denver's 606 points surpassed the 2007 New England Patriots (589) for the most points scored by a team in a single season in NFL history. Denver (37.9) also has the second-highest scoring average per game of any team in NFL history, trailing only the 1950 Los Angeles Rams (38.8).
The teams to score the most points in a single season in NFL history:
| Team | Season | Total Points |
|---|---|---|
| Source: NFL | ||
| Denver | 2013 | 606 |
| New England | 2007 | 589 |
| Green Bay | 2011 | 560 |
| New England | 2012 | 557 |
| Minnesota | 1998 | 556 |
| New Orleans | 2011 | 547 |
The New 30
In Week 17, San Diego's Philip Rivers threw three touchdown passes in the Chargers' 27-24 overtime win over Kansas City.
Five quarterbacks -- Denver's Peyton Manning (55), New Orleans' Drew Brees (39), Cincinnati's Andy Dalton (33), Rivers (32) and Dallas' Tony Romo (31) -- have thrown for at least 30 touchdown passes this season, tying for the most of any season in NFL history.
| Season | 30+ TD Passes |
|---|---|
| Source: NFL *Through Week 16 | |
| 2013 | 5 |
| 2012 | 5 |
| 2011 | 5 |
| 2010 | 5 |
| Many tied | 4 |
All-Time Manning
Denver quarterback Peyton Manning completed 25 of 28 passes (89.3 percent) for 266 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions in the Broncos' win as the team clinched the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Manning set the NFL's single-season passing-yard record with 5,477 yards, surpassing DREW BREES' mark of 5,476 yards in 2011. Manning finished the regular season with 55 touchdown passes, also the most in a season in NFL history.
Peyton is the first player to set both the single-season passing yardage and touchdown records in the same season since Pro Football Hall of Famer Dan Marino in 1984.
Manning also set the NFL single-season record for first-down completions (289) on Sunday in the Broncos' 34-14 win at Oakland.
Manning (55), who set the single-season record for touchdown passes in Week 16, tied Drew Brees (four), Brett Favre and Pro Football Hall of Famers Len Dawson, Johnny Unitas and Steve Young for the most seasons leading the NFL in touchdown passes in NFL history.
All-time single-season passing records entering 2013 and Manning's totals this season:
| NFL Records Entering 2013 | Peyton Manning | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Category | Player | Team | Year | Total | 2013 Totals |
| Source: NFL | |||||
| Passing yards | Drew Brees | Saints | 2011 | 5,476 | 5,477 |
| Passing touchdowns | Tom Brady | Patriots | 2007 | 50 | 55 |
| First-down completions | Drew Brees | Saints | 2011 | 278 | 289 |
Worth Noting
New Orleans quarterback DREW BREES passed for 381 yards and four touchdowns in the Saints' win over Tampa Bay. Brees, who has 5,162 yards this season, registered the fourth 5,000-yard performance of his career. There have been eight 5,000-yard passing seasons in NFL history and Brees has half (four) of them.
Seattle Seahawks quarterback RUSSELL WILSON led the Seahawks to a win over St. Louis. Wilson is now 15-1 in his career at home and his 15 home wins are the most by a player in his first two NFL seasons in the Super Bowl era.
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck guided the Colts to a 30-10 win over Jacksonville. Luck has 13 home wins in his first two seasons, tied with MATT RYAN for the second-most in the Super Bowl era.
Luck passed for 282 yards in the Colts' win and has 8,196 yards in his career. He is the first player in NFL history with 8,000 passing yards in his first two seasons.
Washington wide receiver Pierre Garçon had six catches and finished the season with a franchise-record 113 receptions. He
currently leads the NFL and can be the first Redskin to lead the league in receptions since Pro Football Hall of Famer ART
MONK in 1984.
Minnesota rookie wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson had a rushing and receiving touchdown in the Vikings' 14-13 win over
Detroit in the final game played at the Metrodome. This season, Patterson has four receiving touchdowns, three rushing touchdowns
and two kickoff-return touchdowns and is the only player in NFL history to accomplish the feat.
Patterson, who had a 50-yard rushing touchdown today, has a 79-yard receiving touchdown and 109-yard kickoff-return touchdown
this season. He is the first player in NFL history with a 100-yard kickoff-return touchdown, 75-yard receiving touchdown and 50-yard rushing touchdown in a season.
The Carolina Panthers set a franchise single-game record with nine sacks in the team's win at Atlanta to clinch the NFC South and a first-round bye. Carolina, which started the season 0-2, is the first team since the 2003 Philadelphia Eagles to earn a first-round bye after an 0-2 start.
Defensive end GREG HARDY had a franchise single-game record four sacks today and tied the team's single-season record with 15 sacks (KEVIN GREENE, 1998). The Panthers also tied the club's single-season record with 60 sacks.
NFL Football News & Analysis
NFL Football News & Analysis [...]
- Brandon Boykin Saves Day as Eagles Clinch NFC East
- Aaron Rodgers and Randall Cobb Connect as Packers Beat Bears
- NFL 2013 Week 17: The Week That Was
- Bucs Dismiss Schiano and GM Mark Dominik
- Browns Fire Head Coach Rob Chudzinski After One Season
- Jets Retain Rex Ryan as Head Coach
- NFL 2013 Wild Card and Divisional Playoff Schedule
- Houston Texans Hold First Pick in 2014 NFL Draft
- NFL 2014 Regular Season Opponents Determined
- Deion Sanders to Shun Brady and Manning for Pro Bowl
- All on the Line in Final Weekend of Regular Season
- NFL 2013 Week 17: What To Look For
- Aaron Rodgers to Play for Packers in Bears Showdown
- Romo Undergoes Back Surgery, Out for Season
- Cowboys Coaches in Danger of Losing Jobs
- 2013 NFL Week 17: Playoff Scenarios
- Eagles Coach Chip Kelly Denies Texas Job Link
- NFL Executive Roots for Snow during Super Bowl XLVIII
- Players Think Rex Ryan Should Stay as Jets Coach
- Cowboys QB Tony Romo Still 'Fighting Through Injury'
- NFL 2013 Week 16: AFC Players of the Week
- NFL 2013 Week 16: NFC Players of the Week
- NFL 2013 Week 16: The Week That Was
- NFL Teams Prepare For Final Stretch
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NFL 2013 Week 17: The Week That Was