15 Star-Driven Fun Facts to ponder for Week 6
FOX Sports South takes a whimsical and diverse look at 15 star-driven factoids for NFL Week 6 -- a piece that might help shape fantasy-league decisions and/or inspire more real-world and barstool debates, among friends and kind strangers.
15. You won't find a more absurdly wonderful stat for the week: Of his past eight outings against NFC East foes (including the playoffs), Seahawks tailback Marshawn Lynch has amassed 100-plus total yards AND at least one touchdown every time!
As part of that, Beast Mode boasts robust averages of 131 total yards/1.1 TDs during that span against the NFC East. Beware, Cowboys.
14. Here's another reason why Chicago's Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery routinely stand as the highest-rated receiving duo for each fantasy week:
Dating to the 2012 campaign, Marshall (per-game averages: 7 catches/85 yards/0.5 TDs) and Jeffery (5 catches/95 yards/0.7 TDs) have enjoyed consistently stellar numbers when playing indoors (six-game sample size).
13. After four games, it has become evident that Panthers QB Cam Newton (983 passing yards, 5 TD passes) has little motivation to scramble from the pocket -- a telltale sign that his surgically repaired ankle has yet to fully heal.
And that's fine. But with Carolina playing in Cincinnati on Sunday, it's worth noting: Of Newton's 14 career outings against the AFC, he holds middling averages of 205.2 passing yards and 1.6 touchdown passes.
12. Arian Foster's 172-yard, two-TD field day against the Cowboys puts us in a good frame of mind for the following stat about this week's opponent:
Of his past five complete games against the Colts, Foster claims absurd averages of 174 total yards and 1.2 touchdowns.
11. This Sunday should be an interesting litmus test for the Packers defense, which ranks dead last in rushing yards allowed (163 per game):
The backfield-thin Dolphins don't have Knowshon Moreno (elbow injury) for another four weeks. Lamar Miller (199 total yards, 2 TDS in his past two games) has rushed for 100-plus yards only twice in his career; and in that three-year span, the Miami back has tallied just one TD against NFC competition.
10. Prior to Week 4, Colts QB Andrew Luck had never thrown multiple touchdown passes against the rival Titans.
On the flip side, Luck, the NFL's leading passer (1,617 yards, 14 TDs), has notched multiple TD passes against the Texans on every occasion.
9. The 0-4 Raiders are the NFL's only team to fall short of the (eminently attainable) 15-point threshold in every game this season.
It's a deflating figure ... but one that's even sadder when realizing last year's 4-12 Raiders missed on 15 or more points only four times.
Oakland will try to break through Sunday against the Chargers ... who are holding teams to 12.6 points and coming off a shutout of the Jets.
8. For those dying to start Houston's Ryan Fitzpatrick on Thursday, here's something to consider: The losing quarterbacks from the five Thursday night games are averaging 171 yards and 0.6 TDs.
7. Of his past eight complete games against the rival Rams, Niners tailback Frank Gore (433 total yards, two TDs in 2014) has notched 100-plus total yards and/or one touchdown seven times, averaging 106 total yards and 1.1 TDs.
6. It's hard to gauge whether the Cardinals will be extra motivated to end their porous streak of eight straight losses to the Redskins. The last time Arizona beat Washington was November 2000 ... when Pro Bowler Patrick Peterson was just 10 years old.
During this 0-8 stretch, the Cardinals have scored 20-plus points once, whereas the Redskins, by contrast, have fallen short of the 20-point threshold only once.
5. Dallas' Dez Bryant (32 catches, 376 yards, 4 TDs) has a modest streak of four straight weeks with a touchdown.
We say "modest" because in his brief career (64 games), the Cowboys wideout already boasts streaks of five TDs/five games (Weeks 13-17 in 2013), six TDs/four games (Weeks 2-5 in 2013) ... and 10 TDs/seven games (Weeks 10-16 in 2012).
4. As the gameday starter, Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger has won his past eight meetings with the Browns.
In that span, Pittsburgh has averaged 25 points per outing ... and Cleveland eclipsed 11 points just once: five weeks ago at Hines Field.
(Big Ben passed for 365 yards and one TD in Week 1.)
3. Chargers QB Philip Rivers (1,443 yards, 12 TDs) already has tallied three outings of three-plus touchdown passes ... which is a higher number than the cumulative times Rivers has accounted for three-plus TDs against the Raiders: twice in 16 career meetings.
2. For his career, Broncos wideout Demaryius Thomas (franchise-record 226 receiving yards last week) has posted back-to-back outings of 100-plus yards only five times -- including the playoffs. Denver visits the Jets on Sunday.
And last but not least ...
1. The Dolphins hold a 10-3 lifetime edge against the Packers since 1971, including a 6-1 home record.
Miami's only home setback in this series: A 2006 loss when Fins QB Joey Harrington crossed the 400-yard threshold for the only time in his NFL career.
And how about this? Harrington (414 yards, two TDs, three INTs) actually doubled Brett Favre's passing output on that day (206 yards passing, two TDs) -- albeit in defeat.
Jay Clemons, the 2008 Fantasy Football Writer of the Year (Fantasy Sports Writers Association), can be reached via Twitter, day or night, at @FOX_JayClemons.