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Wilson ahead of Manning record pace, Cook spectacular - NFL Week 8 in numbers
Written by Sports Desk. Posted in NFL. | 02 November 2020 | 366 Views
Tags: American Football, Cincinnati Bengals, Data, Data Features, Features, Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints, Nfl, Philadelphia Eagles, Seattle Seahawks

A battling win over the Baltimore Ravens in a huge divisional game meant the Pittsburgh Steelers moved to 7-0 as part of a busy NFL Sunday.

Ben Roethlisberger produced a clean game and threw a decisive touchdown pass to Chase Claypool with seven minutes left as Pittsburgh won 28-24 on the road against the Ravens to remain as the only undefeated team in the NFL.

The New England Patriots' struggles continued in a late loss to AFC East rivals the Buffalo Bills and the Seattle Seahawks bounced back from their loss to the Arizona Cardinals as they beat the San Francisco 49ers in an important NFC West contest.

With only one Week 8 game – the Tampa Bay Buccaneers against the New York Giants – left on the schedule, we have reviewed some of the best statistics from another entertaining slate.

Wilson ahead of Manning record pace

The Seahawks prevailed 37-27 against the injury-hit Niners, with Russell Wilson once again coming to the fore.

Quarterback Wilson threw for 261 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions, good for a 128.3 passer rating.

He has now racked up an incredible 26 passing TDs through seven weeks, more than Peyton Manning had in 2013 when he went on to throw for a single-season record 55 TDs.

Only Tom Brady, who had 27 through seven games in 2007, has set a faster pace to start a campaign than Wilson. The then-New England Patriots QB ended that season with 50 TDs, the record Manning would go on to beat.

Wilson is also setting some remarkable career win statistics. Midway through his ninth season, he now has 92 regular-season victories, tied with Manning for the record inside nine campaigns. 

Including the postseason, he has 101 triumphs, tied with Brady for the most over the first nine years of any NFL QB's career – putting him one win away from the outright lead in both categories.

As things stand, only Manning (275) and Hall of Famer Dan Marino (266) have more than Wilson's 253 TD passes in their first nine seasons and the Seahawks QB still has nine games to go in 2020.

Cook spectacular to see off Packers

Few expected the Minnesota Vikings to triumph on the road against NFC North rivals the Green Bay Packers, but a sensational display from running back Dalvin Cook ensured they did just that.

Cook had a career-high 226 yards from scrimmage and scored four touchdowns, three of which were on the ground in a 28-22 triumph.

He is the first NFL player in 18 years (since Clinton Portis in Week 15 of the 2002 season) to produce at least 200 scrimmage yards, three rushing touchdowns and a receiving score in a single game.

Cook now has 10 rushing TDs in his first six games this year and the only players to score more in that span at the start of a season are Jim Brown (14 in 1958), Shaun Alexander (12 in 2005) and Emmitt Smith (11 in 1995).

Burrow makes rookie history

Joe Burrow tasted victory for the second time in his NFL career as the Cincinnati Bengals emerged as surprise 31-20 victors against the Tennessee Titans.

The QB completed 26 of his 37 passing attempts in the upset win, ending with a 106.7 rating after two TD passes and zero picks.

Burrow, selected at number one overall in the NFL draft, now has 221 completions in his first eight career games, the most in NFL history.

This was already his sixth game with at least 25 completed passes and he looks poised to break that rookie record too. It is currently held by Carson Wentz, who had seven such games in 2016.

Eagles win ugly against Cowboys

A miserable season for teams in the NFC East continued with an uninspiring 23-9 win for the Philadelphia Eagles over the Dallas Cowboys in Sunday Night Football.

The Cowboys fell to 2-6 as third-string QB Ben DiNucci – playing due to Dak Prescott and Andy Dalton both being ruled out – fumbled twice and was sacked four times, throwing for just 4.5 yards per attempt.

Wentz and the Eagles were not much better, though, with the fifth-year QB registering just 4.6 YPA, his two TDs overshadowed by two interceptions and two fumbles as he, like DiNucci, was sacked on four occasions.

Indeed, the Eagles became the first team since the Miami Dolphins won the 1982 AFC Championship game (the Mud Bowl) against the New York Jets to win by 14+ points while producing under 250 total yards, having 4+ turnovers and being sacked 4+ times.

Saints leaning on Kamara 

With Michael Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders out, the New Orleans Saints once again leaned heavily on Alvin Kamara as they beat the Chicago Bears 26-23 in overtime.

RB Kamara had nine catches for 96 yards, adding a further 67 on the ground.

He already has 55 receptions this season, having tallied exactly 81 in each of his first three years in the NFL.

Matt Forte and LaDainian Tomlinson are the only other running backs in NFL history to record 50+ catches in each of their first four seasons.

Kamara also has six straight games with 100+ scrimmage yards, the longest streak by a Saints player since Deuce McAllister in 2003 (nine consecutive games).