A look at seven statistical highlights from games played at 1:00 p.m. ET and 4:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, September 11, the first week of the 2016 season.
- Four games have been decided by exactly one point – Denver 21, Carolina 20 (Thursday); Cincinnati 23, New York Jets 22; Oakland 35, New Orleans 34; New York Giants 20, Dallas 19. It is the first time in NFL history that four games have been decided by exactly one point on Kickoff Weekend.
- Rookie quarterbacks Carson Wentz of the Philadelphia Eagles and Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys each made his first career start. It marks the ninth consecutive season a rookie quarterback has started on Kickoff Weekend, the longest streak in the Super Bowl era.Wentz completed 22 of 37 passes (59.5 percent) for 278 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions for a 101.0 passer rating in the Eagles’ 29-10 victory over Cleveland. He is the first Eagles rookie to start at quarterback in a season opener since Davey O’Brien in 1939.Prescott passed for 227 yards in the Cowboys’ loss to the Giants. Prescott and running back Ezekiel Elliott are the first rookie QB and RB tandem to start a season opener for the Cowboys since Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Roger Staubach and running back Calvin Hill in 1969.
- The Kansas City Chiefs extended their regular-season winning streak to 11 games with a 33-27 overtime victory over San Diego. The Chiefs overcame a 21-point deficit and are the first team in NFL history to extend a winning streak of at least 10 games with a 21+ point comeback victory.
- Oakland quarterback Derek Carr connected with wide receiver Michael Crabtree on the game-winning two-point conversion with 47 seconds remaining in the Raiders’ 35-34 win at New Orleans.The Raiders are the fourth team to score the game-winning points on a two-point conversion in the final minute of the fourth quarter and the first to do so in a season opener. The other three teams to accomplish the feat are the 2002 Minnesota Vikings (December 15, 2002), 2005 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (November 13, 2005) and 2008 Denver Broncos (September 14, 2008).Oakland rookie running back Jalen Richard had a 75-yard rushing touchdown on his first career carry in the Raiders’ victory. Richard is only the fourth player in NFL history with a 75+ yard rushing touchdown in his NFL debut. He joined Oran Pape (78 yards, September 28, 1930), Alan Ameche (79 yards, September 25, 1955) and Ottis Anderson (76 yards, September 2, 1979) as the only players to accomplish the feat.
- Tampa Bay quarterback Jameis Winston threw four touchdown passes in the Buccaneers’ 31-24 win at Atlanta. Winston (22 years, 249 days) is the fourth-youngest quarterback to throw at least four touchdown passes on Kickoff Weekend. The only three players to accomplish the feat at a younger age are Pro Football Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton (21 years, 226 days) in 1961, Marcus Mariota (21 years, 318 days) in 2015 and Drew Bledsoe (22 years, 203 days) in 1994.
- New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees passed for 423 yards and four touchdowns in the Saints’ loss to Oakland. It marked Brees’ 14th career 400-yard passing game, tying Peyton Manning for the most in NFL history.Brees threw a 98-yard touchdown pass to Brandin Cooks, the fifth touchdown pass of at least 98 yards on Kickoff Weekend in NFL history. The other four quarterbacks to throw a 98+ yard touchdown pass on Kickoff Weekend are George Izo (99 yards, September 15, 1963), Sonny Jurgensen (99 yards, September 15, 1968), Tom Brady (99 yards, September 12, 2011) and Earl Morrall (98 yards, September 11, 1966).
- Indianapolis quarterback Andrew Luck threw for 385 yards and four touchdowns in the Colts’ 39-35 loss against Detroit. Luck has 15,223 career passing yards and reached 15,000 passing yards in his 56th career game, tied for the second-fastest in NFL history. Matthew Stafford accomplished the feat in his 53rd game while Marc Bulger, Pro Football Hall of Famer Dan Marino and Kurt Warner reached 15,000 passing yards in their 56th game.
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