National Football League

'15 Star-Driven Fan Facts' to ponder for NFL Week 10

Published Nov. 4, 2014 3:08 p.m. ET

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FOX Sports South takes a whimsical and diverse look at 15 star-driven factoids for NFL Week 10 -- a piece that might help shape fantasy-league decisions and/or inspire more real-world and barstool debates, among friends and kind strangers:

1. Dating back to 2011, Lions wideout Calvin Johnson (who's set to return from injury this week) has a nine-game streak -- during the month of November -- of notching 100 receiving yards and/or one touchdown.

In fact, of his last eight November games (2012-13), Johnson boasts impressive tallies of seven catches, 137 yards and one TD. BOOM!

2. For this weekend, does it really matter the Raiders possess the NFL's No. 10 pass defense, allowing just 228 yards per game?

For his Broncos-only career (2012-14), Peyton Manning claims absurd averages of 322 yards passing and 2.8 TDs against the Raiders. Of equal importance, Manning tossed just eight incompletions against Oakland last year (two outings).

3. How's this for odd: Of his seven-year career, Chiefs tailback Jamaal Charles (three-week average of 102 total yards/1.3 TDs) has faced the AFC East's Patriots, Jets and Dolphins only five total times.

However, Charles has already taken on the Bills -- the other AFC East member -- a whopping six times.

In essence, Charles holds annual averages of 111 total yards and one TD against Buffalo -- this week's opponent.

4. In the 18-year history of the Baltimore Ravens (excluding the old Cleveland days), the franchise has never lost to the Tennessee Titans (formerly the Houston Oilers) ... when scoring 22 points or more.

5. Check this out: Of his last 15 games at the Superdome, Hall of Fame shoo-in Drew Brees has accounted for 300 yards passing or three touchdowns 14 times.

And the lone, uh, clunker of the bunch entailed 293 yards passing/two TDs against the Vikings in Week 3.

In case you're wondering ... during that 15-game home stretch, Brees boasts averages of 339 yards passing and 3.3 TDs.

6. For those wondering if Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger (862 yards passing, 12 TD passes for Weeks 8/9) can incredibly register six touchdown passes for a third straight week, against the lowly Jets ... here's one telltale factoid:

In seven career meetings against the Jets, Big Ben has passed for a grand total of six touchdowns.

7. Seahawks tailback Marshawn Lynch (143 total yards, 2 TDs on Sunday), who's on pace for a fourth consecutive campaign of 1,400 total yards/12-plus touchdowns, should be a fantasy force against the Giants this week.

Of his last 11 non-divisional games against NFC foes (including the playoffs), the wonderfully consistent Lynch has averaged 100 total yards and 0.9 TDs per outing.

8. Granted, it's a small sample size. But when Larry Fitzgerald (35 catches, 513 yards, 2 TDs in 2014) has Carson Palmer at quarterback, he's averaging 10 receptions, 88 yards and 1.5 TDs against the rival Rams.

Of his seven previous encounters against St. Louis (after Kurt Warner/before Palmer), Fitzgerald claimed pedestrian averages of 4.3 catches, 53 yards and 0.4 TDs per game.

9. The Bears have been an unmitigated flop at home this season, going 0-3 at Solider Field. So, the Chicago faithful should be happy to be playing at Green Bay this week.

Right? Wrong.

Of his three lifetime outings at Lambeau Field, Bears QB Jay Cutler has deflating averages of 190 yards passing, 0.7 TDs and -- count 'em! -- 3.3 interceptions. Yikes!

Speaking of which ... in the Cutler-Bears era (2009-13), Chicago has a lowly 2-10 record against Green Bay (including the playoffs) -- and Cutler was the starting quarterback for only one of the victories (Sept. 2010).

Josh McCown was the starting QB for the Bears' other win over the Packers since 2009 -- last November.

10. Here's some food for thought regarding Bengals rookie Jeremy Hill:

If you dismissed last week's 163-yard, two-TD demolition of the Jaguars as "dumb luck" or a "great game against a bad defense" ... consider this:

The Browns (Hill's Week 10 foe) currently own the NFL's 31st-ranked rush defense, allowing 140 ground yards per game. Within that scope, Cleveland has surrendered 100-plus team rushing yards in 10 of its last 11 games -- and 120-plus nine times.

11. Of his six lifetime games against the NFC East, Panthers QB Cam Newton (1,794 yards passing, 10 total TDs in 2014) claims superb averages of 287 total yards and 2.3 TDs.

He's also riding a two-outing streak of four touchdowns -- otherwise known as an Al Bundy Game -- when taking on that division.

Perhaps this comfort level will help Newton bust out of an unprecedented mini-slide -- back-to- back games of zero touchdown passes.

12. The Saints may have the NFL's 27th-ranked pass defense (269 yards per game), but that doesn't guarantee Niners quarterback Colin Kaepernick an easy passing day at the Superdome.

Of his 10 career outings indoors, Kaepernick holds so-so averages of 270 total yards and 1.6 TDs -- essentially his production of the last two games, both San Francisco defeats.

13. Leading up to last season's goose-egg clunker, Giants QB Eli Manning had accounted for multiple touchdown passes in every career outing against the notoriously stingy Seahawks.

In fact, even with the 156-yard, five-INT meltdown from last December, Manning owns a six-game average of 292 yards passing and 2.2 TDs against Seattle.

14. As a happy Atlanta transplant, who has no intentions of bolting town anytime soon, it somewhat pains me to declare the following:

The Falcons have little shot of knocking off the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.

Let that sink in for a second ... especially when recalling how the Falcons brutalized the Bucs for three quarters on Sept. 18 -- rolling to a 56-0 lead before Tampa Bay produced two meaningless scores in the final stanza.

My rationale for a turnaround: If you could have seen Lovie Smith's face just moments after that bludgeoning. It bore the look of a proud and eminently talented head coach who was already plotting revenge against a new rival, step by painstaking step.

There are other factors, or factoids, that play into this prediction, as well:

**The Falcons have dropped five straight games since the Bucs rout.

**Atlanta's offense has averaged only 18 points during the five-game slide.

**Of its last 21 games, Atlanta's defense has surrendered 100-plus team rushing yards 19 times.

**Bucs tailback Bobby Rainey fleeced the Falcons for 167 total yards and three TDs at Tampa Bay last November.

**The Falcons currently have the NFL's 30th-ranked pass defense (280 YPG) ... whereas the Bucs are celebrating rookie wideout Mike Evans' breakout from Sunday -- seven catches, 124 yards and two TDs against the Browns.

And last but not least ...

15. Here's a listing of the NFL's biggest blowouts in the Super Bowl era (margin of victory: 44 points or more) -- and how the clubs fared in the very next meeting.

(Note: The Colts, who were decimated by the Saints 62-7 in 2011, won't get a chance for vengeance until 2015.)

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.

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