National Football League

'15 Star-Driven Fun Facts' to ponder for NFL Week 11

Published Nov. 11, 2014 7:52 p.m. ET

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FOX Sports South takes a whimsical and diverse look at 15 star-driven factoids for NFL Week 11 -- a piece that might help shape fantasy-league decisions and/or inspire more real-world and barstool debates, among friends and kind strangers:

1. For those scoring at home, Lions wideout Calvin Johnson (7 catches, 113 yards, 1 TD last week) has tallied either 100 receiving yards or one touchdown in 10 straight November games.

Of equal relevance, Calvin (8.4 catches/94 yards/0.4 TDs in his last eight outings against NFC West foes) has notched 16 catches, 237 yards and two scores in his last two matchups with the Cardinals -- currently the NFL's 30th-ranked pass defense.

2. Of his last 16 games at the Superdome, Saints QB Drew Brees (2,816 yards, 16 TDs) has incredibly notched 300 yards passing and/or three TDs 15 times.

But most people (at least those loyal to the Fantasy Fox) already knew that.

Digging deeper ... Brees has completed 24 or more passes in 15 straight home outings; and of his last eight meetings against AFC North foes (vs. Cincy in Week 11), the Saints QB has registered 350 yards passing or multiple touchdowns each time.

3. Cardinals tailback Andre Ellington has now endured 16 games -- essentially one full NFL season -- without a single 100-yard rushing effort. But that should be of little consequence to standard-scoring or PPR-league owners these days. Here's why:

In that 16-game span, Ellington has amassed 54 catches, 1,506 total yards (901 rushing) and six TDs -- essentially the same output from Bears dynamo Matt Forte during Seasons 2 through 5 (2009-12).

Speaking of which ...

4. Here's a bad news/good news proposition involving Forte (1,133 total yards, 6 TDs) and the Vikings:

The Bears tailback hasn't logged a touchdown against the Vikes since his rookie campaign (2008) ... but of his last six outings against Minnesota, Forte (on track for his first-ever 2,000-total-yard season) holds stellar averages of 129 total yards.

5. There's great Sunday intrigue surrounding Packers QB Aaron Rodgers (2,407 yards passing, 26 total TDs) and his quest to replicate Ben Roethlisberger's absurd feat of back-to-back efforts with six touchdown passes.

Let be honest, though: Even if Green Bay gets spared the brunt (or after-effects) of Winter Storm Astro -- which has been pounding the Upper Midwest with heavy snow and shivering temperatures -- the odds of Rodgers going above three or four TDs against the Eagles are still long.

That said, of his last nine outings against NFC East foes, Rodgers holds stellar averages of 298 yards passing and 2.7 TDs.

6. Don't assume Seattle's 350-yard rushing output (Week 10 against the Giants) was a statistical anomaly, relative to the New York defense:

Of their last four games, the Giants have surrendered an average of 202 rushing yards to the opposition -- a staggering figure considering QBs Tony Romo, Nick Foles and Andrew Luck also accounted for nine TD passes in that span.

7. Quarterback Tom Brady (1,309 yards passing, 16 TDs from Weeks 6-9) has been on an amazing roll for the Patriots, winners of five straight. And don't expect things to decline this week against the Colts -- the NFL's 27th-ranked pass defense.

Of Brady's four indoor games from this decade (including Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis), the Hall of Fame shoo-in boasts supreme averages of 326 yards passing and 2.5 touchdowns.

8. It still boggles the mind that Buffalo went the entire 1970s without beating Miami (0-20 for that decade) -- with Hall of Famer O.J. Simpson (the first 2,000-yard rusher in NFL history) in his relative prime.

Speaking of which ... during that 20-game drought in that 70s, the Bills tallied 30 points just once against the Dolphins (October 1975).

Fast forward to the present, as the Bills have cracked the 30-point mark only twice in their last 19 meetings against the Dolphins ... and yet, own an 11-8 head-to-head record during that period.

9. The following stat represents the true embodiment of modest accomplishment:

Of his last eight games with 18 or more touches ... Falcons tailback Steven Jackson (500 total yards, 4 TDs in 2014) has scored at least one touchdown seven times. And in that span, the rolling-pin rusher has notched nine TDs.

10. Peyton Manning has only faced the Rams franchise three times in his career, so it's rather pointless to draw substantive fantasy conclusions from games played in 2001, 2005 and '09 (all with the Colts, by the way).

Here's something more tangible: Of his last eight outings played indoors, Manning has enjoyed rock-solid averages of 311 yards passing and 2.6 TDs.

11. Alex Smith and the Chiefs have endured 12 straight regular-season games (dating back to last season) without hitting a wide receiver for a touchdown.

(For what it's worth, Dwayne Bowe was the last Kansas City wideout to find the end zone.)

By comparison, in that span, Aaron Rodgers has tossed 22 wide-receiver TDs, Peyton Manning has 21 ... and Russell Wilson (the Chiefs' Week 11 foe) has just six.

12. Think the Chargers are happy to get Ryan Mathews (1,444 total yards, 7 TDs last year) back from injury? For Weeks 6-9, San Diego averaged a pedestrian 74 team rushing yards, while going 1-3 during that span.

On the flip side, Mathews doesn't necessarily have a sterling track record against the Raiders (this week's opponent). Of his three complete outings against Oakland, Mathews holds meh averages of 78 total yards and 0.3 TDs.

Luckily for fantasy owners, this year's Raiders possess the NFL's 27th-ranked defense, allowing 131 ground yards per game.

13. In the Tom Coughlin era (2004-14), the Giants are a sterling 5-1 against the 49ers -- including a road victory in the 2011 NFC Championship Game -- with per-game averages of 25.4 points.

And yet, QB Eli Manning still has pedestrian averages of 230 yards passing and 1.5 TDs against San Francisco.

Not necessarily the benchmarks of a regular fantasy starter.

14. It's sad to say, but Redskins tight end Jordan Reed (22 catches, 207 yards) might be the equivalent of fantasy roadkill for the upcoming playoffs (Weeks 13-16) -- if not before then, depending on bye-week constraints.

Here's why:

**Reed hasn't found the end zone in seven games (dating back to last season).

**In that span, Reed has inexplicably posted three separate outings of one reception.

**Of Robert Griffin III's last two complete games (Weeks 1 and 9), Reed collected just one target each time.

On the plus side, Reed and the Redskins can look forward to a clash with the Buccaneers -- the NFL's 31st-ranked pass defense (277 yards per game).

And last but not least ...

15. It's been 21 years since the Redskins have collected back-to-back victories against the Buccaneers, an astounding factoid when considering the following:

In its 38-year history, Tampa Bay only has a winning record against three franchises -- the AFC's Bills (7-3), Bengals (7-3) and Chiefs (6-5).

Which brings us to this: If I gave you 50, nay 100 guesses ... could you name the Redskins starting quarterback, circa 1993, when the club last secured back-to-back wins over the Bucs?

ANSWER

In his lone season with the franchise, QB Rich Gannon -- the 2002 NFL MVP with the Raiders -- piloted Washington to a 23-17 win over Tampa Bay (December 1993).

It would serve as Gannon's only career victory as the Redskins' starting quarterback (1-3 overall).

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.