2010 NFL Biggest Surprises: Was it the Raider's 59-point Performance?

In a sixteen game season there are memorable and not-so-memorable performances. Just after mid-season here are the high and low point games that have been played.

Lowest Scoring Game of 2010
The New York Jets were shutout in Week 9 by Green Bay in believe-it-or-not the season's first shutout...the Jets were a very capable offense at the time scoring in the mid-twenty point range on offense while the Packers were the visiting team and were underdogs in the New Meadowlands Stadium. Three field goals were all there was to write in the score book in the lowest scoring game of the year...the final score was Green Bay 9 New York Jets 0. There have been only two shutouts the entire year the other one being the Chicago Bears shutting out Miami in what was also a (Thursday night) road game for the Bears: the final score in that one was Chicago 16 Miami 0.

Highest Scoring Game of 2010
The Philadelphia Eagles went into Washington and pummeled the Redskins in a big surprise to fans in what was an embarrassment to the Redskins...the Eagles were up 28-0 by the time the second quarter had begun. Michael Vick totally destroyed the focus of the 'Skins as they couldn't figure whether to cover him as a running threat or as a passing threat...they chose bad coverage options on several occasions. The first play from scrimmage for the Eagles resulted in an 88-yard touchdown pass. There were numerous long plays by the Eagles in an explosion of offense by Michael Vick who unnerved the coverage from the start of the game. His foot speed is what unnerved the Redskins. This was the highest scoring game of the year...final score Eagles 59 Redskins 28. The game wasn't that close as the Redskins scored all of their points after the game was far out of reach.

Highest One-team Point Total
Oakland went into Denver in Week 8 and laid a huge defeat on the Broncos beating the home team 59-14. This was perhaps the biggest surprise as far as offensive performances has gone this year since the Raiders are not seen as a contender by most people even though they now have a 5-5 record. Two weeks after the 59-point explosion the Raiders were beaten 35-3 by Pittsburgh in Heinz Field. The Eagles also put up a 59-point effort as previously noted, however, I think the Raiders were the big surprise in their effort...I was astounded as I picked the Broncos to win that home game and to cover the points!

Two quarterbacks had a really excellent day passing the ball in a game this year.

Most Total Yards Passing
Quarterback Kyle Orton of Denver threw for 469 in week 3 versus Indianapolis. Kansas City quarterback Matt Cassel was third best in passing performances this year...the Chiefs quarterback threw for 469 yards in a 20-point loss to the Broncos in Week 10. Minnesota's Brett Favre had an almost equally prolific game in week 9 throwing for 446 yards in a three-point home win over Arizona. So far in the 2010 season there have been nine 400-yard passing performances

Philip Rivers, the San Diego Charger's quarterback, is on pace to throw for 5,000 yards this year joining a very small group of one in that club.

Some teams are bad and it's a surprise while some are expectedly bad.

Most Under-performing Team
Bad team performances of the surprising variety have to go to the Dallas Cowboys who stunk up the whole state of Texas until a recent coaching change inspired them to positive group action. At 3-8 the Cowboys are the disappointment of the year for NFL franchises. They were touted to contend for the Super Bowl this year which is to be played in Dallas. The Minnesota Vikings at 3-7 are also a big disappointment though having a 41-year old quarterback allows for people to understand your performance a bit less critically. Both the Vikings and the Cowboys fired their head coaches this month and momentum is inevitably gained from that. They will, however, be asserted correctly to be the 2010 season's biggest busts whether or not they put together too-late-to-change-things winning streaks to close out the season.

Maybe it's surprising to Carolina Panther fans is just how bad they are...to nonpartisans of Carolina though they looked bad on paper this summer with inexperienced quarterbacks on the roster with a productive offense hard to imagine based on past performances.

Most Expectedly Bad Team
The bad team performances of the unsurprising variety goes to the Carolina Panthers who this year are horrendous having won just one game...they are horrible offensively relying on a running game to intimidate opposing teams and possessing a (short) passing game that is pitiful. They weren't expected to win games--they've won one-- or even score many points this year. They are a field goal kicking team that falls apart near the other team's goal line...and everywhere else on the field, too. They have scored just about one touchdown a game on average and are easily the worst offense in the NFL. The San Francisco 49ers might be the next worst team though it's not really close. I doubt Carolina will win another game this year even if they would play the 49ers at home in North Carolina.

Resources:
www.nfl.com/stats Accessed 11/25/2010