Friday Football Footnotes: Tom Brady passes Ben Roethlisberger for dubious record; the drop in NFL scoring
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In this week’s “Friday Football Footnotes,” Tom Brady passes former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger for a dubious record.
We discuss the fallout from Ja’Marr Chase’s injury, and we examine the lack of scoring in the league this year.
Plus, we preview a tough weekend for local college teams.
Brady ‘beats’ Big Ben
Tom Brady was sacked three times during the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 27-22 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night.
The second sack came from Baltimore’s Justin Houston. It occurred near the end of the second quarter. It was the 555th of Brady’s career.
Tom Brady officially becomes the most sacked QB in the history of the NFL, with sack number 555. pic.twitter.com/FhDTRW47lP
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) October 28, 2022
With that sack, Brady passed former Steeler Ben Roethlisberger for the most regular-season sacks absorbed by a quarterback in the history of the NFL.
Now, keep in mind, Roethlisberger “only” took 249 games to get to that number. This was the 326th game of Brady’s career.
‘Miles’ ahead
One weapon the Steelers are going to have to contend with in Philadelphia this week is Miles Sanders.
According to Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, the former Penn State running back has come a long way since the last time the Eagles and Steelers met in 2020.
“He’s a good back. A really good back. He really has gotten a ton better since we played them a few years ago,” Austin said. “I know he ripped off a big run against us on third down a few years ago. But I think overall, as a back, he runs behind his pads, he finds the hole, he gets downhill, he’s really becoming a really, really, really good NFL back.”
What Austin was referencing is that Sanders scampered for a 74-yard touchdown run against the Steelers when the two teams met in 2020.
Pittsburgh native Miles Sanders goes 74 YARDS for the @Eagles touchdown! #FlyEaglesFly @BoobieMilesXXIV
: #PHIvsPIT on FOX
: NFL app // Yahoo Sports app: https://t.co/BGCKhfX8uY pic.twitter.com/Y3Sl2naxph— NFL (@NFL) October 11, 2020
He scored another touchdown later in the game. But his other 10 carries aside from the long scoring run netted only six yards, as the Steelers won 38-29.
The Woodland Hills graduate also caught two passes for 19 yards. So far this season, Sanders has 485 yards in six games. That’s the eighth-highest total in the NFL. He has scored four times.
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Missing the man
Multiple reports indicate that Cincinnati Bengals star receiver Ja’Marr Chase will be out for four to six weeks because of a hip injury. That means he’ll miss the second chapter of the team’s rivalry against the Steelers on Nov. 20. The Athletic is actually reporting that it’s a fracture of some sort.
The LSU alum initially hurt his hip in Cincinnati’s Week 6 win over New Orleans. Via Sports Illustrated, Chase was limited in practice last week, but there was no sign of a fracture. So the reigning Rookie of the Year played against the Falcons on Sunday. The star wideout finished with eight receptions for 130 yards and two touchdowns.
He then aggravated the injury at the end of the first half but returned to the game. It was following more scans this week when they actually saw the fracture.
Offensive offense
A continuing story in the NFL this season has been the overall lack of points. Defenses are simply winning more often than they used to.
During Thursday night’s NFL broadcast between the Buccaneers and Ravens, Prime Video TV said that NFL games are averaging 43.5 points per game. That’s the lowest mark through seven weeks since 2010.
Also, Tampa began the night averaging just 17.7 points per game under Brady (28.3 points per game for his career). Green Bay is getting 18.3 points per game from Aaron Rodgers (27.3 for his career). And Russell Wilson’s Broncos are averaging only 15.2 points (25.3 for his career). So those fast-fading veteran, star quarterbacks are contributing to the offensive dip.
To say nothing of Roethlisberger’s retirement.
Special teams return units aren’t doing much either. Devin Duvernay of the Ravens has the only return touchdown in the NFL this season.
I sense a trend
In local college football this Saturday, all three of the Power 5 teams with local rooting interest are facing ranked teams. And they are all underdogs.
Let’s start at noon with No. 13 Penn State (6-1) getting 15.5 points at home versus (7-0) No. 2 Ohio State. I may be crazy. But I think this one stays closer than expected and Penn State covers with a fourth-quarter score. But the Buckeyes win.
Also at noon, West Virginia (3-4) is a 7.5-point dog against the visiting the seventh-ranked Texas Christian Horned Frogs (7-0). I thought this spread would be a little wider. It isn’t. So give me TCU to cover.
Then at 8 p.m., Pitt is in Chapel Hill to battle No. 21 North Carolina. The Tar Heels are just three-point favorites. They will win and cover.
As for Duquesne, the Dukes (2-5) just won their first conference game of the season last week at Central Connecticut State, 30-6. Now they come back home and host Long Island University (0-7) at noon Saturday.
Meanwhile, the 0-7 Robert Morris Colonials go on the road to play 4-3 Appalachian State. ESPN.com is only giving the Colonials a 2% chance of winning.
John Barchard from the “Bell and the Birdmen” podcast gives us a look at how the Eagles have gotten to 6-0.