Records & Milestones as NFL Gets Back to Football

From the Thursday night opener in Green Bay, to the Monday Night Footballdoubleheader last night, Kickoff Weekend 2011 is one that will surely be remembered.

Some of the most spectacular achievements of Week 1:

• 752 points scored ties for the 9th-most in a single week in NFL history and 2nd-most on Kickoff Weekend (788, 2002).  The highest scoring weeks in NFL history:

• 89 touchdowns this week tied for the 6th-most in a single week in NFL history and tied for the most ever on Kickoff Weekend (Week 1, 2002).  The most touchdowns in a week in NFL history:

*Has happened seven times

• 8 combined kick-return touchdowns (5 punt, 3 kickoff) in Week 1 is the most combined kick-return touchdowns in a single week in NFL history.

• 3 kickoff return touchdowns in Week 1 tied for the most in an opening weekend in NFL history (1970, 1998).

• 3 kickoff return touchdowns of at least 100 yards – Green Bay’s RANDALL COBB (108 yards), Minnesota’s PERCY HARVIN (103) and San Francisco’s TED GINN JR. (102) – marked just thesecond week in NFL history with 3 KOR touchdowns of 100+ yards (Week 5, 1958).

• Cobb’s 108-yard kickoff return tied the record for the longest kickoff return in NFL history.  The Packers‘ rookie equaled New England’s ELLIS HOBBS, who returned a kickoff 108 yards for a touchdown against the New York Jets on September 9, 2007.

• San Francisco’s Ginn became the 12th player in NFL history – and the first on Kickoff Weekend – to return a kickoff (102 yards) and a punt (55 yards) for a touchdown in the same game.  Ginn accomplished the feat just 59 seconds apart, the fastest of the 12 players to do so.

• New England quarterback TOM BRADY and wide receiver WES WELKER connected on the 12th 99-yard touchdown pass in NFL history:

• 7,842 net passing yards were the most for a single week in NFL history.

• 906 net passing yards between the New England Patriots (516) and Miami Dolphins (390) is the most in a game in NFL history.

• The Patriots-Dolphins contest was also the first game in NFL history to feature both a 500-yard passer and a 400-yard passer – TOM BRADY, 517 & CHAD HENNE, 416.

• 14 300-yard passers in Week 1 were the most in a single week in NFL history.  The previous best was 13 in Week 10 of 2010.

• 5 games in which both quarterbacks threw for at least 300 yards, the most in any week in NFL history.

• 4 400-yard passers in Week 1 were the most in a single week in NFL history, topping the 3 in Week 3, 1986 and Week 13, 2004.

• The quarterbacks to pass for at least 300 yards in Week 1:

• Carolina rookie quarterback CAM NEWTON had 422 passing yards, the most ever by a player in his NFL debut.  The previous mark was 346 yards by Pro Football Hall of Famer OTTO GRAHAMin 1950.  Newton’s 422 yards are tied for the most in a single game by a rookie (MATTHEW STAFFORD, November 22, 2009).

• The Thursday night Kickoff opener between Green Bay (AARON RODGERS: 312 yards, 3 TDs) and New Orleans (DREW BREES: 419 yards, 3 TDs) marked the first time in NFL history that opposing quarterbacks both passed for at least 300 yards and three touchdowns without an interception in their teams‘ season opener.

• Oakland kicker SEBASTIAN JANIKOWSKI connected on a 63-yard field goal last night against the Denver Broncos, tying the record for the longest field goal in NFL history.  Janikowski joinedTOM DEMPSEY and JASON ELAM in accomplishing the feat.

• Cincinnati rookie wide receiver A.J. GREEN caught a game-winning 41-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter of the Bengals‘ 27-17 win at Cleveland.  It was the longest fourth-quarter game-winning TD catch in NFL history by a rookie in his team’s first game (22 yards, COBB ROONEY of the Duluth Kelleys in 1924).