The Baltimore Ravens ended the regular season with a seven-game winning streak, still have a shot at the AFC home-field advantage and picked up the NFL record for fewest points allowed since the 16-game schedule was instituted in 1978.
Baltimore gave up 165 points, easily breaking the mark of 187 by the 1986 Bears.
“That should last a long time,” Ravens safety Rod Woodson said.
Freeman in Green Bay
Wide receiver Antonio Freeman was benched for the Packers’ crucial season finale against Tampa Bay on Sunday for missing two team meetings Saturday.
“We have so much talent in this locker room, if you have one bad apple, it’s not really beneficial anyway to have him around the team,” kicker Ryan Longwell said after the Packers won 17-14. “I’m not saying Free is that, but it’s often better just to go with what you’ve got.”
Freeman, who received a $10 million signing bonus and became the NFL’s highest-paid wideout in 1999, finished with 62 catches for 912 yards and nine touchdowns this season.
Off the field, things didn’t go well either. Freeman has been sentenced to a year’s probation, fined $1,000 and ordered to do 50 hours’ community service after pleading no contest to obstructing police officers in Green Bay; was fined $458 and had his driver’s license suspended for 15 days for failing to show up for a court hearing in Sheboygan after being ticketed for going 102 m.p.h. on Interstate 43 on Oct. 2; and was stopped and issued a warning for speeding in DePere.
The good
Marshall Faulk broke Emmitt Smith’s NFL record for touchdowns in a season Sunday, scoring three times to give him 26 for the St. Louis Rams. Smith had 25 for Dallas in 1995. Faulk, who missed two games with a knee injury, became the first player in NFL history to score four touchdowns in a game three times in a season. He’s also the first player in league history to score four touchdowns in back-to-back games.
Mike Anderson of Denver finished the season with 15 rushing touchdowns, tying Cincinnati’s Ickey Woods (1988) for the second most by a rookie in NFL history. Eric Dickerson had 18 for the Los Angeles Rams in 1983.
Denver receivers Ed McCaffrey and Rod Smith finished with 101 and 100 receptions, respectively, becoming only the second NFL tandem to reach that level. Detroit’s Herman Moore and Brett Perriman accomplished the feat in 1995. McCaffrey’s 101 catches broke the club record of 100, set by Lionel Taylor in 1961.
Jaguars halfback Fred Taylor had his nine-game streak of rushing for at least 100 yards snapped in Saturday’s loss to the Giants. He gained 52 yards in 13 carries before leaving the game with a hip pointer early in the second half.
New England’s Drew Bledsoe joined Dan Marino, Brett Favre and John Elway as the only quarterbacks to throw for more than 3,000 yards in seven straight seasons. Bledsoe finished with 3,291.
The bad
The Arizona Cardinals (3-13) went 0-8 on the road and finished with the franchise’s worst record since the Chicago Cardinals went 2-10 in 1959. They left Comiskey Park and moved to St. Louis in 1960.
The Cincinnati Bengals are 0-33 on the road against teams with a winning record since 1990, the year of their last playoff appearance. The Bengals’ drought is the longest in the NFL.
The ugly
The San Diego Chargers, held to just six first downs in Sunday’s loss to Pittsburgh, became the sixth team to finish 1-15 since the NFL went to a 16-game schedule in 1978. Their only win came against Kansas City and 44-year-old quarterback Warren Moon, keeping San Diego from joining the 1976 Buccaneers as a winless team–they went 0-14.
“It’s embarrassing,” running back Terrell Fletcher after Sunday’s loss.
“This is as bad as it gets in the NFL,” backup quarterback Jim Harbaugh said.
The first five 1-15 teams were the 1980 Saints, 1989 Cowboys, 1990 Patriots, 1991 Colts and 1996 Jets. San Diego clinched the top pick in April’s draft a week ago.
The quote
Larry Centers, Washington Redskins fullback: “The 2000 Washington Redskins weren’t supposed to be 8-8. If I make it to 60 years old, sitting in my rocking chair, I’ll think about year 2000 and how I let a great opportunity slip away.”
