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Bears pull off rare comeback that had only been done twice in NFL history, plus 13 more wild stats from Week 1
By John Breech,
11 hours ago
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The first full Sunday of the 2024 NFL season is officially in the books, and it was a wild one.
The Chicago Bears might have had the most bizarre win of the day: They overcame a 17-point deficit to beat the Titans and they did it without scoring an offensive touchdown. The Bears scored two touchdowns during their 24-17 win over the Titans with one coming on a blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown by Jonathan Owens , and another one coming on a pick six by Tyrique Stevenson .
With the win, the Bears became just the third team in NFL history to overcome a 17-point deficit without recording an offensive TD, joining the 2006 Bears and the 2016 Chiefs . The Bears ended up making it to the Super Bowl the last time they pulled off a comeback like this, so fans in Chicago will definitely be hoping that lightning strikes twice.
That was definitely one of the wildest stats from Week 1 uncovered by the CBS Sports research department over the weekend.
With that in mind, let's check out 13 more wild stats from Week 1:
Comeback kids. There were three teams that came back to win on Sunday despite trailing by at least 14 points during the game (Bears over Titans, Bills over Cardinals , Dolphins over Jaguars ), which marks the first time in 45 years that three teams have come back from at least two touchdowns during the opening week of the season. The Bears comeback might been the most impressive, because they became just the third team in NFL history to overcome a 17-point deficit without scoring an offensive touchdown.
Top pick drought is finally over. With the Bears' 24-17 win over the Titans, Caleb Williams became the first No. 1 overall pick to win his debut since 2002. From 2003 thru 2023, top picks combined to go 0-14-1 in their debut game. Williams finished 14 of 29 for 93 yards, making him just the second QB in NFL history to throw at least 25 passes in his debut while also throwing for under 100 yards ( Desmond Ridder is the other).
Bears and Steelers combine for rarity. Pittsburgh and Chicago both won without scoring an offensive touchdown, marking the first time in 13 years that multiple teams won during the same week without scoring an offensive TD. The last time it happened came in Week 7 of 2011 when the Browns and Jaguars both won without scoring a TD on offense.
Josh Allen makes history. The Bills quarterback had two rushing touchdowns AND two passing touchdowns, marking the fourth time in his career he's pulled that off. That puts him in a tie with Steve Young for the most games in NFL history with multiple rushing touchdowns and multiple passing touchdowns in the same game.
Kicking from long range . The NFL's 30 kickers combined to hit 19 field goals from at least 50 yards, which is the new NFL record for a single week. Chris Boswell and Ka'imi Fairbairn both hit three field goals from beyond 50, marking the first time in NFL history that two kickers have pulled that off in the same week.
Bengals punter sets NFL record. Bengals rookie Ryan Rehkow punted four times for 258 yards, which is an average of 64.5 yards per punt. That's the highest gross punting average in a game in NFL history for a punter who had at least four kicks. The biggest boot from Rehkow went for 80 yards, which set the franchise record for longest punt.
Bengals get covered in Mayo . With New England's win over the Bengals, Jerod Mayo become the first Patriots coach to win his debut game since 1991. He also became the first to coach since 2010 to be an underdog of seven points or more in his debut game and still win (Jason Garrett was the last coach to pull that off).
King of the Hill . Being detained didn't seem to have any impact on Tyreek Hill . The Dolphins receiver had seven catches for 130 yards and one touchdown. Over the course of his career, he is now averaging 112.1 yards in Week 1 games, which is the highest number for any player in NFL history who's played in more than one Week 1 game. Hill also had an 80-yard TD, which means he now has 12 TD receptions of 75 yards or more in his career, which is tied with Randy Moss for the third most in NFL history.
Cardinals get historic kickoff return . DeeJay Dallas became the first player to score a kick return touchdown under the new rules. Dallas' 96-yard score came in the second half against the Bills, and you can see it here .
Jayden Daniels has a solid debut. The Commanders rookie rushed for 88 yards in Washington's loss to the Buccaneers , which is the second-highest rushing total for QB in his first career game ( Kevin Hogan had 104 yards for the Browns in 2016). Daniels also had two rushing touchdowns, which is tied for the most ever by a QB in his first career game.
Broncos pull off an NFL rarity. The Broncos recorded two safeties against the Seahawks , becoming the first team in seven years to record multiple safeties in the same game. They also became just the third team in NFL history to record multiple safeties in Week 1.
Deshaun Watson whiffs on long throws. The Browns QB went 0 for 10 on throws that traveled 15 air yards or more on Sunday, which is the worst zero completion showing on deep throws by any QB since air yards were first tracked in 2006.
Brandon Aubrey unofficially ties NFL record for longest field goal. This wasn't a record, but I'm including it, because it was wild. Just before halftime Aubrey hit a 66-YARD FIELD GOAL against the Browns, but the play got called back due to a delay of game penalty on the Cowboys . Dallas could have let Aubrey try from 71, but Mike McCarthy decided to send his offense back on the field instead of letting Aubrey try the long field goal. You can see the 66-yard kick here .
Although Aubrey's kick didn't count, it seems like it's only going to be a matter of time before he sets the NFL record.
As you can see above, the 66-yarder had plenty of leg and it won't be surprising if he ends up becoming the first player in NFL history to hit from 70.
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