It’s a record that most of football America didn’t know existed — another mark that goes unnoticed or overlooked until someone surpasses it. Here are 10 more that fly under the radar and get a fraction of the attention of, say, breaking the single-season touchdown-pass mark (also in Manning’s possession). Warning: Some aren’t quite the source of pride that others are.
Most interceptions thrown by one quarterback on opening day: Steve DeBerg, Buccaneers, vs. 49ers, 1986. One of seven quarterbacks with at least seven picks in a game; the record of eight, by Jim Hardy of the Chicago Cardinals, was set in 1950. DeBerg was benched in Week 3 … for Steve Young.
Fastest first touchdown in Super Bowl: 14 seconds, Devin Hester, Bears, Super Bowl XLI, 2007. The fastest score of any kind would have been too easy — last year’s safety by the Seahawks, 12 seconds into the game. Seven years earlier, Hester returned the opening kickoff against the Colts 92 yards for a score, the first and only to do so.
Longest non-scoring play: 104 yards, Percy Harvin, Vikings, vs. Falcons, 2011. Atlanta’s Christopher Owens belongs in the books with him — he caught Harvin at the three-yard line after Harvin returned a kickoff from seven yards deep in the end zone. Footnote: The Vikings didn’t convert it into any points!
Most two-point conversions, career: Seven, Marshall Faulk. Impossible to argue calling his number there. Who’s chasing down Faulk? Well … eight active players have three. Oddly, Josh Freeman has four, yet he remains unsigned by a clever team looking for a specialist for just that critical moment.
Most players scoring 10 or more touchdowns, one team: Broncos, 2013. Criminally overlooked in the deluge of offensive records they set. Demaryius Thomas, Knowshon Moreno, Julius Thomas, Eric Decker and Wes Welker. Hard to believe that only two of them were in a Denver uniform on opening night.
Most times picking first in the draft: Seven, Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts. But they could be threatened next spring — the Rams franchise is in second place with six, and they got drilled at home, behind emergency starter Shaun Hill, by a rebuilding Vikings team. Bears watching.
Most Super Bowl appearances, player: Six, a three-way tie between Mike Lodish (Bills, Broncos), Don Beebe (Bills, Packers) and Adam Vinatieri (Patriots, Colts). They key, then, is for Vinatieri to get to his seventh with the Colts and claim the record, before ex-teammate Tom Brady gets to his sixth and ties it.
Most penalties, team, one season: 163, Raiders, 2011. They also hold the record for most penalty yards, 1,358. That’s 10 flags for 85 yards every single week. The beauty of it? They started 7-4, finished 8-8, then fired Hue Jackson as coach after one year.
Longest postseason drought: 25 years, Chicago/St. Louis/Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals, 1949-73. A lot of changes in the NFL makeup and playoff formats in that span, but still impressive. The Bills and their 14-year drought have a long way to go.
Most playoff losses by a quarterback without a win: Four, Y.A. Tittle. As fans of a certain age know, he was the Giants quarterback when they went to the NFL title game three straight years, 1961 to 1963, and lost each one. He also was on the scene for the 1957 division tie-breaker in which the 49ers blew a 20-point lead and lost to the Lions.
