The Detroit Lions are so good this year that even when they try to lose, they can’t.
With three minutes left to play against the Bears, the Lions were trailing 26-14, but somehow, Detroit managed to pull off a wild comeback for a 31-26 win. That win helped them end an 84-game losing streak by NFL teams in a certain situation and we’ll be covering that below.
Every Sunday night, I get an email from our research department here at CBS Sports, and every Sunday, that email always includes some amazingly wild facts about the games that were just played.
With that in mind, here are 14 crazy facts about Week 11, starting with the Lions:
- You don’t see this every day. For the first time in NFL history, the Jaguars, Browns and Lions are all 7-3 or better through 10 games. A big reason for this is because the Lions are 8-2 for the first time since 1962.
- Lions make rare comeback win. Going into Week 11, NFL teams were a combined 0-84 this season when trailing by double digits with five minutes left to play in the fourth quarter. The Lions ended that drought by coming back from a 26-14 deficit in the final three minutes of the game to beat the Bears 31-26.
- Pick Six king. DaRon Bland returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown against Carolina, which is notable, because it was his FOURTH pick-six of the year, which ties the single-season record. If Bland can get one more pick six over the Cowboys‘ final seven games, he’ll have the record to himself
- Perfect Purdy. Brock Purdy finished with a perfect QB rating of 158.3 against the Buccaneers, which marks the first time since 1989 that a 49ers QB has done that in a game with at least 15 pass attempts. Joe Montana accomplished the feat 34 years ago during a 1989 season that ended with the 49ers winning the Super Bowl. Purdy finished 21 of 25 for 333 yards and three touchdowns, which got him the perfect rating.
- Cowboys keep blowing out bad teams. With their 33-10 win over the Panthers, the Cowboys have now won six games this year by 20 points or more, which is tied for the second-most in NFL history for a team that’s only played 10 games. Only two other teams had that many blow outs through 10 games and they both made the Super Bowl (1999 Rams, 2007 Patriots).
- Great Wall of Cleveland. Through 10 games, the Browns defense is only surrendering 243.3 yards per game, which is the best showing by an NFL team since the 2008 Steelers surrendered an average of just 238.1 through 10 games. The Steelers won the Super Bowl that year, so I guess we shouldn’t rule out that possibility with the Browns.
- Steelers still haven’t cracked 400 yards. With 249 yards against the Browns, the Steelers have now failed to hit the 400-yard mark in 58 straight games, which is the second-longest streak in NFL history. The Steelers trail only the Raiders, who went 75 games without hitting 400 yards from 2005 thru 2010.
- Home sweet home. The Dolphins have played five home games this year and Tyreek Hill has gone off for at least 100 yards and one TD in each of those games. That makes Hill the first player to pull off that feat in NFL history.
- Close, but no cigar. The Chargers have six losses this year and FIVE of those have come by three points or less. The Chargers are in a league of their own with that stat as no other team in the NFL has more than two losses by three points or less.
- Dolphins might start requesting Kevin Harlan. Dating back to last season, the Dolphins are now 7-0 when they have the CBS announcing crew of Kevin Harlan, Trent Green and sideline reporter Melanie Collins. If you’re watching a Dolphins game and that crew is calling it, you can just go ahead and assume that Miami is going to win.
- Someone tell Justin Fields to stop running. The Bears QB rushed for 104 yards in Chicago’s lost to Detroit, which is only notable, because the Bears are now 0-5 when Fields tops the 100-yard mark. That ties the NFL record for the most consecutive team losses when a player rushes for 100 yards or more in NFL history.
- Jets are in an offensive drought. The Jets are the first team since 2009 with fewer than 10 offensive touchdowns (9) through 10 team games. Fourteen years ago, the Raiders and Browns both failed to hit 10 offensive touchdowns in 10 games.
- Commanders sack attack doesn’t help them win. The Commanders sacked Tommy DeVito nine times on Sunday, but somehow still managed to lose by double digits (31-19). That makes the Commanders the first team since 1984 to lose by double digits in a game where they also recorded at least nine sacks.
- Broncos on a historical winning streak. With their 21-20 win over the Vikings, the Broncos became the first team in NFL history to win three straight games against teams that won 13 games or more during the previous season. The Broncos last three wins have come against the Chiefs (14-3 in 2022), Bills (13-3) and Vikings (13-4).
The Broncos are actually on a four-game winning streak, which means they somehow currently have the longest winning streak in the NFL.
Now, we’ll end things here with the best stat of Week 11:
If Ron Rivera wasn’t on the hot seat before, I feel like he is now after losing to a QB whose mom still makes his bed and cooks his chicken cutlets. DeVito had three touchdown passes in New York’s 31-19 win over the Commanders, which is more than Daniel Jones had in six starts this season.
