FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 29

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 29, 2004

NFL PRESS BOX NOTES – WEEK 17

WEEK 17 – IMPORTANT TO WIN: History shows that teams winning in Week 17 improve their chances for playoff success. In the past five seasons, playoff clubs seeded 1-4 have a far better winning percentage after winning in Week 17 than those that lose in the final week.

Of the 40 top-four seeded clubs since 1999, 30 won in Week 17. Of those 30, 25 won their first playoff game, for a winning percentage of .833. The 10 that lost in Week 17 lost their first playoff game in four instances for a .600 winning percentage.

“You don’t want to go into the playoffs with a loss,” says safety CORY HALL of the Atlanta Falcons, who play in Seattle Sunday in a playoff-implication game for the Seahawks. “We want to get rolling, and carry that momentum into the postseason. I think it’s real important that we win and play well.” Success rate of playoff teams that win in Week 17 since 1999:

PLAYOFF SEEDS 1-4 WINNING IN WEEK 17	30
First Playoff Game	25-5
Winning Percentage	.833

PLAYOFF SEEDS 1-4 LOSING IN WEEK 17	10
First Playoff Game	6-4
Winning Percentage	.60

RECORD 10s?: The 2004 NFL season could set a record for most players with 10 touchdowns. Twenty-one players have scored 10 or more touchdowns, which ties for the third highest total in history. The record for most players with 10 touchdowns is 24 in 1985 and 1995. Entering Sunday’s games, 11 players have nine touchdowns and seven have eight.

Seasons with the most players with 10 or more touchdowns:

SEASON	PLAYERS WITH 10 TDs
1985	24
1995	24
1983	21
2003	21
*2004*	*21

* Through Week 16.

COLTS GALLOP TO QBs: Although the AFC South-champion Indianapolis Colts possess a record-setting offense ranked No. 1 in the NFL, opponents must also prepare for an attacking defense. The Colts are tied for third in the NFL in sacks with 44.0. Accounting for 26.5 of those sacks are defensive ends DWIGHT FREENEY (16.0) and ROBERT MATHIS (10.5). If these bookend defensive linemen post 4.0 sacks between them Sunday in Denver, they would tie the fifth highest sack total in history among defensive tandems who have registered at least 10.0 sacks apiece.

The most combined sacks among two teammates with 10.0 sacks apiece

PLAYERS	TEAM	SEASON	SACKS BY TEAMMATE DUO
Chris Doleman (21.0) & Keith Millard (18.0)	Minnesota Vikings	1989	39.0
Clyde Simmons (19.0) & Reggie White (14.0)	Philadelphia Eagles	1992	33.0
Lawrence Taylor (20.5) & Leonard Marshall (12.0)	N.Y. Giants	1986	32.5
Trace Armstrong (16.5) & Jason Taylor (14.5)	Miami Dolphins	2000	31.0
Fred Dean (17.5) & Dwaine Board (13.0)	San Francisco 49ers	1983	30.5

*Dwight Freeney (16.0) & Robert Mathis (10.5)*	*Indianapolis Colts*	*2004*	*26.5

* Through 15 games.

COVERING GROUND: Only once in history have two teams averaged more than 400.0 yards of offense in the same season -- the St. Louis Rams (442.2) and Denver Broncos (409.6) in 2000. That mark can be topped Sunday. Three teams enter the final week averaging 400.0 yards:

TEAMS AVG. 400 YARDS

Indianapolis Colts (418.3); Kansas City Chiefs (416.8); Minnesota Vikings (401.3)

MR. FIX-IT: With a victory Sunday at Seattle, first-year Atlanta head coach JIM MORA will have led his AFC South-champion Falcons to a 12-4 record after the team finished 5-11 in 2003. This +7-win improvement would tie the third largest increase in victories from one year to the next in a head coach’s first season with a team.

The greatest improvement in wins between seasons by a first-year head coach:

COACH	TEAM	SEASON	WIN IMPROVEMENT
Al Davis	Oakland Raiders	1963	9
Ted Marchibroda	Baltimore Colts	1975	8
Ted Marchibroda	Indianapolis Colts	1992	8
Bill Parcells	N.Y. Jets	1997	8
Don Shula	Miami Dolphins	1970	7
Bobby Ross	San Diego Chargers	1992	7
Jim Haslett	New Orleans Saints	2000	7

*Jim Mora*	*Atlanta Falcons*	*2004*	*6

* Through 15 games

GREAT PLACE TO START: The importance of field position cannot be underestimated. Clubs that have recorded the fewest offensive snaps on or inside their own 20-yard line have either clinched a playoff berth or enter Week 17 with an opportunity to advance to the playoffs. They have posted a 60-30 (.667) record.

Teams who have had the fewest offensive snaps on or inside their own 20-yard line:

TEAM	SNAPS AT OR INSIDE 20	AVG. PER GAME	RECORD
San Diego Chargers	82	5.5	11-4
Indianapolis Colts	93	6.2	12-3
Baltimore Ravens	107	7.1	8-7
Pittsburgh Steelers	109	7.3	14-1
Carolina Panthers	110	7.3	7-8
Minnesota Vikings	110	7.3	8-7
			60-30 (.667)

DEFENSIVE DOUBLE: Since the sack became an official statistic in 1982, only five teams have had one player produce 10.0 sacks and another post 10 interceptions in the same season. The Baltimore Ravens can become the sixth team to do so on Sunday. Linebacker TERRELL SUGGS (9.5 sacks) and safety ED REED (NFL-leading eight interceptions) can accomplish the feat.

The clubs that have featured one player with 10.0 sacks and another with 10 interceptions:

TEAM	YEAR	PLAYERS
Seattle Seahawks	1984	Kenny Easley (10 INTs); Jeff Bryant (14.5 sacks) & Jacob Green (13.0 sacks)
San Francisco 49ers	1986	Ronnie Lott (10); Charles Haley (12.0) & Jeff Stover (11.0)
Chicago Bears	1990	Mark Carrier (10); Richard Dent (12.0) & Trace Armstrong (10.0)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	2001	Ronde Barber (10); Simeon Rice (11.0)
Cleveland Browns	2001	Anthony Henry (10); Jamir Miller (13.0)

*Baltimore Ravens	*2004*	*Ed Reed (8 INTs); Terrell Suggs (9.5 sacks)*

* Through 15 games.

2004 CHAMPIONSHIP GAME & 2005 PRO BOWL CREDENTIAL NOTICE: The NFL is now accepting credential applications for the 2004 AFC and NFC Championship Games as well as the 2005 AFC-NFC Pro Bowl. The championship games will be played on Sunday, January 23, 2005 while the Pro Bowl will kick off on Sunday, February 13, 2005 in Honolulu, Hawaii (ESPN, 7:30 PM ET).

The deadline to submit a credential application for the championship games is JANUARY 11. The deadline for the Pro Bowl is JANUARY 14. Applications are available on www.nflmedia.com, under “NFL Event Credentialing.”

The NFL has also arranged for discounted hotel accommodations for working media interested in covering the Pro Bowl on site in Hawaii. Please contact Michael Signora (signoram@nfl.com) for more information.