50 Fun Facts About 2010s NFL

Which team opened the decade by upsetting the Colts 31-17 in Super Bowl XLIV in February 2010?

New Orleans Saints: they trailed 10-0 early, and Tracy Porter sealed the upset by returning a Peyton Manning interception 74 yards for a touchdown.

What surprise play opened the second half of Super Bowl XLIV in February 2010?

An onside kick: on the call nicknamed 'Ambush', Thomas Morstead kicked short to start the half, his team came out of a long pile-up with the ball, and the drive that followed gave it a first lead of the game.

The 2010 Packers became the first team to reach the Super Bowl as what?

An NFC sixth seed: at 10-6 they were the conference's last qualifier, won every playoff game on the road, then beat Pittsburgh 31-25 in Super Bowl XLV, with Aaron Rodgers named MVP.

Which 9-7 team won Super Bowl XLVI in 2012?

New York Giants: Ahmad Bradshaw scored the winning touchdown half by accident, trying to stop at the 1-yard line to run down the clock after the Patriots chose to let him through.

Super Bowl XLVII in February 2013 was nicknamed for which brothers, its two opposing head coaches?

The Harbaughs: John's Ravens beat brother Jim's 49ers 34-31, but only after a 34-minute power cut turned a 28-6 rout into a finish that came down to the final plays.

Which Raven opened the second half of Super Bowl XLVII with a record 108-yard kickoff-return touchdown?

Jacoby Jones: he caught the kick deep in his own end zone and ran it all the way back, and moments later half the Superdome's lights failed and stopped the game for 34 minutes.

Which Giants rookie made a one-handed, falling-backwards touchdown catch against Dallas in November 2014?

Odell Beckham Jr.: his 43-yard grab, hailed by many as the greatest catch ever made, put his team 14-3 up, yet the Cowboys came back to win the game 31-28.

Super Bowl XLVIII at MetLife Stadium was the first played where?

Outdoors in a cold-weather city: MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, was the first open-air, cold-weather venue awarded a Super Bowl; the game-time temperature turned out to be a mild 49°F.

Which Patriots cornerback intercepted Russell Wilson at the goal line to win Super Bowl XLIX?

Malcolm Butler: the undrafted rookie jumped Ricardo Lockette's slant at the goal line with 20 seconds left, after Seattle chose to throw from the 1 rather than hand to Marshawn Lynch.

Which Broncos linebacker was MVP of Super Bowl 50, Peyton Manning's final game?

Von Miller: he had 2.5 sacks and forced two fumbles that set up both of his team's touchdowns, as the defense piled up seven sacks in a 24-10 win; the NFL dropped Roman numerals for that game.

From what deficit did the Patriots come back to beat the Falcons in Super Bowl LI?

28–3: trailing 28-3 midway through the third quarter, the Patriots scored 25 unanswered points and won 34-28 in the first Super Bowl ever to go to overtime.

Which Patriots running back set Super Bowl records with 14 receptions and 20 points in Super Bowl LI?

James White: his 14 catches and 20 points (one receiving touchdown, two rushing touchdowns and a two-point run) were both Super Bowl records, and his 2-yard run ended the game in overtime.

The Patriots' Super Bowl LIII win in February 2019 set what record?

Lowest-scoring championship game ever: just 16 points in all, with the losers punting on each of their first eight possessions and Sony Michel's 2-yard run the only touchdown.

Which 33-year-old became the youngest head coach in Super Bowl history at Super Bowl LIII?

Sean McVay: born in January 1986, he lost that night to Bill Belichick's Patriots, then came back three years later to become the youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl.

Whom did the Chiefs beat in Super Bowl LIV for their first title in 50 years?

San Francisco 49ers: Kansas City trailed the 49ers 20-10 entering the fourth quarter and scored 21 unanswered points to win 31-20, with Patrick Mahomes named MVP.

'Deflategate' arose from the Patriots' win over which team in the AFC Championship Game of January 2015?

Indianapolis Colts: the 45-7 AFC title win over the Colts on January 18, 2015 triggered the under-inflated-ball investigation; the team was fined $1 million and forfeited two draft picks.

What did the Patriots' quarterback have destroyed during Deflategate?

His cell phone: the league said he had it destroyed just before meeting its investigators, and the commissioner cited that when he upheld a four-game ban, finally served in 2016.

Which head coach was suspended for all of 2012 over the Saints' 'Bountygate' scandal?

Sean Payton: he became the first head coach the NFL had ever suspended, sitting out all of 2012 for failing to stop the pay-for-injury bounty pool run by his defensive staff.

The 2012 'Fail Mary' game, decided by replacement officials, was won by the Seahawks over which team?

Green Bay Packers: Golden Tate and Green Bay's M.D. Jennings both grabbed Russell Wilson's last-play heave, two officials signalled differently, and Seattle won 14-12; the referee lockout ended two days later.

Which Jets quarterback ran into his own lineman's backside in the 2012 'Butt Fumble'?

Mark Sanchez: he slammed into guard Brandon Moore's backside, fumbled, and Steve Gregory returned it for a touchdown during a 52-second Patriots scoring burst on Thanksgiving night 2012.

Which Vikings receiver caught the 61-yard walk-off 'Minneapolis Miracle' touchdown in 2018?

Stefon Diggs: with 10 seconds left, Case Keenum found Diggs on the sideline, safety Marcus Williams whiffed, and Diggs ran in as time expired for a 29-24 win.

Which Dolphins running back scored on the multi-lateral 'Miracle in Miami' in 2018?

Kenyan Drake: Ryan Tannehill hit Kenny Stills, who lateraled to DeVante Parker, who flipped it to Drake, and he ran past tight end Rob Gronkowski, the last man back, to win it 34-33.

Which kicker's 64-yard field goal in December 2013 broke the NFL distance record?

Matt Prater: his 64-yarder on the last play of the first half beat a 63-yard mark that four kickers had shared since Tom Dempsey in 1970, and pulled Denver within a point of Tennessee in a game it won 51-28.

Tim Tebow's 2011 Broncos beat the Steelers on an 80-yard overtime touchdown pass to whom?

Demaryius Thomas: his catch-and-run won it 29-23 just 11 seconds into overtime and left Tebow with 316 passing yards, which made 'John 3:16' the top search on Google that night.

Which running back rushed for 2,097 yards in 2012, nine short of the NFL's single-season record?

Adrian Peterson: he fell nine yards short of Eric Dickerson's 2,105 in his first season back from tearing two knee ligaments, and was named the league's MVP for it.

Whose 1,964 receiving yards in 2012 broke Jerry Rice's single-season record?

Calvin Johnson: he passed Rice's 1,848 with a game to spare, piling up 225 yards on the night, yet his team still lost that game 31-18.

Which quarterback became the NFL's career passing-yards leader in October 2018?

Drew Brees: he took the record from Peyton Manning in style, with a 62-yard touchdown pass on a Monday night as his team routed Washington 43-19.

Which 49ers quarterback began kneeling during the national anthem in 2016 to protest police brutality?

Colin Kaepernick: he first sat, then knelt, during the anthem in the 2016 preseason, never played another NFL game after that season, and settled a collusion grievance with the league in 2019.

Which Colts quarterback shocked the league by retiring at 29, two weeks before the 2019 NFL season began?

Andrew Luck: the 2018 Comeback Player of the Year announced his retirement on August 24, 2019, saying he was worn down by an unending cycle of injury and rehabilitation.

Which team left St. Louis and returned to Los Angeles in 2016?

The Rams: they played in Los Angeles from 1946 to 1994 before two decades in St. Louis; San Diego's team followed them to Los Angeles a year later.

Which team went 0-16 in 2017, a year after finishing 1-15?

Cleveland Browns: their fans answered a week later by staging a tongue-in-cheek 'Perfect Season Parade' to celebrate sixteen losses out of sixteen.

Which player did the Ravens release in 2014 after a domestic assault video surfaced?

Ray Rice: the Ravens cut him on September 8, 2014, hours after TMZ published the elevator video; he won his appeal of the indefinite ban that November but never played again.

Which Seahawks secondary of the 2010s was nicknamed the 'Legion of Boom'?

Sherman, Thomas, Chancellor and Browner: Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor and Brandon Browner anchored a defense that gave up the fewest points in the league every season from 2012 to 2015 and powered the Super Bowl XLVIII rout.

Who won the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year award in 2012, 2014 and 2015?

J. J. Watt: he had 20.5 sacks in two of those seasons, and in 2014 the defensive end even lined up on offense and caught three touchdown passes.

Which team went 15-1 in 2015 before losing Super Bowl 50?

Carolina Panthers: with Cam Newton voted MVP they won their first 14 games and led the league with 500 points, then managed only 10 against Denver's defense on the biggest night of all.

The 2011 NFL lockout ended in time to cancel only one game; which was it?

The Hall of Fame Game: owners locked the players out from March until late July in a fight over the salary cap and a rookie wage scale, and only the preseason opener was lost.

In 2015 the NFL made which routine kick harder by moving it back to the 15-yard line?

The extra point: snapped from the 15 instead of the 2, it became a far longer kick, while two-point tries stayed at the 2 and defenses won the right to run a blocked kick back for two points of their own.

Which quarterback did the Chiefs trade to Washington in 2018 to clear the way for Mahomes?

Alex Smith: after a 2017 Pro Bowl season he was dealt for cornerback Kendall Fuller and a third-round pick, and two years later Fuller's late interception sealed the Chiefs' Super Bowl win.

To mark its 100th season, the NFL opened 2019 with Green Bay visiting which team?

Chicago Bears: the league broke its custom of letting the Super Bowl champions host the opener so that two of its oldest teams could start the centennial, and Green Bay won 10-3.

Which unwanted NFL record did the Raiders set while winning at Tampa Bay in 2016?

Most penalties in a game: flagged 23 times for 200 yards, the Raiders still won 30-24 in overtime, because Derek Carr threw for 513 yards and four touchdowns.

Which quarterback was named Super Bowl MVP for a record fourth time in Super Bowl LI, at age 39?

Tom Brady: he began that season serving a four-game suspension and ended it, at 39, with 466 passing yards in the comeback over Atlanta and one more Super Bowl MVP award than Joe Montana ever won.

Which Seahawks defensive end scored a safety on the first play from scrimmage of Super Bowl XLVIII?

Cliff Avril: when Manny Ramirez's snap sailed past Peyton Manning, Knowshon Moreno fell on the ball in the end zone and Avril was credited with the tackle for a safety 12 seconds in.

Which Colts receiver caught the 64-yard TD capping the 28-point playoff comeback against Kansas City in 2014?

T. Y. Hilton: his 64-yard catch-and-run late in the fourth quarter completed a rally from 38-10 down to a 45-44 win, then the second-largest comeback in playoff history; Hilton finished with 224 yards.

Which Saints defensive coordinator was suspended indefinitely for running the Bountygate program?

Gregg Williams: the league found that he ran the pay-for-injury pool himself and banned him without limit in March 2012, yet the ban was lifted a year later and he went straight back to coaching.

Which venue hosted the first Super Bowl in the Dallas–Fort Worth area, Super Bowl XLV in 2011?

Cowboys Stadium: the Arlington venue, renamed AT&T Stadium in 2013, had 1,250 temporary seats that were not ready by kickoff, and about 400 ticket-holders ended up with no seat at all.

Which backup quarterback caught a touchdown on the "Philly Special" trick play in Super Bowl LII?

Nick Foles: standing in for the injured Carson Wentz, he suggested the trick play himself on fourth-and-goal, then slipped out to catch the touchdown in a 41-33 win, his team's first Super Bowl title.

After owners approved their move to Las Vegas in March 2017, where did the Raiders play their next three seasons?

Oakland: the vote was 31-1, but with no stadium ready in Nevada the team stayed at the Coliseum for 2017, 2018 and 2019 before kicking off in Las Vegas in 2020.

Which player became the first publicly gay man to be drafted into the NFL, in 2014?

Michael Sam: the 2013 SEC Defensive Player of the Year at Missouri went 249th overall in the seventh round to St. Louis and was cut at the end of the preseason.

Which team ended the NFL's longest active playoff drought on the final day of 2017?

Buffalo Bills: their win at Miami plus Cincinnati's last-minute upset of Baltimore ended a drought dating to the 1999 season; they then lost 10-3 at Jacksonville in the Wild Card round.

Who became, at 21, the youngest quarterback to start an NFL playoff game in January 2019?

Lamar Jackson: the rookie had taken over in mid-season from the injured Joe Flacco and won the division, though his first playoff start ended in a 23-17 loss to the Chargers.