50 Fun Facts About 2018 NFL Season

Which quarterback, in his first season as a starter, threw 50 touchdown passes and won the 2018 NFL MVP award?

Patrick Mahomes joined Peyton Manning as the only players with 5,000 passing yards and 50 touchdowns in one season. He had given up baseball at Texas Tech to focus on football.

Which pop band headlined the Super Bowl LIII halftime show in Atlanta, joined by rappers Travis Scott and Big Boi?

Maroon 5 took the slot after Rihanna and Pink reportedly turned it down. Criticized for accepting, the band announced a donation to Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.

Which Chicago Bears kicker missed the playoff field goal known as the Double Doink in January 2019?

Cody Parkey's 43-yard try hit the left upright, bounced off the crossbar and fell back out. Replays showed a Philadelphia lineman had tipped the ball, so the NFL ruled the kick a block.

Which Dolphins running back scored on the final lateral of the Miami Miracle to beat New England in December 2018?

Kenyan Drake took the second lateral and ran 52 yards as time expired for a 34–33 win. It was the first game-ending NFL touchdown to involve more than one lateral.

The Rams' 54–51 win over the Chiefs in November 2018 was moved to Los Angeles from where?

Mexico City lost the game six days before kickoff because rain and a crowded event schedule had ruined the turf at Estadio Azteca. It became the first NFL game in which both teams scored 50 points.

Which New England receiver was named MVP of Super Bowl LIII, a 13–3 win over the Los Angeles Rams?

Julian Edelman caught 10 passes for 141 yards, having opened the season with a four-game suspension. The 16 combined points were the fewest in any Super Bowl to that point.

Which beer brand's "victory fridges" unlocked across Cleveland when the Browns ended a 19-game winless streak in 2018?

Bud Light placed the fridges in Cleveland-area bars and set them to unlock on the first win. It came on a Thursday night against the New York Jets, in the third game of the season.

Which company made Colin Kaepernick the face of its 30th-anniversary ad campaign in September 2018?

Nike faced boycott calls and videos of customers destroying its gear. Within two weeks its share price closed at the highest level in the company's history to that point.

Which Pittsburgh Steelers running back sat out the entire 2018 NFL season rather than sign his franchise tag?

Le'Veon Bell turned down a one-year tender worth $14.5 million and missed the November deadline to report. He left as a free agent the following March.

Which Washington quarterback broke his leg in November 2018, 33 years to the day after Joe Theismann did?

Alex Smith developed a life-threatening infection and needed 17 surgeries to save the leg. He returned to play in 2020 and was named Comeback Player of the Year.

Which Oklahoma quarterback, a former walk-on who won the Heisman Trophy, was the first pick of the 2018 NFL Draft?

Baker Mayfield threw 27 touchdown passes that fall, then a record for an NFL rookie. His first appearance came off the bench in the third game, with his team down 14–0.

Which pass rusher did Oakland trade to the Chicago Bears for two first-round picks days before the 2018 NFL season?

Khalil Mack had held out through the whole preseason. Chicago gave him a six-year, $141 million extension, then the richest contract ever for a defensive player.

Which quarterback passed Peyton Manning for the career passing yards record on a 62-yard touchdown in October 2018?

Drew Brees broke the record against Washington, then sent a personalized football and letter to the players who had helped him get there.

Which coach returned to the Raiders in 2018 on a 10-year, $100 million contract after nine years in broadcasting?

Jon Gruden had spent those years as an analyst on ESPN's Monday Night Football. His deal carried a no-trade clause, because the Raiders had once dealt him to the Buccaneers for draft picks and cash.

A missed call late in the January 2019 NFC Championship Game led the NFL to make which penalty reviewable?

Pass interference went uncalled on a Rams cornerback's early hit, and New Orleans lost in overtime. Coaches could challenge such calls in 2019, but the rule was dropped after one season.

Which cartoon got a brief tribute in the Super Bowl LIII halftime show after fans petitioned to honor its late creator?

SpongeBob SquarePants appeared only in a short clip, which disappointed many who had signed. The petition asked for a song from an episode in which the characters play a halftime show themselves.

Which defensive tackle led the NFL with 20.5 sacks and was named 2018 Defensive Player of the Year?

Aaron Donald had skipped the whole offseason in a contract dispute. He signed a six-year, $135 million extension on August 31, just before the season began.

Which running back, drafted second overall by the New York Giants, was named 2018 Offensive Rookie of the Year?

Saquon Barkley was the highest-drafted running back since Reggie Bush in 2006. He made the Pro Bowl in his first season.

Which New England tight end announced his retirement at 29, weeks after winning Super Bowl LIII?

Rob Gronkowski had blocked a trade to Detroit a year earlier by threatening to retire rather than leave. He returned to the field in 2020.

Which quarterback topped the NFL Top 100 Players of 2018, the first player voted No. 1 three times?

Tom Brady was the reigning league MVP when fellow players voted on the list. He was already the only player to have finished first more than once.

Which Indianapolis Colts quarterback won 2018 Comeback Player of the Year after missing all of 2017 through injury?

Andrew Luck was voted to his fourth Pro Bowl that season. He then retired before the next one began, citing the injuries he had sustained.

Which Heisman-winning Louisville quarterback did Baltimore take with the last pick of the 2018 first round?

Lamar Jackson took over in November after Joe Flacco hurt his hip, and won the division. At 21 he became the youngest quarterback yet to start an NFL playoff game.

Which UCF linebacker, whose left hand was amputated when he was four, did Seattle draft in 2018?

Shaquem Griffin went in the fifth round and landed on the same team as his twin brother, cornerback Shaquill. The brothers had played college football together too.

Which Titans running back tied an NFL record with a 99-yard touchdown run against Jacksonville in December 2018?

Derrick Henry fended off three tacklers on the way to matching Tony Dorsett. Because 99 yards is the longest possible run from scrimmage, the record can only ever be tied.

Which Harvard-educated quarterback opened 2018 with three straight 400-yard passing games, an NFL first?

Ryan Fitzpatrick was filling in at Tampa Bay while the regular starter served a three-game suspension. He retired without ever appearing in a postseason game.

Which kicker, aged 45, became the NFL's all-time leading scorer during the 2018 season?

Adam Vinatieri took the points record from Morten Andersen, having passed him for the most career field goals earlier that same season.

Which 2018 Hall of Fame inductee skipped the Canton ceremony and gave his speech at his old college instead?

Terrell Owens held his own event at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, the first inductee to skip the official one. A day later he worked out for a Canadian team.

Which Dallas tight end retired in 2018 to join ESPN's Monday Night Football booth, then returned to play in 2019?

Jason Witten spent one season as the show's lead analyst before rejoining Dallas on a one-year, $4.5 million deal.

Which Los Angeles Rams head coach became, at 33, the youngest to lead a team into a Super Bowl?

Sean McVay was half the age of his opposite number in Super Bowl LIII, 66-year-old Bill Belichick. He had been the league's youngest head coach since the Rams hired him at 30.

Which Saints receiver marked a 2018 touchdown against the Rams by recreating Joe Horn's hidden cell phone celebration?

Michael Thomas was given a 15-yard penalty and a $30,000 fine for the tribute, which followed a 72-yard score. Horn said he teared up watching it and bought the younger man's jersey.

Which quarterback signed a fully guaranteed three-year, $84 million contract with Minnesota in March 2018?

Kirk Cousins had played the two previous seasons in Washington on one-year franchise tags after failing to agree a long-term deal. His new contract was also the highest-paying in league history when he signed it.

Which receiver did Oakland trade to the Dallas Cowboys for a first-round pick in October 2018?

Amari Cooper flourished after the move, with a 217-yard game along the way, and made the Pro Bowl. Oakland spent the pick it got back on safety Johnathan Abram.

Which Chicago Bears head coach won 2018 Coach of the Year honors in his first season in the job?

Matt Nagy went 12–4, then the most wins by a first-year head coach in Bears history, and took Chicago to its first division title since 2010.

Which Green Bay Packers head coach was fired in December 2018, after 13 seasons, following a loss to Arizona?

Mike McCarthy had coached the team to a Super Bowl title eight seasons earlier. He was dismissed with four games left, on the day of a 20–17 defeat.

A new NFL rule in 2018 made it a 15-yard foul for a player to lower what to initiate contact?

Helmet contact of that kind could also get a player thrown out of the game, and those ejections were made reviewable by replay. The foul applied to offense and defense alike.

Whose overturned playoff catch for Dallas against Green Bay helped push the NFL to rewrite its catch rule in 2018?

Dez Bryant was released by Dallas that same spring. He joined New Orleans in November and tore his Achilles tendon two days later.

Which Green Bay linebacker was flagged for roughing the passer in each of the first three games of 2018?

Clay Matthews saw one of the flags wipe out an interception with under two minutes left against Minnesota. In records going back to 2001, no other player had drawn three in a season's first three games.

Which AFC South team lost its first three games of 2018, then won nine straight on the way to a division title?

The Houston Texans set an NFL record for consecutive wins after an 0–3 start. The club's founding owner, Bob McNair, died that November at 81.

Which coach, hired by Indianapolis after Josh McDaniels backed out, led the Colts from a 1–5 start to the playoffs?

Frank Reich knew about rallies: as Buffalo's backup quarterback he led a 32-point playoff comeback that stood as the NFL's largest for almost 30 years.

Which Los Angeles Rams running back led the NFL in rushing touchdowns in both 2017 and 2018?

Todd Gurley signed a four-year, $60 million extension in July 2018 that made him the NFL's highest-paid running back. A knee problem cost him the last two regular-season games, and he was released after 2019.

Which soul singer and Atlanta native performed the national anthem before Super Bowl LIII in her home city?

Gladys Knight, like the halftime performers, was criticized for agreeing to appear amid the league's dispute with Colin Kaepernick.

Which San Francisco 49ers tight end set a single-season receiving yards record for his position in 2018?

George Kittle finished with 1,377 yards and took the record from Travis Kelce less than an hour after Kelce had broken it himself.

Which Texas venue hosted the 2018 NFL Draft, the first ever staged where an NFL team plays its home games?

AT&T Stadium, the Dallas Cowboys' home in Arlington, staged all three days. It was also the first NFL draft held in Texas, and five quarterbacks went in the opening round.

Which New England rookie running back scored the only touchdown of Super Bowl LIII?

Sony Michel's two-yard run was his sixth rushing touchdown of that postseason, an NFL record for a first-year player. Neither team had reached the end zone in the first three quarters, a Super Bowl first.

Which quarterback entered the NFL Top 100 Players of 2018 at No. 3, months after a torn ACL ended his season?

Carson Wentz had been unranked a year earlier. His backup finished the job that winter, winning the Super Bowl while he recovered from surgery.

Which network took over Thursday Night Football in 2018 and tried to hire Peyton Manning as its analyst?

Fox won the package on a five-year deal and, when Manning said no, gave the games to its lead pairing of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman.

Which Baltimore kicker missed the first extra point of his career in the final seconds of a one-point loss in 2018?

Justin Tucker had never missed one in more than six seasons before the kick, with 24 seconds left against New Orleans. A make would probably have sent the game to overtime.

Which Buffalo Bills cornerback abruptly retired from the NFL at halftime of his team's second game of 2018?

Vontae Davis, a two-time Pro Bowler in his tenth season, took himself out of the game and never played again.

Which Kansas City linebacker's offside penalty wiped out an interception late in the AFC title game in January 2019?

Dee Ford's penalty kept New England's drive alive, and the Patriots won 37–31 in overtime. Kansas City traded him to San Francisco that March.

Which hedge fund billionaire bought the Carolina Panthers in 2018 for a then-record price?

David Tepper had to sell his minority stake in the Pittsburgh Steelers to complete the deal. Having already been vetted as a part-owner there helped the league approve him quickly.