2020 features 1st NFL season in 9 years with 0-10, 10-0 team

Updated Nov. 25, 2020 2:23 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Winning or losing 10 straight games to open the season is a relatively rare occurrence.

A season in which teams have done both has happened only a handful of times before the Pittsburgh Steelers (10-0) and New York Jets (0-10) pulled it off this season.

This is just the sixth season in the Super Bowl era to feature both a 10-0 team and 0-10 team and first time it has happened since 2011. That year, the Packers went 15-1 before losing their first playoff game, while the Colts finished 2-14 after losing Peyton Manning to a season-long neck injury.

The other times it happened were 2008 (10-0 Tennessee, 0-10 Detroit), 2007 (10-0 New England, 0-10 Miami), 1984 (10-0 Miami, 0-10 Buffalo and Houston), and 1975 (10-0 Minnesota and 0-10 San Diego).

In all, 17 teams started 10-0 in the Super Bowl era before the Steelers did it this season. Of those teams, six won the Super Bowl (2009 Saints, 1998 Broncos, 1991 Washington, 1990 Giants, 1985 Bears and undefeated 1972 Dolphins).

Four others lost the title game, including the Patriots in 2007 after the only 16-0 regular season in NFL hsitory. The other seven lost earlier in the playoffs.

Of the 21 previous teams to start 0-10 in the Super Bowl era, three ended up winless with the 2008 Lions and 2017 Browns going 0-16 and the expansion 1976 Buccaneers losing all 14 games.

The best finish for the other 18 teams was 3-13 with the Oilers (1984), Colts (1986, ’97), Bengals (1993) and Raiders (2014) all winning three of their final six games.

PERFECT 10: Steelers rookie receiver Chase Claypool caught a TD pass to give him 10 touchdowns in the first 10 games this season. Claypool is the first wide receiver in the Super Bowl era and fourth in league history with at least 10 TDs in the first 10 games of his career, joinng Billy Howton (11 TDs in 1952), Bill Groman (10 in 1960) and Harlon Hill (10 in 1954).

GIVING THANKS: Detroit’s Matthew Stafford is set to make his 10th career Thanksgiving Day start, which would tie Troy Aikman for the most in NFL history. Stafford has gone 4-5 in those starts and could have the most Thanksgiving losses ever if the Lions lose to Houston. Only Aikman (5-5) and Bart Starr (2-5-1) have also lost five starts.

Stafford, whose 2,705 yards passing are the most ever on Thanksgiving, also can have the most TD passes. He enters the game with 17, one behind Tony Romo.

HEAVY LOAD: Jaguars undrafted rookie James Robinson gained 94 yards from scrimmage to give him 1,011 for the season. He’s the fifth undrafted rookie to gain at least 1,000 yards from scrimmage in the common draft era, joining Dominic Rhodes (1,328 in 2001), Phillip Lindsay (1,278 in 2018), Clark Gaines (1,124 in 1976) and LeGarrette Blount (1,021 in 2010).

Robinson has 78.3% of Jacksonville yards rushing this season. Only nine players have gained a larger amount for a season since 2010.

COMEBACK KIDS: Indianapolis overcame a 14-point deficit to beat Green Bay 34-31 in overtime, marking the 11th straight week that a team rallied from at least 13 points down to win. The only other time that happened was 2015.

There have been 33 games so far in which a team overcame a double-digit deficit to win, the most through 11 weeks in NFL history.

The Packers are one of 24 teams to lose a game despite scoring at least 30 points. That happened only 16 times all of last season and has happened more times just once in NFL history, with 27 games in 2018.

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