Rams Shut Down Manning Machine – Stats and Records

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RamBill

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Rams Shut Down Manning Machine – Stats and Records
From Stats Doctor

http://www.101sports.com/2014/11/19/day-manning-rams-stats-records/

Peyton Manning played in his 250th regular-season game when the Broncos took on the Rams at the Edward Jones Dome. His remarkable career is now in its 17th season, and one can only wonder just how many more times he will face the Rams on their home turf. After all, the schedule for an NFC team rotates from one AFC division to another each year, meaning it could be four or even eight years before Denver returns to face the Rams. If, by chance, this happened to be his final game here, it could be remembered both for what he accomplished and what the Rams prevented him from accomplishing in the 22-7 victory. Here are some rather remarkable numbers to consider from last Sunday.

To say that an offense is prolific with Manning at the helm is quite the understatement. When the Rams held the surefire future first-round Hall of Famer to one touchdown pass and a total of seven points, this was indeed an historic accomplishment. Coming into the game, Manning had a touchdown pass in 48 consecutive games and had an NFL-record 15 straight multiple passing touchdown games. The former record remains intact; the latter record has been halted. Had the Denver signal-caller thrown a second touchdown pass, he would have become the all-time leader with 160 games with at least two touchdown passes. He can break the record against someone else.

Only five times before last Sunday had a team quarterbacked by Manning scored no more than seven points in a regular-season game. Two of those games occurred in the second and third games of his career in 1998 – 29-6 at New England and 44-6 at the Jets. The last time a Manning team was held to seven points was in the final game of the 2009 season – a 30-7 loss at Buffalo.

The Dolphins were the last team to allow fewer than seven points, and that was 14 years ago in a 41-6 game. Out of those 250 total games, 64 have been played against NFC teams, and the Rams held a Manning-led squad to its lowest point total of those 64 contests.

The Broncos might have been held to only seven points, but this is not to say that Manning did not pass the ball for considerable yardage. The 369 net passing yards for Denver was the fourth-highest total ever allowed by the Rams in a win. The most yards allowed in a victory were 420 by Jacksonville in a 1996 17-14 win. Last year, the Rams gave up 388 net passing yards to the Colts and 371 yards to the Saints in 38-8 and 27-16 victories, respectively. In all four of those contests, the opposing quarterbacks—Mark Brunell, Andrew Luck, Drew Brees and Manning – all threw at least 52 passes.

One might have a hard time recalling this, but the Broncos actually did try to run the ball on occasion against the Rams’ defense. Denver only ran the ball 10 times out of its 66 plays from scrimmage, and nine of those 10 runs came on first down. That means that 35 of the Broncos’ 36 plays on downs two through four were pass plays. Their last running play came virtually at the halfway point of the third quarter as they attempted to go to the air on their last 26 plays and, overall, 31 of their 35 second-half plays.

For the second week in a row, the Rams’ defense was downright stingy when it came to allowing rushing yards. Denver ended up with but 28 yards on those 10 rushes. The Rams have now allowed 51 yards rushing on 26 carries in the last two weeks, or just under two yards per carry. If my research is accurate, this marks the lowest two-game total for rushing by Rams opponents in franchise history. The next closest I could come up with was 75 yards in back-to-back games in 2007 against the Saints (43 yards) and the 49ers (32 yards). Since the Rams started playing 77 years ago, teams have been held to no more than 51 rushing yards in one game only 76 times.

The Rams did not allow Denver to have any red-zone drives, as its deepest play from scrimmage was from the St. Louis 28 on a fourth-down play in the fourth quarter. The result of that play was a 12-yard sack of Manning by Aaron Donald. The Rams have played only two other games in the past 20 years in which they prevented a red-zone drive – a 19-6 win at Arizona four years ago and a 26-21 victory at New Orleans in 2000. For the day, the Broncos ran only 16 of their 66 plays past midfield compared to the Rams’ total of 28 plays in Denver territory.

You will sometimes hear the term “hidden yards” mentioned, and that was something that was actually quite visible against the Broncos. The difference in the average drive start was huge as Denver started on average at its own 18-yard line, with no drive starting past its own 25-yard line. Only two of those 13 drives started past the 20-yard line. The Rams, in contrast, began their drives on average at their own 33-yard line. The difference in the second half was even more pronounced, with the Rams enjoying a 25-yard advantage (Rams at the 42, Denver at the 17). Another way of looking at these numbers is to point out that Manning had to throw for 161 yards – about 40 percent of his total passing yardage – just to make up the difference in starting field position and get to where the Rams were starting their drives.

Here is where the special teams come in to make a real difference. Denver had 13 possessions in the game, with seven starting after kickoffs and six beginning after punts. Johnny Hekker’s six boots resulted in four fair catches inside the 20, one fair catch right at the 20 following a 54-yard kick, and one return for no yardage.

Only once did Hekker have to punt with the line of scrimmage inside the St. Louis 37. When Greg Zuerlein kicked off, five of his seven kicks were touchbacks with the other two returned by Andre Caldwell for no more than 14 yards on a return.

Zuerlein single-handedly outscored the Broncos by connecting on all five field-goal attempts, including two 50-plus-yard efforts as well as one extra point. Generally speaking, you’re not likely to see a team make all those field goals with only one touchdown and expect to beat a Peyton Manning-led team that had already scored 37 touchdowns (24 in the red zone) coming into the Rams game. In the last two games between the two teams in St. Louis, 11 of their 12 scores have been field goals. Eight years ago in the season opener, Jeff Wilkins scored all of the Rams’ points on a team-record six field goals for an 18-10 win. Zuerlein’s 16 points on the day vaulted him from 20th to 15th place in Rams all-time scoring as his 272 career points surpassed Wendell Tyler (258), Dan Towler (264), Jim Benton and Jack Snow (270) all in one game.

The Rams’ offense was effective and allowed no turnovers, making the game the first St. Louis win with a positive turnover margin. Interestingly, all three Denver losses have occurred when it has lost the turnover battle. Furthermore, the Rams led in time of possession in all four quarters. Shaun Hill found Kenny Britt for a season-long 63-yard touchdown pass as part of a team season-best 128 receiving yards. Tre Mason became the first running back to rush for the century mark all season against the Broncos. For five seasons from 2008 until 2012, Steven Jackson had been the only 100-yard rusher for the Rams. Mason joins Benny Cunningham and Zac Stacy as 100-yard rushers since the start of last season.

It is great fun to recap an exciting victory like the Rams enjoyed against the Broncos. However, it’s back on the road and, once again, it’s a trip out west to take on the Chargers in San Diego. A win every other week has become the pattern, but maybe the time has come to string together consecutive wins for the first time this season. This will be a challenge, as the Rams have won only once in San Diego, and that was on their first trip in 1975.

At the then-named San Diego Stadium, Tom Dempsey kicked a 22-yard field goal in the team’s first-ever overtime game to give the Rams a 13-10 victory.
 

RamFan503

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Meh - I don't care if the opposing QB throws for 800 yards. If we hold them to 7 points, I like our chances.
 

tklongball

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Also, with 300+ yards against the Rams, Manning becomes the only QB in history to throw for 300+ yards against all 32 NFL Teams. That is an amazing accomplishment.
 

Blue and Gold

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"The Rams have now allowed 51 yards rushing on 26 carries in the last two week"

51 yards? Try 56, thanks "Stat Doctor" . . .if "your research" is accurate?
 
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The last time a Manning team was held to seven points was in the final game of the 2009 season – a 30-7 loss at Buffalo.

Not sure that game counts, the Colts had already locked up the one seed, and Manning was pulled after the 1st play of the 2nd Q.