It will start with a whisper now, because the season is still young and all sorts of shenanigans await when cold weather hits, and injuries mount.
But soon enough the volume will grow, and we’ll start to talk about DeMarco Murray and a certain record that, if broken, would put him atop the running back mountain.
He’s coming, Eric Dickerson.
3: The amount of players who have rushed for over 100 yards in each of their first five games of a season, a list that now includes Murray after the 136 yards he posted on the Texans during Dallas’ overtime win. The other names on the list? Jim Brown and O.J. Simpson. They were pretty good.
32.5: Murray still hasn’t been flawless. That’s his amount of carries per fumble this season after he turfed another one Sunday. He’s lost a fumble in four of the Cowboys’ five games.
3: The amount of pass attempts Charlie Whitehurst needed to hang two touchdowns on the Browns after he came in to replace an injured Jake Locker, one of which was a 75-yard heave to Justin Hunter.
4: Whitehurst’s total career passing touchdowns prior to Sunday over 178 attempts.
26-0: The Browns’ run that started late in the second quarter of that game, and ended in the largest comeback by a road team in regular season NFL history.
122: Russell Wilson’s total rushing yards this week, a new quarterback Monday Night Football record and a personal career high.
11.1: Wilson’s average yards per rushing attempt, which included runs for 29, 22, and 20 yards.
17: The amount of points allowed by the Saints over the final 20 seconds of the first half after five games, including seven more Sunday against Tampa. New Orleans needed overtime to beat those mighty Bucs.
7: The total return touchdowns by the Eagles, with the latest two coming in Week 5 through another blocked punt for seven points, and a fumble recovery in the end zone by Cedric Thornton. The Eagles’ return touchdowns so far (either defensive or through kick and punt returns) are the most by any team through five games since the merger. If they can manage to score a touchdown after a blocked field goal that will be another record, making them the first team to score eight different ways.
4: Antone Smith touches this season that have gone for gains of 30 yards or more, including a 74-yard touchdown on a screen when he outran pretty much everyone on the damn field. This is when I remind you the Falcons use him sparingly, and he only has 17 touches overall.
21: The amount of pass attempts Peyton Manning needed Sunday against the Cardinals to throw two interceptions. Prior to Week 5 he had thrown only one on 111 attempts.
165: Demaryius Thomas’ receiving yards in just the first half of that win, more than his yardage over the Broncos’ first three games.
17: The amount of fourth-quarter points allowed by the Cardinals Sunday. Prior to Week 5 they hadn’t allowed a single point in the final quarter.
2.25: Geno Smith’s average yards per attempt before he was finally and mercifully pulled for Michael Vick.
