5 NFL Stats to Know From Week 13

Week 13 was a strange week in the 2019 season, with many unlikely events occuring. The Cincinnati Bengals finally won their first game of the season, bringing down the in-form New York Jets. The Miami Dolphins rallied from a two-score deficit to beat the reeling yet still contending Philadelphia Eagles, while the Carolina Panthers blew a golden chance to beat Washington but instead gifted their opponents a second straight win.

At the other end of the power scale, the Baltimore Ravens are now the number one seed in the AFC thanks to a ground out victory over the equally high-flying San Francisco 49ers. They owed this victory to a last minute Justin Tucker field goal, but also to more magic from MVP front-runner Lamar Jackson. Jackson rushed for 100 yards in the Ravens' victory, his fourth such game of the season, breaking a tie with Michael Vick and Russell Wilson for the most 100-yard rushing games in a single season from a quarterback.

Here are five other stats to know -- both traditional and via our advanced statistics -- from Week 13 of the season.

David Blough Passed for 280 Yards in His First Career Start

If they are being totally honest, not many people outside of fans of the Purdue Boilermakers would have heard of David Blough before last Thursday. The Detroit Lions third-string quarterback was thrown into the starting lineup on Thanksgiving after injuries to Matthew Stafford and Jeff Driskel, and to be honest, he didn’t do too badly.

Blough finished with 280 yards and 2 touchdowns against the Chicago Bears, as well as a late interception that came as Blough tried to force a late game comeback. Blough’s passing yards were the most ever by a Lions quarterback in his first career start, overtaking Greg Landry's 231 in Week 1 of the 1968 season. Blough’s first completion of the day was a 75-yard touchdown to Kenny Golladay. This was the second-longest touchdown pass by a quarterback completing his first career pass since the 1970 merger, behind only Neil O'Donnell, who had an 89-yarder in 1991.

Blough didn’t disgrace himself, but if Driskell is healthy after the Lions' mini break, it would be a surprise he wasn’t back in the saddle for their Week 14 game against the Minnesota Vikings.

Cameron Jordan Had 4.0 Sacks Against the Atlanta Falcons

Thanksgiving is usually a time when people feast on turkey, pie, and football. This past Thursday, the New Orleans Saints feasted on Matt Ryan.

The Saints made Ryan thankful that he doesn’t play them every week, sacking the Atlanta Falcons quarterback nine times to match a career high. He also absorbed nine takedowns in Week 17 of the 2013 season against the Carolina Panthers. His tormentor in chief on this occasion was Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan, who notched four of the Saints' sacks. This is a new career-high for Jordan, and makes him the fourth player this season to record four sacks in a single game.

Ryan leads the NFL in sacks taken with 38 and is being dropped on a career-high 7.8% of his drop backs. With four games left, Ryan is on pace to beat his previous career-high of 44 sacks in a season, a mark set in 2013. His life isn’t about to get any easier as the Falcons take on the Panthers next week. Ryan has been sacked 57 times by the Panthers over the years, the most any one team has inflicted upon him.

Nick Foles Averaged -0.94 Passing NEP per Play

A combination of injury and inconsistent form have meant that the Nick Foles era has not been a particularly memorable one for the Jacksonville Jaguars. On Sunday, things reached a new low after Foles was benched at halftime during the team's loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Foles completed 7 of his 14 pass attempts for 93 yards and an interception. He also fumbled twice, giving him the grand total of -0.2 fantasy points for the day. Foles is now one of eight quarterbacks to have at least 10 pass attempts in a game only to finish with negative fantasy points in 2019.

Our metrics show that Foles was actually even worse than his counting stats would have us believe. Foles averaged -0.94 Passing Net Expected Points (NEP) per play on Sunday, the lowest mark among all quarterbacks. It was actually the second-worst outing by a quarterback this season (minimum 10 attempts), trailing only Ryan Fitzpatrick, who averaged -1.09 in Week 2.

Foles was replaced by rookie Gardner Minshew on Sunday, who succeeded in giving the offense something of a spark. Minshew completed 16 of 27 passes for 147 yards and a touchdown, though he too threw a bad interception.

The Jaguars look like a team likely to be ripped apart from the top down this offseason, with changes expected in the front office and the coaching staff. Foles' hefty contract is a headache they will have to contend with, but for now it really does appear that Minshew is the better play. He should be the starter when the Jaguars take on the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 14.

DeVante Parker Scored 34.9 PPR Points

Coming into the 2019 season, DeVante Parker appeared to have all the hallmarks of a legitimate bust candidate. To his credit, he has been one of the more consistent performers for the Miami Dolphins this season, and on Sunday, he enjoyed a career game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Parker caught 7 of his 10 targets, finishing with 159 yards and 2 touchdown. It was his fourth consecutive game with at least 10 targets, and his second game this season with 7 receptions. The yards and touchdown tallies were both career-highs.

Parker’s deeds brought him and his fantasy owners 34.9 PPR points, another career high for Parker beating the 21.9 he managed against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 11 of the 2016 season. Parker’s points were the fourth-most by a Dolphins wide receiver in a single since the 2010 season.

His form since Week 6 has been, based on his previous efforts up to that point, sensational. He is the WR3 in PPR scoring since then, trailing only Michael Thomas and Mike Evans. He could be in for another big week in Week 14 as the Dolphins take on the New York Jets. Stopping wide receivers does not seem to be a priority for the Jets in 2019.

Derrick Henry Scored 23.6 PPR Points

If Derrick Henry could play a full 16 game season in the way he plays at the end of one, he’d be a bonafide All-Pro. He finished the 2018 season on a tear, and in the last few weeks, he's shown signs that he will once again be a force in the season's closing weeks.

Henry rushed 26 times for 149 yards and a touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, scoring 23.6 PPR points along the way. His form since Week 9 has been a vast improvement on his numbers in the season’s first eight weeks, despite his usage remaining consistent throughout.

This marked the fourth game in a row with at least 23 points for Henry, and also his third consecutive game with at least 145 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown. Henry is only the fifth player in NFL to string together three such games and now finds himself in some seriously illustrious company. He joins Jim Brown (1958), O.J. Simpson (1976), Eric Dickerson (1984), and Adrian Peterson (2012) as the only players to achieve this feat.

Over his last 16 regular season games, Henry has amassed 1,725 rushing yards and 18 rushing touchdowns. He is the first player with more 1,700 yards and 18 rushing scores in a 16-game span since former Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson had 2,006 and 19 between Week 8 of the 2009 season and Week 6 of the 2010 campaign.

The Titans are still very much alive in the AFC playoff picture, and Henry will continue to do most of their heavy lifting down the stretch. He has a gorgeous matchup against the Oakland Raiders in Week 14.