NFL stats and records, Week 13: Dolphins players dominate; WR Puka Nacua makes Rams history

NFL Research offers the best nuggets from each week of games in the NFL. Here are the most eye-popping statistical accomplishments from Week 13 of the 2023 NFL season.

1) Buccaneers WR hits a new milestone 

Mike Evans has notched his 10th career season with 1,000-plus receiving yards. No other player has had at least 1,000 receiving yards in their first seven career seasons.

As for a full career, Evans is the third player in NFL history to surpass 1,000 receiving yards in double-digit seasons — joining wide receiver royalty in Jerry Rice (14 seasons) and Randy Moss (10 seasons).

Evans and Rice (11 straight seasons from 1986-1996) are the only players to have 1,000-plus receiving yards in 10 consecutive seasons at any point in their careers.

2) Stroud breaks record for rookie QB

The Texans already have as many wins this season (seven) as they had in 2021 and 2022 combined. Inarguably, rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud has been a huge factor in Houston’s turnaround.

Stroud failed to top 300 yards passing in Week 13 against the Broncos, the first time he has had fewer than 300 yards in a game since October.

Stroud’s mere 274 passing yards in Week 13 brought his season total up to 3,540 — the most in the NFL. Stroud would be the first rookie in the Super Bowl era to lead the NFL in passing yards.

In just his last five games, Stroud has 1,740 yards through the air — the most in any five-game span by a rookie in NFL history (by over 100 yards). Andrew Luck previously held that mark with 1,625 yards from Weeks 9-13, 2012.

3) Tyreek Hill is making history

Hill made a 78-yard house call on the Dolphins’ first drive of the game — and that was certainly not his only big play of the day.

Hill added another 60-yard touchdown in the second quarter and finished Week 13 with five catches for 157 yards and two touchdowns in a 45-15 win against the Commanders.

Those two touchdowns were the 20th and 21st of Hill’s career that went for at least 60 yards — which ties him with Devin Hester for the third-most touchdowns of 60-plus yards in NFL history. Only DeSean Jackson (26) and Jerry Rice (23) have more.

This was Hill’s fifth game this season with at least 150 receiving yards and a touchdown — which is a record for the most such games in a single season in NFL history. Hill was previously tied with Victor Cruz (2011), Roy Green (1984), Don Maynard (1968), Ben Hawkins (1967) and Lance Alworth (1965) in that category.

Hill has 1,481 receiving yards in 2023, nearly 300 more than any other player this season and more than any player has had in their first 12 games of a season in the Super Bowl era.

Doing some napkin math here — Hill is on pace for 2,098 receiving yards this season (the NFL single-season record is 1,964 by Hall of Famer Calvin Johnson in 2012).

4) Dolphins’ rookie RB keeps scoring

De’Von Achane has played more than five snaps in four career games:

• Week 3 against the Broncos: 233 scrimmage yards, four touchdowns
• Week 4 against the Bills: 120 scrimmage yards, two touchdowns
• Week 5 against the Giants: 165 scrimmage yards, one touchdown
• Week 13 against the Commanders: 103 scrimmage yards, two touchdowns

Including the games in which Achane left early due to injuries, he has played in six games and has nine career touchdowns. 

The only player in NFL history with more touchdowns in his first six career games was Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson in 1983 (10). Achane tied Hall of Famer Gale Sayers (1965) and Buffalo All-American star Ockie Anderson (1920), who both had nine touchdowns in their first six career games.

5) Raheem Mostert is on fire 

Mostert scored his 16th touchdown of the season on a one-yard run at the end of the first half against the Commanders. Mostert, who went undrafted out of Purdue in 2015, joined Priest Holmes (2002 and 2003), Austin Ekeler (2021 and 2021), LeGarrette Blount (2016) and Arian Foster (2010 and 2012) as the only undrafted players in the common draft era (since 1967) to score over 15 touchdowns in a single season.

Mostert had 19 career touchdowns in 75 regular season games entering 2023.

6) Puka Nacua cannot be stopped

Fifth-round rookie Nacua has 1,029 yards this season and passed Eddie Kennison (924 in 1996) for the most by a rookie in Rams history.

Nacua, who was selected 177th overall in 2023, joined Saints all-time receiving leader Marques Colston (drafted 252nd overall in 2006) as the only players in the common draft era who were not selected in the top 100 picks of the draft to surpass 1,000 receiving yards in their rookie season. Nacua needs 10 more yards to break Colston’s “record” in that regard.

7) CMC joins elite company

Christian McCaffrey scored his 50th career rushing touchdown in Week 13 in Philadelphia — helping the 49ers in their dominant 42-19 win against the reigning conference champions.

McCaffrey, who also has 27 career receiving touchdowns, joined Hall of Famers Marshall Faulk and Lenny Moore as the only players in NFL history with at least 50 rushing touchdowns and 25 receiving touchdowns in their career.

8) Pats’ defense puts on a show, but New England still falls

The Patriots have held opponents to 10 or fewer points in each of their last three games — and have a 0-3 record to show for it.

The last time a team allowed 10 or fewer points in three consecutive games and lost each of them was in 1938 when the Chicago Cardinals had a four-game losing streak in which they allowed a total of 30 points. The Cardinals were shut out in three of those games.

The Patriots are now 2-10, securing their first season with double-digit losses since Bill Belichick’s first year in New England in 2000 (5-11 record). 

Belichick is on pace for the worst record in a season by a head coach who had previously won a Super Bowl with that team — passing Tom Landry’s mark of 3-13 with the Cowboys in 1988.

Landry was fired following the 1988 season, and the Cowboys hired Jimmy Johnson and drafted Troy Aikman No. 1 overall. That combination produced three Super Bowl wins (two with Johnson as head coach, all three with Aikman at quarterback).

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