Now, I know that Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell are good. But I am mildly surprised that the minor feat they achieved together on Sunday is something that had never been done before since statistics were tracked beginning in 1933.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, via ESPN, the two Pittsburgh Steelers All-Pro offensive talents became the first pair of teammates in recorded NFL history to each produce at least 700 yards from scrimmage within their team’s first six games of the season.
Sunday was the first time that Antonio Brown has had 150 receiving yards and Le’Veon Bell has had 150 rushing yards in the same game. pic.twitter.com/D4X7BOX4j7
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 16, 2017
In fact, according to Dom Rinelli, Brown is actually just one of four players to have even recorded 700 receiving yards in the first six games of a season since 2000. That suggests that it’s a pretty rare feat to be on his current pace even at this early stage, so it’s no surprise that this is not exactly a common occurrence.
Most Rec Yards in Games 1-6 of a Season
Since 2000W Welker ’11 785
S Moss ’05 743
D Hopkins ’15 726#Steelers Antonio Brown @AB84 ’17 700— Dom Rinelli (@drinelli) October 16, 2017
Only three other players have recorded more yards through the air through the first six games of a season since 2000 than how Brown this year, currently sitting at an even 700—averaging 116.7 yards per game.
Most notable was Wes Welker, who in the Patriots’ 2011 season had 785 yards through six games. He finished that year with a career-high 1569 yards. Santana Moss in 2005 had 743 yards. He also ended up with a career-high 1483 yards. Two years ago, DeAndre Hopkins jumped out with 726 yards, ending up with a career-high 1521 yards.
Brown’s previous best start through six games came in 2014 with 629 yards. He also had 547 yards in 2015. He had nearly 450 yards through the first three games alone before Ben Roethlisberger was injured. He posted the fourth-highest receiving yardage total in NFL history that year with 1834 yards.
As for Bell, this is only the second time in his five seasons in which he has not missed at least two of the first six games. The only other time, in 2014, he had 542 rushing yards and 342 receiving yards for 884 yards from scrimmage.
This year, he has 550 rushing yards—somewhat surprisingly more than in 2014—though only 156 receiving yards, giving him 706 yards from scrimmage. The pair of them comfortably rank in the top 10 in total yards from scrimmage in the NFL at this point of the season.
Another matter of note is that Sunday’s game was also the first time that Brown recorded 150 receiving yards in the same game that Bell rushed for at least 150 yards. Of course, this is only the fourth time that Bell has rushed for at least 150 yards. As for Brown, this was his 10th game of at least 150 receiving yards, and the third of this season.
Today is the first time that Antonio Brown has had 150 receiving yards and Le’Veon Bell has had 150 rushing yards in the same game. pic.twitter.com/SIvw4uBQwl
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 15, 2017
