All Right, Let's Catch Up: Week _Three_ Score Report 2017

(BLOGGER'S NOTE:  The next several posts are going to be some of the stuff I'm catching up on after taking a week for closer chronicling of the race protests in the NFL, including my normal content.  I wish the Featured Post thing had actually defaulted it's picture to the Olbermann Twitter post, as it was closer to the statement I wished to make, but there you go...)

Well, that was an interesting Week Three.

With the backdrop of all the protests and everything like that, it turned into a most interesting week. There were some Goodell-isms brought back into the fray, but one very interesting statistic hit the table that made it one of the biggest weeks for the Vegas casinos in a long, long time.

• Average per game for the week was 49.975 (Last year, 46.94. 48.31 two years ago.)
• Doesn't cut much into the defensive advantage for the year, as the 3-week average is still only 43.787. (Last year, 45.688. Two years ago, 47.104.)
• Home teams 10-5 for the week, 26-20 for the year. (Last year, 10-6 for 27-21. Two years ago, 8-8 for 26-22.)
• With no surprise in the scoring department, the Over had a good week. The Over was 11-4-1 for the week, but both the prime-time weekenders ended Under. 20-23-4 for the year. (Last year: 9-7 for 26-21. Two years ago: 10-5 for 25 and somewhere between 20 and 23, depending on where you shopped.)
• Last year was also a big week for underdogs in Week 3. Favorites this week were only 8-8 straight up. (Favorites lost the first five games on Sunday.)
• But the big news was Vegas' HUGE WINS with the favorites getting absolutely SHELLACKED against the number. 4-12 against the number.
• For the year, 19-28 against the number, 29-18 straight up. Last year: 20-23 ATS, 25-18 SU.
• 251 penalties this week. Almost 16 a game. Number would've been far higher if not for a wild statistical anomaly: Carolina and New Orleans had two penalties in their game, one each. The last time an NFL game, according to Pro Football Reference, had that few penalties was San Diego @ Tampa Bay, November 11, 2012. Also 2. According to the Pro Football Hall of Fame website, there have been three NFL contests with no penalties, but none since 1940.
• The team with more penalties was 6-9-1 for the second consecutive week. 21-22-4 for the season. Last year: 5-8 for 17-26.
• 5 non-competitive games this week, down from 7 last year. Still however makes 19 out of the 47 games this year so far that have not been within 8 points at any point in fourth quarter. There were only 12 such games this far last year.
• 3 games were not within a score at the end but within a score at the fourth, meaning 8 games that were within one score at the gun. That means only 20 of the first 47 games this year have ended within one score. 29 last year.
• Cliffhangers: 4, including the first two doubles of the year. Green Bay's overtime win was a double (TD pass to tie it for GB, FG to win it in the new 10 minute overtime). Philadelphia's win over the Giants was a double, with two field goals in the last 51 seconds, including a 61 yard walk-off that might've netted that kicker the quarterback's paycheck for the week! New England and Chicago got Cliffhanger wins as well. 7 total for the year. 4 for 11 total last year. 6 total two years ago, none in 2015 Week 3.
• Last Chance Misses: You have that whole debacle in Detroit, which will get it's own post (maybe with the San Francisco game as well). Seattle missed an onside kick at 1:50 for one. (San Francisco got an onside kick at 2:13, but went nowhere.) So 2 total Last Chance Misses for 8 for the year. 3 for 14 last year.
• Interesting anomaly: Philadelphia and the Giants combined for 37 fourth-quarter points. The NFL record for the 4^th quarter is 48 – any quarter is 49.