2019 NFL Crown The Patriots Week 7 Score Report

• Third-highest scoring week of the seven.  46.92 PPG for a season average of 45.04 PPG.  (Last year:  46.93 for the week, 48.09 for the seven weeks.)
• Another bad week for the home teams.  5-9 for 45-58-1 this season.  (.4375)  (Last year:  5-8 for 65-38-2.)
• The Over was 5-7-2 (yes, TWO pushes) for 47-56-3 for the season.  (Last year:  4-10 for 53-52-2.)
• Good week for the favorites, for once!!!  Vegas probably gave back some money on 8-5-1 against the number and 11-3 straight up.  For the season:  44-58-3 ATS, 64-40-1 SU.  (Last year:  ATS:  7-7 for 48-57-2.  SU:  10-4 for 70-35.)
• Nope.  According to Vegas Insider, Vegas still won on Sunday, with Arizona upsetting the Giants and the weather-fest with the Redskins and 49ers leading the way for Vegas making money.
• However, it was the first ATS winning week for favorites of the season, and the first since favorites went 9-5 against the number in Week 12 last season.
• Team with more penalties went 8-5 this week for 46-49-1 for the year.  (Last year:  7-5 for 42-49-2)
• 172 penalties for the 14 games.  (12.29 per game)  Total for the season:  1,543 (14.55)  (Last year:  158 (11.3 per game) for 1,423 (13.3))
• No Cliffhangers this week, and only 12 games so far this year with a tying or winning score in the last two minutes or overtime.  (Last year:  2 for 24.)
• Not a good week at all for close football.  Only THREE games were decided eight points or fewer.  54 for the season (50.94%).  (Last year:  7 for 59 (55.14%)
• Six non-competitive games for 38 for the year which had no point in the 4th quarter in which the game was eight points or within.  (35.85%)  (Last year:  6 for 35 (32.71%))
• And missed opportunities to tie or win the game in the last two minutes are what I call Last Chance Misses, and this week had three.  Two of the three games finishing within a touchdown were, and so was one where Buffalo scooped and scored the onside kick on Miami to get outside the 8 (but not cover -17!).   32 for the year.  (Last year:  7 for 30.)

Some New England notes:

• WBZ in Boston had an article on the Patriots defense.  Entering this week, the Patriots had the record for the fewest points given up in the first six games of the 16-game season era with 48.  #2 was the Super Bowl winning Tampa team with 56.  1978's Steel Curtain in Pittsburgh had 63.  The 2000 Ravens had 65.
• The numbers after Week 7:

1. 2019 Patriots:  48 (21 of which were defensive points)
2. 2000 Ravens:  75
3. 2002 Bucs:  76
4. 1978 Steelers:  77
5. 1978 Broncos:  86
6. 1986 Bears:  90
7. 2000 Titans:  97
8. 1985 Bears:  102

Of the other seven teams, four won the Super Bowl (The '78 Steelers, '85 Bears, 2000 Ravens, and 2002 Buccaneers).

• Of the six teams they've faced, none has better than the 22nd highest-scoring offense.
• Tennessee is 112 through seven games for the next-lowest.
• However, San Francisco, who has also had a cakewalk of an early schedule, has only given up 64 points to go 6-0 themselves.  (Which would rank them fourth, but WBZ conveniently omits them.)
• The NFL record is the 2000 Ravens with 165 points against.

Another interesting stat from Pro Football Reference:

• 2019 has already had five games where the Vegas spread was 16 points or more.
• New England has been favored in three.
• Miami has been the underdog in three.
• 2-3 against the number.
• Potential for more this week from Vegas Insider:  The William Hill has Minnesota -16 over Washington in the Thursday nighter.  Probably the only chance, because Pittsburgh has been bet down from -16 - -17 for the Monday nighter with Miami to -14.5.
• 2007 had seven such games, and New England was favored in six of them.
• 2000 had five, both Tennessee-Cleveland games and three games where the Rams were favored.
• 1992 had the record with nine.  Buffalo was favored in four.  New England, the underdog in three.

Ratings from Sports Media Watch:

• FOX National:  15.0 -- the third time a prominent Saints window has gotten into the top five windows of the NFL season so far.  Best Week 7 National since 2015.
• (And they note:  The new configuration for overnight ratings numbers DOES NOT INCLUDE NEW ORLEANS.)
• FOX Regional took a bath though:  7.9, down 17%.
• CBS Single numbers were not released in time.
• A separate article DID get numbers for Sunday night this week, and Dallas delivers again:  12.2 rating, over 21 million viewers.
• The article notes a pattern:  Dallas is drawing people to watch games, as increases in every window they've been in the first seven weeks are noticed, and, in five of the seven, they are year over year increases against windows in which they were NOT featured.