Here is how Creed Humphrey will make history at 4:30 Eastern Time on January 8th
Post #3 in my Fun but Meaningless Data Series
On Saturday, January 8th at 4:30 PM Eastern Time, when the Chiefs and Broncos kick-off, history will be made. There are seven potential players set to become the first players in the modern era of football to start 17 games in a season. Others will follow later that night when the Cowboys and Eagles play, and many more will follow on Sunday. But who cares about those other guys, it’s about being the first. No one cares about the 2nd person on the moon. Do you know who the 2nd President of the United States was? John Adams…never heard of her. Everyone loves January 1st, no one has even heard of January 2nd. Anyway, I think you get my point.
The number of players in the pool from both teams with a potential to start 17 games is lower than I expected. This season there are 159 players who have started all 16 games through their team’s 16 games played (5.0 per team); that’s not much lower than the 175 (5.4) from 2020. The difference is likely, in part, due to Covid protocols. There is only one Denver player and six Kansas City players to start 16 games this year going into tomorrow’s game.
Here are the pioneers, the trailblazers, who will potentially be the first and most overworked regular-season players in history:
I know what you’re thinking. Jerry Rice played 17 games in a season; Emmanuel Sanders did this just two years ago; Damon Harrison in 2018 did this too. While all of those guys played 17 games, as a result of mid-season trades, none of them started 17 games. There are a total of eight players in the modern era who have played 17 games, all because of switching teams in mid-season. None of them started 17 games. Here is the list of players who have played 17 games but have not started in all of them:
Lastly, before the modern era (beginning in 1932), there were players who started more than 17 games. Guys like RE George Halas started 17 games, and LT Ed Weir started 18 games. But teams played uneven schedules, teams were folding in mid-season, the ball was round, and they tested helmets like this…
That’s reason enough not to count their stats in any historical analysis we do.
by Jason Pauley
