Browns' Joe Flacco has biggest fourth quarter of any QB this NFL season, plus 13 other wild stats from Week 15

If you want to have your mind blown, just check out these 14 crazy facts from Week 15

By John Breech

Dec 18, 2023 at 11:26 am ET • 4 min read

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Joe Flacco is officially back.

After spending the first 11 weeks of the season watching football on his mom's couch, Flacco has returned with a vengeance. The Browns QB made his third start of the season on Sunday and after struggling through the first three quarters with three interceptions, Flacco went off in the fourth quarter.

The 38-year-old went 11 of 13 for 212 yards and a TD to help propel the Browns to a 20-17 win over the Bears. If you're wondering how impressive it is to throw for 212 yards in one quarter, we'll be covering that below as we go over 14 of the most interesting stats of Week 15.

If you're new here, I get an email every week from our CBS Sports research department, and that email always includes some amazingly wild stats about the games that were just played.

With that in mind, here are 14 of the craziest stats from Week 15:

Flacco's magical fourth quarter. The Browns QB threw for 212 yards in the fourth quarter against the Bears, which is the most by any Browns QB since at least 1991 and the most by any player in the fourth quarter of any NFL game this year. Flacco also became the first Browns QB to throw for at least 300 yards in back-to-back wins since Brian Sipe in 1980.
Christian McCaffrey is a scoring machine. With three touchdowns against the Cardinals, McCaffrey now has 30 touchdowns in his first 25 games with the 49ers, which is the second most in NFL history for a player through his first 25 games with a team. Only Gale Sayers, who had 31 with the Bears, had more. McCaffrey scored a total of seven touchdowns this season against the Cardinals, which ties the most by one player against a single team in a single season in the Super Bowl era.
From undrafted to awesome. With two rushing touchdowns on Sunday, Raheem Mostert now has 18 for the season, which is tied for the third most by any undrafted player in NFL history. The two scores also gave him 20 total touchdowns for the season, which is a single-season franchise record for the Dolphins.
Dolphins dominant defense. The Dolphins surrendered just four yards to the Jets during the first half on Sunday, which is the fewest yards that any team has given up in a first half since December 2015 when the Broncos held the Raiders to -12 yards.
Dual-threat record. Josh Allen had a passing TD and a rushing TD against the Cowboys, which is notable, because it marked the 10th time this season that he's had a rushing and passing score in the same game. That gives him the NFL record to himself. Previously, he had been tied with Kyler Murray at nine.
Dynamic duo. The 49ers have two players (Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel) who both have at least five rushing touchdowns AND five receiving touchdowns this season. That's notable, because it makes them the first teammates in NFL history to hit both of those numbers in the same season.
No one can score on the Saints. New Orleans held the Giants to just six points, marking the second straight week that the Saints have held their opponent under 10 points. That marks the first time since 1991 that the Saints have held their opponents to single digits in consecutive weeks.
Bears keep blowing leads. The Bears have lost three games this season where they had a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter. That's tied for the most in a season in NFL history. The Bears led the Browns 17-7 on Sunday before losing 20-17.
Jets playoff drought continues. The Jets were officially eliminated from playoff contention on Sunday, which means they've now gone 13 straight years without making the postseason. Not only is that the longest drought in the NFL, but it's also the longest drought in the four major North American sports.
Browns QB carousel is working. With their win on Sunday, the Browns became the first team since at least 1950 to have four different quarterbacks lead them on a game-winning drive in the same season. Besides Flacco, the Browns also got comeback wins this year from Deshaun Watson, P.J. Walker and Dorian Thompson-Robinson.
Baker pitches perfect game. Baker Mayfield just became the first VISITING QB ever with a perfect passer rating (158.3) at Lambeau Field. With 381 yards and four touchdowns, Baker also became just the third QB in NFL history with at least 375 passing yards along with four or more TD passes and a 158.3 passer rating in a road game, joining Nick Foles (2013 at Oakland) and Ken O'Brien (1986 at Seattle).
Jake Browning Is working overtime. With the Bengals picking up another overtime win on Saturday, Jake Browning became the first QB in NFL history to win two of his first four starts in overtime. He also became the first QB in NFL history to throw for at least 1,000 yards with a 75% completion percentage in his first four starts. Browning also became the first Bengals QB to win three of his first four starts since Boomer Esiason in 1984.
Lions rookies are roaring. The Lions rookie class combined to score five touchdowns, which is the most in a single game since the Bills in 1979.
Derrick Henry hits rock bottom. The Titans running back had 20 touches for just 10 yards against the Texans, making him the first player in NFL history to get the ball at least 20 times in a game without gaining at least 15 yards. Henry had 16 carries for nine yards and four catches for one yards.