NFL stats and records, Week 10: Texans' C.J. Stroud, Chargers' Justin Herbert reach new passing heights

NFL Research offers the best nuggets from each week of games in the NFL. Here are the most eye-popping statistical accomplishments from Week 10 of the 2023 NFL season.

1) C.J. Stroud joins elite rookie company with second straight big performance

For the second week in a row Stroud has made rookie history — and done so in dramatic fashion.

Stroud’s Texans took down the red-hot Bengals via a 38-yard field goal as time expired. The former Buckeye threw for 356 yards (Stroud, not Joe Burrow). His leading receiver, Noah Brown, set a new career high for the second week in a row (172 receiving yards in Week 10).

Over his last two games Stroud has totaled 826 passing yards, joining Cam Newton (Weeks 1-2, 2011) as the only rookies in NFL history with 800-plus passing yards in a two-game span.

Stroud and Newton are also the only rookies with 350-plus yards passing in consecutive games. Stroud has three of those games this season (also Week 2 against the Colts), tied with Newton and Andrew Luck for the most in a rookie season since 1950.

2) Justin Herbert sets new four-season passing yards mark in losing effort

Herbert had a classic performance against the Lions, throwing for 323 yards, four touchdowns, one interception and an excellent 114.9 passer rating — with zero sacks taken. 

He led the Chargers to 38 points, and they lost.

Sunday’s Herbert gem vaulted him past Hall of Famers Peyton Manning and Dan Marino for the most passing yards in a player’s first four seasons all-time. Maybe a little solace for Herbert: Manning didn’t win his first playoff game until his sixth NFL season, and his career still turned out pretty well.

3) Ja’Marr Chase showcases big-play ability

Chase entered Sunday questionable to play with a back injury, but he tested it out in pregame warmups and proved able to suit up. Then, he proved capable of putting the team on his back (we all regret the pun).

Chase got behind the Texans defense on second-and-12 at the end of the third quarter, making a 64-yard house call to get the Bengals their first touchdown since the opening drive of the game.

That score was the seventh of Chase’s career to go for at least 60 yards. No other player has even five receiving touchdowns of 60-plus yards since Chase was drafted in 2021.

Chase has the second-most receiving touchdowns of 60-plus yards by a player age 23 or younger, trailing only fellow LSU prodigy Odell Beckham Jr. 

Beckham had eight receiving touchdowns of at least 60 yards before he turned 24 years old.

4) Myles Garrett shares milestone with cast of Hall of Famers

Garrett has continued to build on a hopeful Defensive Player of the Year campaign and has now reached double-digit sacks for the sixth consecutive season.

By doing so Sunday in a win over the Ravens, Garrett joined Hall of Famers Reggie White, John Randle, Bruce Smith, Lawrence Taylor and DeMarcus Ware — as well as potential future Hall of Famer Jared Allen — as the only players with at least six consecutive seasons of double-digit sacks.

Garrett, White, Ware and Von Miller are the only players to reach 10-plus sacks in at least six of their first seven seasons (not necessarily consecutively).

5) CeeDee Lamb achieves pair of accolades to share with Cowboys great

Only two players in Cowboys history have reached 900 receiving yards in the first nine games of the season — and they both wore No. 88 while doing so.

Lamb (975 receiving yards) and Hall of Famer Michael Irvin (1,023 in the first nine games of 1995) own that Dallas distinction.

Lamb also tied Irvin for the most games with at least 10 catches and 100-plus receiving yards in franchise history with his seventh such outing on Sunday.

That’s pretty good company for the 24-year-old star.

6) Baltimore’s undrafted rookie RB cashing in on chances

Ravens running back Keaton Mitchell has turned limited opportunities into maximal production. The undrafted free agent out of East Carolina has 177 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns on 10 career carries.

Mitchell is the first player in NFL history with 170-plus rushing yards and multiple rushing touchdowns on the first 10 attempts of his career.

NFL Research is not in the business of making predictions, but it’s not hard to see a world in which Mitchell gets more chances moving forward in this Ravens backfield.

7) T.J. Watt surpasses his brother

Sorry “big bro” — a shuffling of Watts occurred in this milestone.

T.J. Watt notched his 88th career sack in his 96th career appearance, surpassing J.J. Watt for the second-most sacks in a player’s first 100 career games (since individual sacks were first officially tracked in 1982).

The only player with more sacks than either of the Watt Bros. in his first 100 career games was the Minister of Defense himself, Reggie White (105.0).

Milestone in memoriam: The 49ers scored 34 points and Christian McCaffrey totaled over 140 yards from scrimmage, yet he did not find the end zone against the Jaguars — although it wasn’t for lack of trying by the San Francisco coaching staff.

That ends his streak of games with a touchdown at 17, tied with Hall of Famer Lenny Moore (who did so in 1963-1964) for the longest streak in NFL history, including playoffs.