Roaring success at home isn’t a given in the NFL

Some NFL teams obviously play better before a friendly crowd.

Consider the Seattle Seahawks, who pride themselves on the noise generated by their “12th Man” in the stands. They’re 3-0 at home and 1-2 on the road, where they will play Sunday when they face the Raiders in Oakland.

The Green Bay Packers seem more at ease at home, too, with a 3-1 record at Lambeau Field and a 1-2 mark away from it.

The Dallas Cowboys have yet to win at home, losing three games in front of their restless fans, and the Miami Dolphins have yet to win at their stadium (although they’re 3-0 on the road).

On the verge of joining a select group of teams Sunday are the Kansas City Chiefs, who play host to the Buffalo Bills. If they win, the Chiefs would become just the seventh team in NFL history to win its first four home games after starting its previous season 0-4 at home.

Talk about home improvement.

Winless home starts followed by undefeated starts the following season (*Finished the season undefeated at home; **still active):

TEAM, WINLESS START, UNBEATEN START
Cleveland Browns, 0-4 in 1956, 6-0 in 1957*
Cincinnati Bengals, 0-6 in 1987, 8-0 in 1988*
Atlanta Falcons, 0-4 in 1997, 8-0 in 1998*
San Diego Chargers, 0-5 in 2000, 4-0 in 2001
Chicago Bears, 0-4 in 2000, 4-0 in 2001
Carolina Panthers, 0-5 in 2007, 8-0 in 2008*
Kansas City Chiefs, 0-4 in 2009, 3-0 in 2010**
Source: NFL?

LT milestone

LaDainian Tomlinson of the New York Jets needs 20 yards rushing to join Walter Payton as the only players in NFL history to log 13,000 yards rushing and 4,000 yards receiving for their careers.

Tomlinson has 12,980 rushing and 4,062 receiving. Payton had 16,726 rushing and 4,538 receiving.

In a recent interview with ESPN radio, Tomlinson raved about where he’s playing now -- and didn’t miss a chance to take a little dig at the San Diego Chargers, who released him after last season.

“Yes, I have been on some very fine teams,” Tomlinson said. “But I want to tell you this is the best team I’ve been on, top to bottom, talent-wise, coaching staff-wise, organization-wise. The whole nine. This is the best opportunity I’ve had to win the championship.”

Mr. Monday Night

Think Peyton Manning is good on Sundays? Check out his 10-3 record in Monday night games.

(OK, play along and accept for a moment the arguably bogus statistic of quarterback victories.)

If Indianapolis beats the Houston Texans on Monday, Manning will maintain the top winning percentage in Monday night games among all starting quarterbacks in NFL history (minimum 10 wins).

The starting quarterbacks with the best winning percentages on Monday night (minimum 10 wins; *active):

PLAYER, YEARS, W-L-T, PCT.
Peyton Manning, 2000-2009, 10-3-0, .769*
Ken Stabler, 1972-1983, 11-3-1, .767
Steve Young, 1987-1999, 16-5-0, .762
Joe Montana, 1983-1994, 14-5-0, .737
Dave Krieg, 1980-1998, 10-5-0, .667
Source: NFL?

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