The #NFL on Twitter: Week 4

Tuesday, 30 September 2014

Week four of the #NFL brought football to London, saw old faces in new places and proved that you can never predict the outcome on the field or on Twitter, as we once again witnessed numerous blowout victories, a few upsets and a lot of great Tweets.

Most-mentioned #NFL players, teams

While fans in the UK were treated to American football, the @RAIDERS proved to be no match for the @miamidolphins at Wembley Stadium in London:


In other games, quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers (@AaronRodgers12), Andrew Luck and Eli Manning threw four touchdowns apiece to lead their teams to convincing victories:


Manning found up and coming tight end Larry Donnell (@BEYOND_GREATNES) in the end zone three times in the @NYGiants 45-14 thrashing of the @Redskins:

With two touchdowns and 139 receiving yards, wide receiver Steve Smith Sr. (@89SteveSmith) led the @Ravens to a big win against the the @Panthers, his former team.


JJ Watt’s (@JJWatt) pick-six for a touchdown helped secure a 23-17 win for the @HoustonTexans over the @buffalobills:


The best game of the day had to be the @TBBuccaneers comeback 27-24 win over the @Steelers. Vincent Jackson (@VincentTJackson) scored a game-winning TD catch with just seconds remaining in the game:


Despite the loss, @Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown (@AntonioBrown84) was one of Sunday’s top performers after scoring two more touchdowns:

In perhaps the best matchup of week four, the @Eagles got out to a fast 21-10 lead over the @49ers thanks to three non-offensive touchdowns.

But Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) and Frank Gore put the team on their backs and won the NFC showdown 26-21:

@SNFonNBC featured a big matchup between the @Saints and the @dallascowboys. Despite a valiant late comeback effort by Drew Brees (@DrewBrees) and the @Saints, Tony Romo, Terrance Williams (@TerranceWill2) and DeMarco Murray (@DeMarcoMurray) got Dallas out to a big lead that proved to be too much for New Orleans to overcome:

Other notable stories included the @Vikings beating the @Atlanta_Falcons behind three Matt Asiata touchdowns, and Jamaal Charles (@JCharles25) and the @KCChiefs beating the @Patriots convincingly on @ESPNMondayNight:


And on Monday the @buffalobills broke news on Twitter when they announced that Kyle Orton would replace E.J. Manuel (@EJManuel3) as the team’s starting quarterback:

Here are the top five most-mentioned #NFL players (player name and/or player Twitter handle) on Twitter during week four of play (Thursday, Sept. 25 through Monday, Sept. 29):

  1. Steve Smith Sr. (@89SteveSmith)
  2. Tom Brady
  3. Eli Manning
  4. Kirk Cousins (@KirkCousins8)
  5. Jamaal Charles (@JCharles25)

Here are the top five most-mentioned team accounts on Twitter during week four of play (Thursday, Sept. 22 through Monday, Sept. 29):

  1. Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys)
  2. San Francisco 49ers (@49ers)
  3. New Orleans Saints (@Saints)
  4. Oakland Raiders (@RAIDERS)
  5. Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles)

Click on this image below to explore this data visualization that features week four’s most mentioned players and teams (and related Tweets). We will update this data viz each week of the season on Tuesdays.

The #NFL on Twitter: Week 4

Most-Tweeted games and moments

Week four was filled with high-scoring games, big plays and a some upsets. Here are the top five most-Tweeted games during and around live telecasts based on number of Tweets, as measured by Nielsen Social (@NielsenSocial):

  1. @Saints vs. @dallascowboys (NBC)
  2. @Patriots vs. @KCChiefs (ESPN)
  3. @Eagles vs. @49ers (FOX)
  4. @Giants vs. @Redskins (CBS; NFL Network)
  5. @Packers vs. @ChicagoBears (FOX)

And here are the moments that sparked the top Tweets per minute (TPM) peaks during live televised games, as measured by Nielsen Social (@NielsenSocial):

  1. @dallascowboys running back DeMarco Murray (@DeMarcoMurray) scores on a 28-yard touchdown run to give Dallas a 31-3 lead over the @Saints with 6:42 remaining in the third quarter.
  2. @TBBuccaneers wide receiver Vincent Jackson (@VincentTJackson) catches a game-winning five-yard touchdown with seven seconds remaining in the game versus the @Steelers.
  3. Darren Sproles (@DarrenSproles) returns a punt for a 82-yard touchdown to give the @Eagles a 21-10 lead over the @49ers with 8:49 remaining in the second quarter.
  4. Defensive back Husain Abdullah (@HAbdullah39) returns a Tom Brady interception 39 yards for a touchdown to put the @KCChiefs up 41-7 over the @Patriots with 10:34 remaining in the fourth quarter.
  5. @Giants defensive back Antrel Rolle (@antrelrolle26) intercepts @Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins (@KirkCousins8) with 11:45 remaining in the fourth quarter.

See more here from @NielsenSocial on the reach of Twitter activity around this past week’s #NFL games.

Tweets of the week

Miss a touchdown in what was a high-scoring week in the #NFL? @nflredzone has you covered:

And we put together this collection of Tweets from week four. Enjoy!

Remember to follow the NFL action on Twitter and come back every Tuesday as we recap how the #NFL played out each week.