Analysis

11/23/20

4 min min read

NFL Week 11 Statistical Review

Here's a statistical breakdown of two key NFL games from Sunday:

Patriots vs. Texans

Patriots Defense: From First to Worst

  • Last season, the Patriots finished the season with the NFL DPOY (Stephon Gilmore) and the No. 1-ranked defensive in terms of DVOA. This season they are 32nd in DVOA
  • The Patriots looked good early but then the struggles continued. The Texans punted on their opening drive for the ninth time this season (most in the NFL), but then Deshaun Watson was able to maintain and extend the pocket all afternoon
  • After his first TD, Watson’s career red-zone numbers: 60 TDs and only 3 INTs (per CBS)
  • Watson’s TD Pass to Randall Cobb with 3:36 left in the first quarter was the first catch allowed by Devin McCourty since Week 1 (he had forced nine consecutive incompletions prior), per Jeff Howe
  • While coming into this game as the least penalized team in football, the Patriots committed a season-high seven penalties for 55 yards
  • The Patriots also missed 8 tackles on 28 pass plays and have missed 19 tackles over the past two weeks, per PFF

Deshaun Watson = The Texans Offense

  • Deshaun Watson finished the game with 344 passing yards and 36 rushing yards (380 total yards). The entire Texans offense outside of Watson only picked up 19 additional yards (15 rushing yards for Duke Johnson, 4 rushing yards for C.J. Prosise)
  • The Texans won this game in the first half, going up 21-10
  • The first half was all Watson, accounting for 241 pass yards and 18 completions (career first-half highs)
  • This is also just the second game of his career with 3 total TDs in the first half (Per ESPN Stats and Info)
  • Watson had his first rushing TD since Week 1 against the Chiefs (per CBS)
  • Watson also got it done on the ground in the first half, with 30 rushing yards on three carries (led the team)
  • Despite injuries to Cobb and Kenny Stills early, Watson and the Texans offense had five pass plays of at least 20 yards
  • Watson was 7 of 10 on throws of 10-plus yards downfield (only one QB had more such completions in the first half this season: Watson himself, Week 3 at Pittsburgh), per Mike Reiss
  • The Texans accounted for 274 total yards of offense in the first half (season-high)
  • Watson contributed 271 of those yards (241 pass, 30 rush)
  • Joins Cam Newton (Week 2) and Russell Wilson (Week 7) as the only QBs with 240-plus pass yards & 30-plus rush yards in a single half of this season (per NFL Research)
  • Watson’s last five games: 11 passing TDs, 1 rushing TD and 0 INTs

Ravens vs. Titans

Stopping Lamar vs. Stopping Henry

Stopping Lamar Jackson

  • Teams have started to figure out how to contain Lamar Jackson’s legs while forcing him to throw into tight windows by using zone coverage. This has affected the output of the Ravens as Jackson falls to 6-5 in his last 11 starts (he was 19-4 in previous 23)
  • Jackson struggled early -- he went 4-for-11 (36.4%) for 54 yards, 0 TDs and 4.9 yards/attempt in the first half
  • The Titans came into the game ranked 28th in red-zone scoring defense, allowing teams to score a TD on 74% of the drives. But the Ravens’ first two trips to the red zone ended in FGs
  • The Ravens came into this matchup with their fifth offensive line combination of the season
  • Despite the Ravens issues on the OL, rookie RB JK Dobbins was very agile with quick feet early on in the game (he should see more carries than Mark Ingram and Gus Edwards moving forward). Dobbins finished with 10 rushes for 56 yards and a TD
  • A major reason for the Ravens’ ability to score points despite the struggles from Jackson was the efficiency on third down. The Titans came into the game with the 31st-ranked defense in terms of allowing conversions on third down (53%). The Ravens converted nine of 15 third-down attempts (60%)

Stopping Derrick Henry

  • In the first half, the Titans were not finding success on the ground with Derrick Henry (2.8 ypc)
  • The Titans were 13-2 in games in which Henry had run for over 100 yards since his NFL debut in 2016 (per Trey Wingo)
  • Titans TE Jonnu Smith hauled in his seventh TD catch of the season, tying Delanie Walker for the most in a season from a TE in the Titans era (per John Glennon)
  • The Titans improved to 5-0 this season when Smith has a TD (8 total TDs), per NFL Research
  • The Titans led, 7-3, after the first quarter. When the Titans lead in the first quarter in the Mike Vrabel era, they are now 13-4, per David Boclair
  • In the second half and OT, the Titans focused on getting WRs A.J. Brown and Corey Davis involved in play action
  • But most importantly, they got Henry involved. He ended with 133 rushing yards on 28 rushes (4.8 ypc)
  • In overtime, the constant assault of Henry on the ground took its toll as he was able to bounce off multiple arm tackles and score a 29-yard TD to win the game

Other Key Stats

  • Saints RB Alvin Kamara is first player in NFL history with 500-plus scrimmage yards in four straight seasons
  • Bengals WR A.J. Green scored his first TD since Oct. 28, 2018 (per Andrew Sciliano)
  • The Lions had never been shut out with Matthew Stafford at QB until Sunday. The last time they were shut out was in 2009 with Daunte Culpepper at quarterback.
  • Only the Saints, Ravens, Panthers, Steelers, Vikings and Jaguars had longer active streaks without being shut out (ESPN Stats and Info)
  • Steelers rookie WR Chase Claypool has 10 touchdowns in 10 career games. Most by a rookie through 10 games is 11
  • Indianapolis had allowed 28 or more points just once this season before Sunday. Packers scored 28 in the first half (per Wes Hodkiewicz via Twitter)
  • Dalvin Cook has a league-leading 13 rushing TDs this season, tied for the most in a team's first 10 games in the last 10 seasons. LaDainian Tomlinson is the only running back to have more rushing TDs through the first 10 games (per ESPN Stats & Info)
  • Kirk Cousins has a passer rating of 137.2 in the fourth quarter, which is the best in the NFL (per Fox)
  • Cousins has also completed 75% of his passes in the fourth quarter
  • After the Colts overcame a 14-point deficit to defeat Green Bay 34-31 in overtime, at least one team has overcome a deficit of 13-plus points in each of the first 11 weeks of the season – 2015 is the only other season in which that’s happened.

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