Analysis
12/28/20
5 min min read
Week 16 Statistical Review
Let's take a look at some interesting numbers from Week 15 in the NFL:
Jets vs. Browns
Browns Practice Squad Offense
- The Browns came into the this game missing players, including Jarvis Landry and three other starting WRs
- Entering Sunday, the Cleveland active WRs in terms of total career offensive snaps:
Marvin Hall: 686 (none with Cleveland)
Derrick Willies: 30
Ja’Marcus Bradley: 15
- They open the game with a three-and-out (three passes out of the shotgun) and are able to kick a FG on the second drive
- All nine of Baker Mayfield’s targets in the passing game through two drives were to TEs and WRs
- Austin Hooper caught 4 passes for 44 yards
- Only 2 rushing plays (Kareem Hunt for 0 yards)
- The inefficiencies on offense continued for the Browns in the first quarter as they rushed for 0 yards through one quarter of play
- Among the Browns’ six inactives were starting LT Jedrick Wills and RG Wyatt Teller
- This became evident early in the second quarter when OLB Frankie Luvu forced a sack/fumble and the Jets took over deep in Cleveland territory
- This set up a TD throw from Sam Darnold to TE Chris Herndon (Browns are 30th in the league in defending TEs)
- It was Herndon’s first TD from Darnold since December 23 of 2018
- The Jets stacked the box in the first half to eliminate the rush and had no threat of getting beaten over the top with no real receiving options
- Browns had 4 rushing yards at halftime, after coming into the game with the third-best rushing offense in the league
- Mayfield has struggled under pressure (completing only 40% of his passes on the season)
- He faced immense pressure from the Jets defensive front (4 sacks including a fumble by Mayfield, caused by Terrell Basham, giving the Jets the ball in the red zone late in the fourth quarter
Jets Continue to Find Ways to Win??
- The Jets started the game with only four starters from their opening-day starting lineup: Marcus Maye, Bless Austin, Terrell Basham and Henry Anderson
- The Browns defense began the day having allowed 117 catches to slot receivers (ESPN Stats and Info). This meant Jamison Crowder’s involvement was necessary
- On a trick play, Crowder threw a 43-yard TD pass to Braxton Berrios. It was the first TD pass by a non-QB for the Jets since Brad Smith in 2010 (Rich Cimini)
- This was was Berrios’ longest reception this season
- The Jets took a 13-3 lead into halftime. The Jets have now held a double-digit lead over the Bills, Rams and Browns this season, who are a combined 30-12 entering Week 16 per ESPN Stats and Info/ Rich Cimini
- The Jets made some confusing mistakes with clock management with under 2 minutes left in the half
- Darnold took a sack to push them out of FG range, then an offsides call (came away with 0 points)
- The Jets continued to feed Crowder in the second half as the Browns defense against slot receivers struggled. Crowder caught a 30-yard TD pass from Darnold to go up 20-3. He had 8.28 yards of separation when the pass arrived
- Crowder became the first NFL player since 2001 (David Patten, N.E.) -- only the second NFL player in the last 61 seasons -- with at least 90 receiving yards, 40 passing yards and 10 rushing yards in a game (Randy Lange)
- The Jets went up 17 on the 10-4 Browns, a week after taking a 17-point lead against the 9-4 Rams. The Jets are the first team to take at least a 17-point lead against two opponents who were 5-plus games above .500 since the 2017 49ers, per ESPN Stats and Info (Rich Cimini)
- The Jets have now been locked into the No. 2 overall pick in the draft
- Last time the Jets picked second overall, they drafted RB Blair Thomas in 1990. Thomas had 2,009 rushing yards in four seasons with the Jets
Seahawks vs. Rams
First Half
- The Seahawks came into the game 12th in passing and ninth in scoring. Their defense was third against the rush but 32nd vs. the pass
- The Rams had the No. 1 overall defense (second in rushing and first in passing)
- On offense, they were ninth in rushing and 17th in scoring, but would be without their lead RB, Cam Akers (high ankle sprain)
- Rams QB Jared Goff has struggled over the past few weeks with consistency. Since Week 8, in the four Rams wins, Goff has a passer rating of 97.0, with 292 yards per game and a TD-INT ratio of 5-3. In three losses, Goff has a passer rating of 68.9, 254 YPG and a TD-INT rate of 3-5, per FOX
- Last time these two teams met, Russell Wilson was sacked 6 times and was forced to complete below 60% of his passes
- The game started off poorly with both teams going three-and-out
- The Rams began to make their way down field with third-down conversions to WR Cooper Kupp (second in the NFL in third-down catches)
- The Rams were able to sustain drives in the first quarter and more than doubled the time of possession of Seattle, but remained inefficient at scoring (3-0 lead)
- Both kickers traded FGs as the lead changed to 6-3
- While both offenses struggled, the defenses were impressing
- Jamal Adams was a major factor in Seattle’s first-half success; he ranks first on the season in statistical tackling categories for DBs including an NFL record 9.5 sacks this season (most ever by DB)
- Late in the second quarter, Goff threw an INT (his 13th of the year) to Quandre Diggs (his fifth of the year, second in NFL)
- This turnover gave Goff the most turnovers since 2019 with 38
- The first half ends in a 6-6 tie
Second Half
- The Seahawks come out strong in the passing game and drive down the field for a Russell Wilson rushing TD
- The Rams return by driving down to the goal line, where they are stopped on third down and fail to convert on fourth
- Aaron Donald sacks Wilson near the goal line after the turnover on downs. Donald leads DTs in sacks/QB hits and QB pressures in 2020. With that sack, he now has 85.5 sacks in his first 7 NFL seasons. Most Sacks in First 7 Career Seasons:
DeMarcus Ware - 99.5
Reggie White - 95.0
Aaron Donald - 85.5
Derrick Thomas - 85.0 (per NFL Research)
- The Seahawks take a 13-6 lead into the fourth quarter; the Rams offense continues to struggle in the red zone to come away with TDs; Goff hurts his throwing hand (thumb)
- Wilson completes a 45-yard pass to David Moore, his longest throw of the day to set up a Jacob Hollister TD
Completion Probability on the pass to Moore: 26.0%
Wilson Speed: 14.46 MPH*
Air Distance: 46.8 yards
Receiver Separation: 1.0 yards
*Fastest QB speed on a pass of 40-plus yards in the air this season (Next Gen Stats)
- This was Wilson’s 38th TD pass (t-2nd in NFL)
- Seattle wins the game 20-9, winning the NFC West title
- This is Pete Carroll’s fifth division title
- The Rams drop their second straight game as they were held without a TD for the first time this year
Other Interesting Stats
- The Eagles have given up back-to-back 500-yard games to their opponents for the first time in franchise history (NBCS)
- Cowboys vs. Eagles: 991 total combined yards, most ever for a game in this rivalry
- Justin Herbert has now thrown 28 TD passes, most ever by a rookie in the NFL
- This was Herbert’s third straight game-winning drive in the fourth quarter
- Shaq Thompson became the fifth player in Carolina Panthers history to record back-to-back 100-plus tackle seasons (Will Bryan)
- The Giants had 3 offensive plays in the first quarter, the fewest by the Giants in the last 30 years
- Travis Kelce ranks second in Chiefs history in catches, receiving yards and 100-yard games. Tony Gonzalez is first in all three categorires.
- Davante Adams finished with at least one reception on seven different route types Sunday night: Go, WR Screen, In, Out (2), Cross, Slant and Hitch (1).
- Adams has 10-plus targets on eight different routes this season, most in the NFL per Next Gen Stats
- Adams is the third player in NFL history to have 100-plus receptions and 16-plus receiving TDs in a season (joining Hall of Famers Cris Carter, 1995, and Randy Moss, 2003)
