NFL News & Analysis

32 NFL observations, Week 13

Green Bay, WI, USA; Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Carl Lawson (58) celebrates after sacking Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) during the third quarter at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Another week, another 32 Observations, this week by PFF Analyst Mark Chichester, finding an interesting piece of information about all 32 teams after one week of football.

If you would like to make some observations of your own, you can do so with PFF Elite, where you can find several signature statistics for every offensive and defensive position in football.

AFC EAST

Buffalo Bills: Quarterback Tyrod Taylor has logged 394 dropbacks this year and has taken off on runs on 7.9 percent of them, the second-highest run percentage among starting quarterbacks.

Miami Dolphins: Linebacker Kiko Alonso has racked up 14 tackles that have resulted in zero or negative yardage for the opponent. This is tied for the second-most among linebackers this year.

New England Patriots: Through 13 weeks, wide receiver Brandin Cooks has amassed 490 receiving yards from deep passes (passes that traveled at least 20 yards in the air) and has generated a passer rating of 138.9 when targeted on such passes. These are both tops among receivers with at least 10 deep targets this season.

New York Jets: Interior defensive lineman Leonard Williams has racked up 40 quarterback pressures and 19 run stops so far this year for 59 total impact plays, which is the seventh-most among all interior defenders.

AFC NORTH

Baltimore Ravens: The Baltimore Ravens are collectively allowing a passer rating of just 69.5 this year, the second-best mark among NFL teams.

Cincinnati Bengals: Edge-rusher Carl Lawson has tallied 52 total QB pressures this year and only needs another 13 pressures to have the most pressures ever recorded by a rookie in the PFF era.

Cleveland Browns: Through 13 weeks, the Cleveland Browns have sent a blitz on 43.6 percent of passing plays, the highest rate among all NFL teams. However, those blitzes have not landed thus far, as just 33.0 percent of those blitzes have produced pressure, the lowest rate among teams.

Pittsburgh Steelers: Linebacker Ryan Shazier has produced 13 total stops (10 in the passing game, three in the running game) on third down this season, the most among all defensive players in the league.

AFC SOUTH

Houston Texans: Over the last two seasons, running back Lamar Miller has caught 62 targets without dropping a pass. No other running back has more than 30 catches in that span without dropping a pass.

Indianapolis Colts: The Colts' defense is allowing just 2.92 yards per carry on first down this year. This is the best mark among the league’s defenses against the run on first down.

Jacksonville Jaguars: Offensive lineman Jermey Parnell is the only right tackle in the league that has played more than 300 pass-blocking snaps without allowing a sack this year. If he can continue his sack-free run for 70 more pass-blocking snaps, he will be the only right tackle in the PFF era (2006-present) to have played more than 370 pass-blocking snaps and not allow a sack.

Tennessee Titans: On throws where quarterback Marcus Mariota has been hit in the pocket, he has completed 12-of-22 pass attempts for 209 yards, no interceptions and three touchdowns. That's all good for a passer rating of 126.7 and an average of 9.5 yards per attempt, both the highest marks among starting quarterbacks.

AFC WEST

Denver Broncos: Outside linebacker Von Miller has racked up 55 pressures when lining up on the defense's left side, which is the most for all edge-rushers when lined up on the left.

Kansas City Chiefs: Linebacker Derrick Johnson has allowed a passer rating of just 56.8 on throws into his coverage this year, second-best among players at the position with at least 10 targets. Since 2013, Johnson has allowed a passer rating of just 76.4, which ranks first among linebackers with at least 150 targets in that span.

Los Angeles Chargers: Through 13 weeks, cornerback Trevor Williams has logged a playmaker index (total number of pass breakups and interceptions divided by targets in coverage) of 50.0 percent while in red zone coverage, breaking up 3-of-6 passes sent his way. He’s also allowed a catch rate of just 16.7 percent on throws into his red zone coverage. These are both the best marks among any defensive player in the league with at least five targets in the red zone.

Oakland Raiders: When Oakland’s running backs run to the right, they average 5.0 yards per attempt, the second-most among the NFL’s rushing attacks in that direction. However, when they run to the left, they average just 3.3 yards per carry, 30th among attacks. The differential of 1.65 yards per carry is the second-biggest gap among teams this year (the Los Angeles Chargers have the biggest differential with 1.83 yards).

NFC EAST

Dallas Cowboys: Safety Byron Jones has allowed a passer rating of just 50.4 when covering the slot this year, the second-best mark among players with at least 85 slot coverage snaps. If he can keep it up, he will be one of only two Cowboys since 2006 to allow a passer rating below 60.0 when covering the slot.

New York Giants: Through 13 weeks, safety Landon Collins leads all safeties with 32 total stops, which takes his total number of stops since 2015 up to 110, by far the most among safeties in that span.

Philadelphia Eagles: When targeted on third down, wide receiver Nelson Agholor has caught 16-of-22 targets for 342 yards and three touchdowns. His third down catch rate of 72.7 percent ranks third among all players with at least 20 targets on third down, while his near-perfect passer rating when targeted on third down of 154.4 ranks first.

Washington Redskins: Through 13 weeks, running back Samaje Perine has been stopped for zero or negative yardage on just 16.0 percent of his rushing attempts. This is the third-best rate among running backs with at least 100 rush attempts this season, with only Mark Ingram (11.1 percent) and Ezekiel Elliott (13.6 percent) ahead of him.

NFC NORTH

Chicago Bears: On his 65 third-down attempts, quarterback Mitchell Trubisky’s average of 9.6 yards per attempt ranks second among 32 starting signal-callers, while his passer rating of 103.7 ranks fourth. Through 13 weeks, he’s the only starting quarterback to have not thrown an interception on any of his third-down pass attempts.

Detroit Lions: Wide receiver Golden Tate has amassed 333 yards after the catch when targeted from the slot this year, the most among slot receivers by over 100 receiving yards.

Green Bay Packers: Green Bay Packers running backs have averaged 2.22 yards before contact per attempt this year, which is the highest mark among the NFL’s rushing attacks.

Minnesota Vikings: Through 13 weeks, wide receiver Stefon Diggs has seen 22 targets when his quarterback was blitzed. He has caught 15 of those targets for an average of 17.8 yards per reception and a WR rating of 147.3, both of which rank third among all skill position players with at least 15 targets against the blitz.

NFC SOUTH

Atlanta Falcons: Wide receiver Julio Jones has been targeted on 31.5 percent of his routes this year, the highest rate among receivers this season.

Carolina Panthers: When lined up as a receiver, running back Christian McCaffrey has generated a passer rating of 99.4, which betters the marks of the Panthers actual wide receivers Devin Funchess (94.0), Russell Shepard (77.1) and Curtis Samuel (68.6).

New Orleans Saints: Second-year cornerback Ken Crawley has been putting up some spectacular red-zone coverage numbers this year. Through 13 weeks, Crawley has been targeted nine times in the red zone, and he’s surrendered just two receptions for 10 yards and has logged an interception in the process. All told, he’s allowed a catch rate of just 22.2 percent, which ranks fifth among all defensive players with at least five targets in red zone coverage, while his 0.0 passer rating allowed ranks first.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: In his nine games, quarterback Jameis Winston’s average depth of target is 11.2 yards downfield, the highest mark among starting quarterbacks this year.

NFC WEST

Arizona Cardinals: Through 13 weeks, no receiver in the NFL has seen more catchable passes on third down without dropping a ball than Larry Fitzgerald. He has hauled in all 27 catchable targets from Carson Palmer, Drew Stanton and Blaine Gabbert.

Los Angeles Rams: Interior lineman Aaron Donald has produced 70 total quarterback pressures and is averaging one pressure on every 5.15 pass rushes; these are both the best marks among all interior linemen with at least 200 pass-rush snaps.

San Francisco 49ers: Linebacker Reuben Foster has only been healthy enough to play in six games this season (Weeks 1, 7, 9, 10, 12 and 13), but in those games, he’s racked up 24 total stops, tied for second-most among linebackers in those games.

Seattle Seahawks: Defensive end Michael Bennett has racked up two sacks, nine hits and 15 hurries in the fourth quarter of games this year. His 26 fourth quarter pressures are the most among all defenders as no other player has more than 18.

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