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My article this week is going to be a bit short, but I'm not certain that disappoints anyone.
As I'm sure all of you know, sometimes life can get busy- even for a one-article-a-week sports blogger/enthusiast.
Quickly though- last week's win was fantastic. After being down 17 points the week before, I wasn't surprised when the Patriots buckled their seat belts and pitched a shutout over the last three quarters against the Buffalo Bills. I've been watching highlights of Sterling Moore ever since. I guess I'm not used to seeing a defensive back actually making plays on the ball instead of catching underthrown and tipped passes for interceptions.
I was quite happy this week to hear the statistic from last week's article- that the Patriots had (at the time) held 6 of their last 7 opponents to a score or less in the second half- on the Big Show with Glen Ordway of WEEI.
I was even happier to hear the Big O dismiss the caller with a patented "I don't think that's true" and hang up. Earlier in the day, Lou Merloni also dismissed this statistic.
I guess the Boston sports media doesn't want to admit that there is something strange and special happening with this years Patriots team. Mike Reiss is the exception- he gets it (catch his chemistry article from Wednesday).
In one of Greg Knopping's article earlier this week, a commenter asked to get the final "bendability index" figures on the season.
I'll do a full breakdown of the Patriots next week, but as they aren't playing this weekend I wanted to compare some statistics across the league. All of this data has been compiled from Pro Football Reference- since they do not total the time of possession, I excluded the yards and points per minute stats from these breakdowns.
Without further ado, let's check out how the Patriots ranked across the league in some key stats.
|
DEFENSIVE YARDS PER POINT |
OFFENSIVE YARDS PER POINT |
|||||||||
|
Team |
Pts |
Yds |
Def Y/P |
Team |
Pts |
Yds |
Off Y/P |
|||
|
1 |
229 |
4930 |
21.53 |
1 |
560 |
6482 |
11.58 |
|||
|
2 |
342 |
6577 |
19.23 |
2 |
San Francisco 49ers |
380 |
4974 |
13.09 |
||
|
3 |
227 |
4348 |
19.15 |
3 |
377 |
4989 |
13.23 |
|||
|
4 |
Green Bay Packers |
359 |
6585 |
18.34 |
4 |
New England Patriots |
513 |
6848 |
13.35 |
|
|
5 |
317 |
5682 |
17.92 |
5 |
474 |
6337 |
13.37 |
|||
|
6 |
313 |
5522 |
17.64 |
6 |
547 |
7474 |
13.66 |
|||
|
7 |
New Orleans Saints |
339 |
5895 |
17.39 |
7 |
353 |
5026 |
14.24 |
||
|
8 |
266 |
4622 |
17.38 |
8 |
Baltimore Ravens |
378 |
5419 |
14.34 |
||
|
9 |
307 |
5318 |
17.32 |
9 |
344 |
5118 |
14.88 |
|||
|
10 |
315 |
5315 |
16.87 |
10 |
402 |
6026 |
14.99 |
|||
|
11 |
Chicago Bears |
341 |
5607 |
16.44 |
11 |
Buffalo Bills |
372 |
5624 |
15.12 |
|
|
12 |
278 |
4571 |
16.44 |
12 |
Seattle Seahawks |
321 |
4860 |
15.14 |
||
|
13 |
348 |
5682 |
16.33 |
13 |
406 |
6237 |
15.36 |
|||
|
14 |
328 |
5198 |
15.85 |
14 |
Miami Dolphins |
329 |
5078 |
15.43 |
||
|
15 |
347 |
5491 |
15.82 |
15 |
406 |
6290 |
15.49 |
|||
|
16 |
338 |
5333 |
15.78 |
16 |
340 |
5275 |
15.51 |
|||
|
17 |
Cincinnati Bengals |
323 |
5060 |
15.67 |
17 |
Houston Texans |
381 |
5954 |
15.63 |
|
|
18 |
Atlanta Falcons |
350 |
5338 |
15.25 |
18 |
394 |
6161 |
15.64 |
||
|
19 |
329 |
5008 |
15.22 |
19 |
Philadelphia Eagles |
396 |
6386 |
16.13 |
||
|
20 |
Detroit Lions |
387 |
5881 |
15.20 |
20 |
Dallas Cowboys |
369 |
6008 |
16.28 |
|
|
21 |
New York Giants |
400 |
6022 |
15.06 |
21 |
309 |
5066 |
16.39 |
||
|
22 |
367 |
5437 |
14.81 |
22 |
Tennessee Titans |
325 |
5361 |
16.50 |
||
|
23 |
San Diego Chargers |
377 |
5546 |
14.71 |
23 |
Arizona Cardinals |
312 |
5192 |
16.64 |
|
|
24 |
Denver Broncos |
390 |
5725 |
14.68 |
24 |
359 |
6072 |
16.91 |
||
|
25 |
Oakland Raiders |
433 |
6201 |
14.32 |
25 |
Jacksonville Jaguars |
243 |
4149 |
17.07 |
|
|
26 |
407 |
5734 |
14.09 |
26 |
287 |
5108 |
17.80 |
|||
|
27 |
Carolina Panthers |
429 |
6042 |
14.08 |
27 |
Pittsburgh Steelers |
325 |
5957 |
18.33 |
|
|
28 |
430 |
5935 |
13.80 |
28 |
Washington Redskins |
288 |
5387 |
18.70 |
||
|
29 |
New York Jets |
363 |
4993 |
13.75 |
29 |
Indianapolis Colts |
243 |
4589 |
18.88 |
|
|
30 |
Buffalo Bills |
434 |
5938 |
13.68 |
30 |
Cleveland Browns |
218 |
4621 |
21.20 |
|
|
31 |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
494 |
6311 |
12.78 |
31 |
Kansas City Chiefs |
212 |
4973 |
23.46 |
|
|
32 |
Minnesota Vikings |
449 |
5731 |
12.76 |
32 |
St. Louis Rams |
193 |
4537 |
23.51 |
|
Strangely enough, this season the Patriots ranked second in both yards categories- gained, and given up. However, New England's stinginess in the red zone has helped them ranked 2nd in the bendability index- defensive yards given up per point allowed- with 19.23 yards they allowed per every point they gave up.
We commonly hear that Pittsburgh and San Francisco are the best defenses in the league- I guess it would probably surprised many to see that the Patriots sit right between both of those defenses in defensive yards per point, showing how hard New England makes their opponents work to score.
On the other side of the coin, New England is also fourth most efficient in scoring points- right behind some familiar faces in Green Bay and San Francisco.
Next, let's look at yards per turnover- another measure of efficiency as it relates to how many yards a team gains and gives up per turnover surrendered and won.
|
OFFENSIVE YARDS PER TURNOVER |
|
DEFENSIVE YARDS PER TURNOVER |
||||||||
|
Tm |
Yds |
TO |
Yrds/ TO |
|
Tm |
Yds |
TO |
YRD/ TO |
||
|
1 |
San Francisco 49ers |
4974 |
10 |
497.4 |
|
1 |
San Francisco 49ers |
4930 |
38 |
129.7 |
|
2 |
Green Bay Packers |
6482 |
14 |
463.0 |
|
2 |
New York Jets |
4993 |
31 |
161.1 |
|
3 |
New England Patriots |
6848 |
17 |
402.8 |
|
3 |
Houston Texans |
4571 |
27 |
169.3 |
|
4 |
New Orleans Saints |
7474 |
19 |
393.4 |
|
4 |
Seattle Seahawks |
5315 |
31 |
171.5 |
|
5 |
Houston Texans |
5954 |
20 |
297.7 |
|
5 |
Detroit Lions |
5881 |
34 |
173.0 |
|
6 |
Atlanta Falcons |
6026 |
21 |
287.0 |
|
6 |
Green Bay Packers |
6585 |
38 |
173.3 |
|
7 |
Dallas Cowboys |
6008 |
21 |
286.1 |
|
7 |
Baltimore Ravens |
4622 |
26 |
177.8 |
|
8 |
Detroit Lions |
6337 |
23 |
275.5 |
|
8 |
Jacksonville Jaguars |
5008 |
28 |
178.9 |
|
9 |
Carolina Panthers |
6237 |
23 |
271.2 |
|
9 |
Chicago Bears |
5607 |
31 |
180.9 |
|
10 |
New York Giants |
6161 |
24 |
256.7 |
|
10 |
Atlanta Falcons |
5338 |
29 |
184.1 |
|
11 |
Tennessee Titans |
5361 |
22 |
243.7 |
|
11 |
Buffalo Bills |
5938 |
31 |
191.5 |
|
12 |
Cleveland Browns |
4621 |
19 |
243.2 |
|
12 |
New England Patriots |
6577 |
34 |
193.4 |
|
13 |
San Diego Chargers |
6290 |
27 |
233.0 |
|
13 |
New York Giants |
6022 |
31 |
194.3 |
|
14 |
Cincinnati Bengals |
5118 |
22 |
232.6 |
|
14 |
Kansas City Chiefs |
5333 |
26 |
205.1 |
|
15 |
Baltimore Ravens |
5419 |
24 |
225.8 |
|
15 |
Philadelphia Eagles |
5198 |
24 |
216.6 |
|
16 |
Pittsburgh Steelers |
5957 |
28 |
212.8 |
|
16 |
Dallas Cowboys |
5491 |
25 |
219.6 |
|
17 |
Seattle Seahawks |
4860 |
23 |
211.3 |
|
17 |
Cincinnati Bengals |
5060 |
22 |
230.0 |
|
18 |
Miami Dolphins |
5078 |
25 |
203.1 |
|
18 |
Oakland Raiders |
6201 |
26 |
238.5 |
|
19 |
Minnesota Vikings |
5275 |
26 |
202.9 |
|
19 |
Tennessee Titans |
5682 |
23 |
247.0 |
|
20 |
Oakland Raiders |
6072 |
30 |
202.4 |
|
20 |
Minnesota Vikings |
5731 |
23 |
249.2 |
|
21 |
St. Louis Rams |
4537 |
23 |
197.3 |
|
21 |
Carolina Panthers |
6042 |
24 |
251.8 |
|
22 |
Buffalo Bills |
5624 |
30 |
187.5 |
|
22 |
Washington Redskins |
5437 |
21 |
258.9 |
|
23 |
Jacksonville Jaguars |
4149 |
23 |
180.4 |
|
23 |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
6311 |
24 |
263.0 |
|
24 |
Kansas City Chiefs |
4973 |
28 |
177.6 |
|
24 |
San Diego Chargers |
5546 |
21 |
264.1 |
|
25 |
Chicago Bears |
5026 |
29 |
173.3 |
|
25 |
Cleveland Browns |
5318 |
20 |
265.9 |
|
26 |
Denver Broncos |
5066 |
30 |
168.9 |
|
26 |
Pittsburgh Steelers |
4348 |
15 |
289.9 |
|
27 |
Philadelphia Eagles |
6386 |
38 |
168.1 |
|
27 |
Miami Dolphins |
5522 |
19 |
290.6 |
|
28 |
Arizona Cardinals |
5192 |
32 |
162.3 |
|
28 |
Arizona Cardinals |
5682 |
19 |
299.1 |
|
29 |
Indianapolis Colts |
4589 |
29 |
158.2 |
|
29 |
Denver Broncos |
5725 |
18 |
318.1 |
|
30 |
Washington Redskins |
5387 |
35 |
153.9 |
|
30 |
St. Louis Rams |
5734 |
18 |
318.6 |
|
31 |
New York Jets |
4989 |
34 |
146.7 |
|
31 |
Indianapolis Colts |
5935 |
17 |
349.1 |
|
32 |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
5108 |
40 |
127.7 |
|
32 |
New Orleans Saints |
5895 |
16 |
368.4 |
As many of you many start to realize, the 49ers are as advertised. They are #1 in both defensive and offensive yards per turnover. This may have a lot to do with their being #1 in the league in a statistic I'll show later, turnover differential.
However, the Patriots are no slouches. As they have been stingy with the ball over the last 8 weeks, they have been able to move to third in yards gained per turnover.
On the other side of the ball, the Patriots were more towards the middle of the pack in defensive yards allowed per turnover caused. However, they were still ahead of more lauded defenses like the Steelers. More true to form , check out the points per turnover statistics:
|
OFFENSIVE POINTS PER TURNOVER |
DEFENSIVE POINTS PER TURNOVER |
|||||||||
|
Team |
Off TO |
PTS |
PTS/TO |
Tm |
DEF TO |
PA |
PA/TO |
|||
|
1 |
Green Bay Packers |
14 |
560 |
40.0 |
1 |
San Francisco 49ers |
38 |
229 |
6.0 |
|
|
2 |
San Francisco 49ers |
10 |
380 |
38.0 |
2 |
Green Bay Packers |
38 |
359 |
9.4 |
|
|
3 |
New England Patriots |
17 |
513 |
30.2 |
|
3 |
New England Patriots |
34 |
342 |
10.1 |
|
4 |
New Orleans Saints |
19 |
547 |
28.8 |
4 |
Seattle Seahawks |
31 |
315 |
10.2 |
|
|
5 |
Detroit Lions |
23 |
474 |
20.6 |
5 |
Baltimore Ravens |
26 |
266 |
10.2 |
|
|
6 |
Atlanta Falcons |
21 |
402 |
19.1 |
6 |
Houston Texans |
27 |
278 |
10.3 |
|
|
7 |
Houston Texans |
20 |
381 |
19.1 |
7 |
Chicago Bears |
31 |
341 |
11.0 |
|
|
8 |
Carolina Panthers |
23 |
406 |
17.7 |
8 |
Detroit Lions |
34 |
387 |
11.4 |
|
|
9 |
Dallas Cowboys |
21 |
369 |
17.6 |
9 |
New York Jets |
31 |
363 |
11.7 |
|
|
10 |
New York Giants |
24 |
394 |
16.4 |
10 |
Jacksonville Jaguars |
28 |
329 |
11.8 |
|
|
11 |
Baltimore Ravens |
24 |
378 |
15.8 |
11 |
Atlanta Falcons |
29 |
350 |
12.1 |
|
|
12 |
Cincinnati Bengals |
22 |
344 |
15.6 |
12 |
New York Giants |
31 |
400 |
12.9 |
|
|
13 |
San Diego Chargers |
27 |
406 |
15.0 |
13 |
Kansas City Chiefs |
26 |
338 |
13.0 |
|
|
14 |
Tennessee Titans |
22 |
325 |
14.8 |
14 |
Philadelphia Eagles |
24 |
328 |
13.7 |
|
|
15 |
Seattle Seahawks |
23 |
321 |
14.0 |
15 |
Tennessee Titans |
23 |
317 |
13.8 |
|
|
16 |
Miami Dolphins |
25 |
329 |
13.2 |
16 |
Dallas Cowboys |
25 |
347 |
13.9 |
|
|
17 |
Minnesota Vikings |
26 |
340 |
13.1 |
17 |
Buffalo Bills |
31 |
434 |
14.0 |
|
|
18 |
Buffalo Bills |
30 |
372 |
12.4 |
18 |
Cincinnati Bengals |
22 |
323 |
14.7 |
|
|
19 |
Chicago Bears |
29 |
353 |
12.2 |
19 |
Pittsburgh Steelers |
15 |
227 |
15.1 |
|
|
20 |
Oakland Raiders |
30 |
359 |
12.0 |
20 |
Cleveland Browns |
20 |
307 |
15.4 |
|
|
21 |
Pittsburgh Steelers |
28 |
325 |
11.6 |
21 |
Miami Dolphins |
19 |
313 |
16.5 |
|
|
22 |
Cleveland Browns |
19 |
218 |
11.5 |
22 |
Oakland Raiders |
26 |
433 |
16.7 |
|
|
23 |
New York Jets |
34 |
377 |
11.1 |
23 |
Washington Redskins |
21 |
367 |
17.5 |
|
|
24 |
Jacksonville Jaguars |
23 |
243 |
10.6 |
24 |
Carolina Panthers |
24 |
429 |
17.9 |
|
|
25 |
Philadelphia Eagles |
38 |
396 |
10.4 |
25 |
San Diego Chargers |
21 |
377 |
18.0 |
|
|
26 |
Denver Broncos |
30 |
309 |
10.3 |
26 |
Arizona Cardinals |
19 |
348 |
18.3 |
|
|
27 |
Arizona Cardinals |
32 |
312 |
9.8 |
27 |
Minnesota Vikings |
23 |
449 |
19.5 |
|
|
28 |
St. Louis Rams |
23 |
193 |
8.4 |
28 |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
24 |
494 |
20.6 |
|
|
29 |
Indianapolis Colts |
29 |
243 |
8.4 |
29 |
New Orleans Saints |
16 |
339 |
21.2 |
|
|
30 |
Washington Redskins |
35 |
288 |
8.2 |
30 |
Denver Broncos |
18 |
390 |
21.7 |
|
|
31 |
Kansas City Chiefs |
28 |
212 |
7.6 |
31 |
St. Louis Rams |
18 |
407 |
22.6 |
|
|
32 |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
40 |
287 |
7.2 |
32 |
Indianapolis Colts |
17 |
430 |
25.3 |
|
Once again, we see some familiar company in the 49ers and the Packers. All of these teams thrive off of the turnover differential, and also the points differential.
|
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL |
POINTS DIFFERENTIAL |
|||||||||
|
Team |
Off TO |
Def TO |
TO Differential |
Tm |
Off Pts |
Def Pts |
PTS Differential |
|||
|
1 |
San Francisco 49ers |
10 |
38 |
28 |
1 |
New Orleans Saints |
547 |
339 |
208 |
|
|
2 |
Green Bay Packers |
14 |
38 |
24 |
2 |
Green Bay Packers |
560 |
359 |
201 |
|
|
3 |
New England Patriots |
17 |
34 |
17 |
3 |
New England Patriots |
513 |
342 |
171 |
|
|
4 |
Detroit Lions |
23 |
34 |
11 |
4 |
San Francisco 49ers |
380 |
229 |
151 |
|
|
5 |
Atlanta Falcons |
21 |
29 |
8 |
5 |
Baltimore Ravens |
378 |
266 |
112 |
|
|
6 |
Seattle Seahawks |
23 |
31 |
8 |
6 |
Houston Texans |
381 |
278 |
103 |
|
|
7 |
Houston Texans |
20 |
27 |
7 |
7 |
Pittsburgh Steelers |
325 |
227 |
98 |
|
|
8 |
New York Giants |
24 |
31 |
7 |
8 |
Detroit Lions |
474 |
387 |
87 |
|
|
9 |
Jacksonville Jaguars |
23 |
28 |
5 |
9 |
Philadelphia Eagles |
396 |
328 |
68 |
|
|
10 |
Dallas Cowboys |
21 |
25 |
4 |
10 |
Atlanta Falcons |
402 |
350 |
52 |
|
|
11 |
Baltimore Ravens |
24 |
26 |
2 |
11 |
San Diego Chargers |
406 |
377 |
29 |
|
|
12 |
Chicago Bears |
29 |
31 |
2 |
12 |
Dallas Cowboys |
369 |
347 |
22 |
|
|
13 |
Tennessee Titans |
22 |
23 |
1 |
13 |
Cincinnati Bengals |
344 |
323 |
21 |
|
|
14 |
Carolina Panthers |
23 |
24 |
1 |
14 |
Miami Dolphins |
329 |
313 |
16 |
|
|
15 |
Buffalo Bills |
30 |
31 |
1 |
15 |
New York Jets |
377 |
363 |
14 |
|
|
16 |
Cleveland Browns |
19 |
20 |
1 |
16 |
Chicago Bears |
353 |
341 |
12 |
|
|
17 |
Cincinnati Bengals |
22 |
22 |
0 |
17 |
Tennessee Titans |
325 |
317 |
8 |
|
|
18 |
Kansas City Chiefs |
28 |
26 |
-2 |
18 |
Seattle Seahawks |
321 |
315 |
6 |
|
|
19 |
New Orleans Saints |
19 |
16 |
-3 |
19 |
New York Giants |
394 |
400 |
-6 |
|
|
20 |
New York Jets |
34 |
31 |
-3 |
20 |
Carolina Panthers |
406 |
429 |
-23 |
|
|
21 |
Minnesota Vikings |
26 |
23 |
-3 |
21 |
Arizona Cardinals |
312 |
348 |
-36 |
|
|
22 |
Oakland Raiders |
30 |
26 |
-4 |
22 |
Buffalo Bills |
372 |
434 |
-62 |
|
|
23 |
St. Louis Rams |
23 |
18 |
-5 |
23 |
Oakland Raiders |
359 |
433 |
-74 |
|
|
24 |
San Diego Chargers |
27 |
21 |
-6 |
24 |
Washington Redskins |
288 |
367 |
-79 |
|
|
25 |
Miami Dolphins |
25 |
19 |
-6 |
25 |
Denver Broncos |
309 |
390 |
-81 |
|
|
26 |
Denver Broncos |
30 |
18 |
-12 |
26 |
Jacksonville Jaguars |
243 |
329 |
-86 |
|
|
27 |
Indianapolis Colts |
29 |
17 |
-12 |
27 |
Cleveland Browns |
218 |
307 |
-89 |
|
|
28 |
Pittsburgh Steelers |
28 |
15 |
-13 |
28 |
Minnesota Vikings |
340 |
449 |
-109 |
|
|
29 |
Arizona Cardinals |
32 |
19 |
-13 |
29 |
Kansas City Chiefs |
212 |
338 |
-126 |
|
|
30 |
Philadelphia Eagles |
38 |
24 |
-14 |
30 |
Indianapolis Colts |
243 |
430 |
-187 |
|
|
31 |
Washington Redskins |
35 |
21 |
-14 |
31 |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
287 |
494 |
-207 |
|
|
32 |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
40 |
24 |
-16 |
32 |
St. Louis Rams |
193 |
407 |
-214 |
|
So what have we learned from all of this? First, that while New England may be 31st in yards given up this year, it's really a misleading statistic. In all measures of efficiency, the Patriots rank in the top five of the league nearly every time with the other top teams in the league. New England isn't blowing anyone out of the water by any means, but they have a 13-3 record, a first overall seed, and the stats to back it up.