Another week, another 32 Observations this week by our Editor, Cam Mellor, 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: In coverage, inside linebacker Preston Brown has been targeted the 14th-most of any ILB this season with 45 targeted passes into his coverage. He has responded well by allowing just 0.96 yards per coverage snap, the fifth-lowest among those with at least 211 snaps in coverage.
Miami Dolphins: Outside linebacker Lawrence Timmons has recorded 15 stops in coverage this season – tying him for third-most among the league's 4-3 OLBs.
New England Patriots: Tom Brady is the only quarterback in the league to not throw an interception on quick passes thrown within 2.5 seconds of the snap. It's not by lack of attempts either as Brady has thrown the fifth-most passes on these quick attempts, completing 170-of-239 and 11 touchdowns without an interception.
New York Jets: Over the past three weeks, only Brandin Cooks has hauled in more yards on deep passes (those targeted 20-plus yards downfield) than Robby Anderson. He has brought in five receptions for 173 yards over the past three games, and Anderson's three touchdowns are the most in that timeframe.
AFC NORTH
Baltimore Ravens: Willie Henry has knocked the quarterback down, either by a sack or a QB hit, on 56.3 percent of his pass-rushes, the highest mark of any 3-4 defensive end in the NFL.
Cincinnati Bengals: Geno Atkins leads the league's defensive tackles by such a large margin in quarterback pressures, that his 38 QB hurries alone would rank him third. He now has 55 total QB pressures this year, 16 more than the next closest defensive tackle.
Cleveland Browns: Outside linebacker James Burgess Jr. brings down a run stop on 11.2 percent of his snaps in run defense – the second-highest percent among the league's 4-3 OLBs with at least 78 snaps in run defense.
Pittsburgh Steelers: Only two guards this season have not allowed a single QB hit or sack on over 220 pass blocking snaps. David DeCastro leads those two with his 416 pass blocking snaps without a hit or sack allowed, and leads those players with just 11 hurries allowed as well.
AFC SOUTH
Houston Texans: Quarterback Tom Savage has completed standard, non-play action passes compared to play action passes at a much higher rate than any other quarterback this year. On standard passes, Savage completes 58.2 percent, compared to play action passes where he completes just 28.6 percent of his passes. His 29.6 completion percentage gap from non-play action to play action passing is the highest in the league by 10.3 percent.
Indianapolis Colts: No 3-4 defensive end in the AFC has accumulated more tackles in run defense, without missing a tackle, than Colts DE Johnathan Hankins. His 23 total tackles in run defense rank him ninth overall, but he stands atop the AFC's 3-4 DE's without missing a tackle.
Jacksonville Jaguars: Only three 4-3 defensive ends in the NFL have accumulated 20 or more pressures from both the left and right side of the defensive line. Jaguars DE Calais Campbell is the only one of those three with 24 or more from each side, and who isn't on the Chargers, as he joins Joey Bosa & Melvin Ingram on that list.
Tennessee Titans: Second-year running back Derrick Henry has forced 23 missed tackles on carries, and averages 3.58 yards after contact per carry, the third-best in the league. That mark of 3.58 yards would be the best for a Titans running back since Travis Henry's 3.24 in 2006.
AFC WEST
Denver Broncos: No inside linebacker has more total tackles in run defense without missing a tackle than Denver's Todd Davis. Against the run, Davis has recorded 33 total tackles, including 16 for stops, without missing a single tackle.
Kansas City Chiefs: Travis Kelce leads all tight ends this season with seven receptions of 20 yards or more. It should be no shock then that Kelce leads the league with 208 yards on deep passes to this point as well.
Los Angeles Chargers: For the second year in a row, quarterback Philip Rivers is leading the league in the amount of passes thrown away. He has thrown away 24 passes this season, which is still lower than where he was at Week 12 last year (27), but puts him on pace for 35 throwaways in 2017. He led the league last year with 41 passes thrown away.
Oakland Raiders: Despite exiting last week's game with a concussion, WR Amari Cooper leads the league with his astounding 2.62 yards per route run out of the slot receiver position. Cooper has been targeted 28 times on just 82 routes from the slot for 215 yards and a touchdown. His 34.1 percent target rate from the slot tops the league's receivers as well.
NFC EAST
Dallas Cowboys: Defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence has been a menace to opposing quarterbacks, especially when he lines up on the left side of the defensive line. He is tied for third among the league's 4-3 defensive ends with 46 total pressures coming from the left of the D-line.
New York Giants: 53 tight ends have stayed in to pass protect on 19 or more snaps this season and Giants TE Rhett Ellison leads them all with 40 pass blocking snaps without allowing a QB pressure.
Philadelphia Eagles: Defensive end Brandon Graham makes a stop in run defense on 14.6 percent of his snaps in run defense – the highest percent of any 4-3 defensive end with at least 70 snaps in run defense.
Washington Redskins: From a clean pocket this season, only two NFL quarterbacks have thrown fewer than two interceptions. Kirk Cousins is one of those two, and leads the two QBs with just one INT from a clean pocket with 12 touchdowns on such throws (Carson Palmer finished the season before his injury with a 4TD/1INT margin from a clean pocket).
NFC NORTH
Chicago Bears: Outside linebacker Sam Acho has more combined tackles in run defense without missing a tackle than any other 3-4 outside linebacker in the league. He has brought down 17 total tackles in run defense without missing a single tackle, 11 of which have gone down as stops.
Detroit Lions: Since his return to the lineup, over the last three weeks, rookie WR Kenny Golladay has averaged 3.69 yards per route run, the fifth-most of any wide receiver over the past three weeks with at least 36 snaps in route.
Green Bay Packers: Despite missing a game with an injury, no receiver in the NFL has more catchable passes thrown his way without dropping a ball than Randall Cobb. He has hauled in all 43 catchable passes on 53 total targets from Aaron Rodgers and Brett Hundley.
Minnesota Vikings: As reliable as they come, tight end Kyle Rudolph leads the league, at any position, with 46 catchable targets thrown his way, without a drop. The aforementioned Cobb is second among any pass-catcher in this category, but Rudolph takes the crown at Week 12.
NFC SOUTH
Atlanta Falcons: Defensive end Adrian Clayborn leads the league's 4-3 defensive ends with 43 total quarterback pressures when rushing from the right side of the defensive line.
Carolina Panthers: Linebacker Thomas Davis has been sent to rush the passer on 63 snaps this season, the eighth-most of any 4-3 outside linebacker. He has done it with great success as he recorded 14 total pressures and holds the league's fourth-highest pass-rush productivity among 4-3 OLBs.
New Orleans Saints: Rookie running back Alvin Kamara has exploded onto the scene with the Saints and has forced 23 missed tackles on receptions alone this year. That total is good enough for the fifth-most since 2006 and puts him on pace to break the record of 29 missed tackles forced on receptions set by Le'Veon Bell in 2014.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: An underrated skill for a running back, Bucs RB Doug Martin has not allowed a single QB pressure on snaps in which he has stayed in to pass protect, doing so on 28 snaps. That is the most among the league's running backs without allowing a single QB pressure.
NFC WEST
Arizona Cardinals: DT Xavier Williams records a stop in run defense 15.9 percent of the time he's on the field against the run. That is the highest mark for any DT in the league with at least 72 snaps in run defense.
Los Angeles Rams: Of the league's 3-4 outside linebackers, 21 of them have logged at least 38 snaps in coverage. Connor Barwin has allowed only five yards on four targets, and his average of 0.08 yards allowed per coverage snap leads all 3-4 OLBs by a large margin.
San Francisco 49ers: Among defensive tackles with 190-plus pass-rush snaps, only Gerald McCoy has turned his pressures into more QB knockdowns than DeForest Buckner. McCoy checks in with 48.6 percent of his pressures resulting in a sack or a QB hit, while Buckner is right behind him at 46.2 percent.
Seattle Seahawks: Only two outside linebackers have logged at least 50 snaps in both run defense and against the pass, and not missed a tackle in either facet. Seattle's Michael Wilhoite is one of those outside linebackers as he has brought down 10 total tackles in run defense on 103 snaps, and five total tackles on 66 snaps in coverage, all without missing a tackle.
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