Another week, another 32 Observations by PFF Analyst Mark Chichester, finding an interesting piece of information about all 32 teams after one week of football.
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AFC EAST
Buffalo Bills: When the Bills' defense has pressured the opposing quarterback, they have allowed a cumulative passer rating of just 55.5, which is the fifth-best mark among defenses this year.
Miami Dolphins: Running back Kenyan Drake has forced a missed tackle on 22.2 percent of his carries this year, the fourth-highest rate among backs with at least 70 attempts this season.
New England Patriots: Through 14 weeks, no wide receiver has a better catch rate on red zone targets than Danny Amendola, who has caught 10-of-12 red zone targets for a catch rate of 83.3 percent.
New York Jets: Rookie safety Jamal Adams has lined up within eight yards of the line of scrimmage on 82.1 percent of his run-defense snaps this year, which is the eighth-highest rate among safeties. On those snaps, he’s recorded 16 run stops, tied for the second-most among players at the position.
AFC NORTH
Baltimore Ravens: Through 14 weeks, quarterback Joe Flacco’s average depth of target sits at a lowly 7.0 yards, good enough for 31st among the league's 32 starting signal-callers.
Cincinnati Bengals: When cornerback William Jackson has lined up in press coverage, he has allowed a catch rate of just 26.3 percent and a passer rating of just 17.7, both of which are tops among cornerbacks with at least 15 targets in press coverage.
Cleveland Browns: In his first two games since 2014, wide receiver Josh Gordon has seen a total of 10 deep targets (targets from throws of 20 or more yards downfield), the most among receivers in the last two weeks. Just four of those targets have been catchable and all four have been contested, yet Gordon has hauled in all four passes for 123 yards and one touchdown, generating a passer rating of 120.0, the third-best mark among receivers with at least three deep targets since Week 13.
Pittsburgh Steelers: Through 14 weeks, rookie wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster has caught 37-of-54 targets for 585 yards, five touchdowns and just one interception, all good for a wide receiver rating (passer rating that’s generated when a receiver is targeted) of 127.5. That figure currently ranks first among this year’s rookie pass-catchers and fifth among all rookie receivers since 2006.
AFC SOUTH
Houston Texans: The Houston Texans’ offensive line ended the 2016 season with a cumulative pass-blocking efficiency of 74.0, which ranked 27th among teams. Through 14 weeks of the 2017 season, they’ve actually declined and they are currently ranked last among units with a pass-blocking efficiency of 66.4. The differential of -7.6 is the biggest drop off among teams from last season to this season, and the team is currently on pace to record the worst cumulative PBE in the PFF era.
Indianapolis Colts: Quarterback Jacoby Brissett has dropped back to pass 47 times when inside his opponent’s 20-yard line, and he’s taken nine sacks on those dropbacks, the second-most among quarterbacks in the league. On average, he’s been sacked on 19.1 percent of his red zone dropbacks, the highest mark among signal-callers with at least 15 dropbacks.
Jacksonville Jaguars: Through 14 weeks, quarterbacks have attempted 21 deep passes against cornerback A.J. Bouye, which is tied for the most among all cornerbacks. Bouye has allowed just two of those passes to be caught, he’s intercepted three, broken up another four and has allowed a passer rating of just 4.0, which is the second-best mark among cornerbacks with at least 10 deep targets.
Tennessee Titans: This season, the Titans defense has allowed just 14 completions from deep passes and just four breakaway runs (runs of 15 or more yards), for a total of just 18 explosive plays, the fewest among the league’s 32 defenses.
AFC WEST
Denver Broncos: Starting center Matt Paradis has logged 541 pass-blocking snaps this year and is still yet to allow a sack. This is this the longest active streak among centers this year.
Kansas City Chiefs: Veteran edge-rusher Justin Houston has produced 46 total pressures this season, the 10th-most among 3-4 outside linebackers, and since 2014, Von Miller (50) and Ryan Kerrigan (49) are the only two players at the position that have more sacks than the 46 Houston has accumulated.
Los Angeles Chargers: Through 14 weeks, second-year edge-defender Joey Bosa has racked up 65 quarterback pressures (tied second among edge-defenders) and 21 run stops (tied seventh among edge defenders) for a total of 86 impact plays. Khalil Mack (94) and Von Miller (93) are the only edge-defenders who have more.
Oakland Raiders: When the Raiders have been within seven points of their opponent this year, 83.3 percent of quarterback Derek Carr’s pass attempts have been catchable. This is tied with Drew Brees for the best mark among quarterbacks when their respective teams are within one score of the opposition.
NFC EAST
Dallas Cowboys: Starting right guard Zack Martin is allowing a pressure once every 39 pass-blocking snaps, which is the best mark among all guards with at least 200 pass-blocking snaps.
New York Giants: Through 14 weeks, defensive tackle Damon Harrison leads all players at the position with 31 total run stops. If he maintains his lead, he will have led all defensive tackles in this category in four of his seven professional seasons. Additionally, Harrison has now racked up 196 run stops since 2013, which is 64 stops more than the closest defensive tackle (Ndamukong Suh–132) in that span.
Philadelphia Eagles: Wide receiver Alshon Jeffery has been one of the most effective pass-catchers in scramble drill situations this year. Through 14 weeks, he’s caught 4-of-5 catchable targets when his quarterback has scrambled, for 43 yards and one touchdown, and a wide receiver rating of 127.1 that ranks third among receivers with at least five targets during the scramble drill.
Washington Redskins: Despite playing with a torn tendon in his knee for most of the season, left tackle Trent Williams is only offensive tackle in the league who has played more than 350 pass-blocking snaps without allowing a sack. Williams last allowed a sack in Week 7 of the 2016 season, and his current streak of 563 pass-blocking snaps without allowing a sack is the longest active streak among players at the position.
NFC NORTH
Chicago Bears: Running back Tarik Cohen has been targeted on 32.3 percent of his 158 snaps in route this year, which is the third-highest rate among running backs this year.
Detroit Lions: Through 14 weeks, quarterback Matthew Stafford has attempted 173 ‘no huddle’ pass attempts, the most among quarterbacks by over 50 attempts. He’s also completed 74.6 percent of those attempts, the third-highest mark among signal-callers, with just Matt Ryan (84.2 percent) and Tom Brady (76.0 percent) ahead of him.
Green Bay Packers: Rookie running back Jamaal Williams has run past the point where he was first contacted on 96 of his 106 rushing attempts (90.6 percent), which is the highest rate among backs with at least 100 carries this year.
Minnesota Vikings: Tight end Kyle Rudolph has seen 17 third down targets this year, with seven of those targets coming short of the line to gain. Despite this, he’s converted five of those seven targets into a first down, for a conversion percentage of 71.4 percent, the best mark among players this year. Teammate Stefon Diggs ranks second on this list, having converted 66.7 percent of his short third down targets into a first down.
NFC SOUTH
Atlanta Falcons: Cornerback Desmond Trufant has seen 20 targets when he’s lined up in press coverage this season, and he’s logged one interception and five pass breakups, for a playmaker index (total number of interceptions and pass breakups divided by targets in coverage) of 30.0 percent. That figure is good for first among cornerbacks with at least 15 targets in press coverage.
Carolina Panthers: Backup tight end Ed Dickson has performed extremely well on deep routes (corner routes, post routes and go routes) this year. Through 14 weeks, he’s caught 8-of-10 deep route targets for 209 yards and one score, which is all good for a passer rating of 145.8 when targeted, the best mark among tight ends with at least 10 deep route targets this year.
New Orleans Saints: This season, running back Mark Ingram has logged 192 rushing attempts, the 10th-most carries among backs. On those carries, just 23 of them (12.0 percent) have resulted in zero or negative yardage, which is the best rate among running backs with at least 50 carries. Teammate Alvin Kamara ranks second among the same group, as just 12.6 percent of his carries have resulted in zero or negative yardage.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Veteran safety T.J. Ward is averaging 15 tackle attempts per missed tackle this season, which is currently tied for the eighth-best rate among safeties.
NFC WEST
Arizona Cardinals: Since taking over as starter in Week 11, quarterback Blaine Gabbert has been one of the least pressured quarterbacks in the game, and has faced pressure on just 30.4 percent of his dropbacks, the eighth-lowest mark among quarterbacks. However, Gabbert takes a sack on 35.4 percent of those pressured dropbacks, which is the highest rate among quarterbacks in that span.
Los Angeles Rams: When defending inside their own 20-yard line, the Los Angeles Rams are averaging 2.0 seconds to produce pressure, the quickest rate among teams and almost 0.3 seconds quicker than the NFL average.
San Francisco 49ers: Running back Matt Breida is averaging 2.17 yards before contact per carry this year, which is the third-best mark among running backs with at least 75 carries this year.
Seattle Seahawks: Through 14 weeks, no player in the NFL has seen more red zone targets (26) than tight end Jimmy Graham, and despite the fact that just 65.4 percent of his red zone targets have been catchable, no other player has more red zone touchdowns (9) either. This year, he’s caught 15-of-17 catchable red zone targets and is generating a passer rating of 106.6, which is the fifth-best mark among tight ends with at least 10 targets from inside the opponents 20-yard line.
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