The 32 Observations series returns this year with Nathan Jahnke 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: Defensive end Shaq Lawson had a run stop percentage of 27.3 percent last Sunday. That was the best rate a Bills edge defender has had in a game since 2010.
Miami Dolphins: Backup linebacker Chase Allen had 16 stops in the preseason. No other linebacker had more than 12.
New England Patriots: Defensive end Trey Flowers had a career-high in defensive snaps at 68. He had eight pressures, which was nearly as much as the rest of the Patriots put together at 11.
New York Jets: Outside linebacker Josh Martin had an average depth of tackle of -4.0 yards, which was the best for all defensive players with three or more tackles.
AFC North
Baltimore Ravens: The Ravens Michael Pierce, C.J. Mosley, Kamalei Correa, Terrell Suggs, Za’Darius Smith and Tony Jefferson all had three or more stops. They were one of two teams to have six players with three or more stops.
Cincinnati Bengals: Backup linebacker Jordan Evans had a run stop percentage of 18.2 percent which is the best for any linebacker in Week 1 of their rookie year in the last five seasons.
Cleveland Browns: As a rookie Duke Johnson lined up at a wide receiver position 47 times. On Sunday he lined up at wide receiver 48, with his only other two snaps coming from a tight end stance.
Pittsburgh Steelers: Wide receiver Antonio Brown had 95 yards after the catch. That is both the fourth-most for a receiver on opening weekend in the PFF era, and also fourth-best for Brown in a game in his career.
AFC South
Houston Texans: Skill player Tyler Ervin saw a career-high in offensive snaps at 50. He was one of just two players including Jets' Matt Forte to have double-digit snaps in the backfield as well as double-digit at wide receiver. He saw 10 at running back and 40 at wide receiver.
Indianapolis Colts: Fifth-round rookie Nate Hairston had 0.36 yards per coverage snap, which was the best for rookie cornerbacks this past weekend.
Jacksonville Jaguars: Halfback Leonard Fournette had 68 yards after contact on his carries. That is tied with Kareem Hunt for the second most for a rookie in week one in the last 12 years.
Tennessee Titans: Rookie cornerback Adoree’ Jackson had a playmaker index of 28.6 which is the best for a rookie cornerback in Week 1 since 2009.
AFC West
Denver Broncos: Second-year defensive end Adam Gotsis had a 36.4 percent run stop percentage. That is tied for the best for any interior defensive linemen in the past decade.
Kansas City Chiefs: Quarterback Alex Smith had an adjusted completion percentage of 90.9 percent in Week 1. He is one of just seven quarterbacks in the last 12 years to have an adjusted completion above 90 percent in Week 1.
Los Angeles Chargers: Linebacker Jatavis Brown had seven run stops this past weekend, which is tied for the second most for a Charger in the PFF era, and the most for a linebacker in Week 1.
Oakland Raiders: Right tackle Marshall Newhouse had 30 pass blocks and no pressures allowed. It was the first time the Raiders had a performance like that out of the right tackle position since early 2015.
NFC East
Dallas Cowboys: The Cowboys as a team only missed three tackles on defense. They have only had two games over the last five seasons where they’ve missed fewer tackles.
New York Giants: Center Weston Richburg hasn’t allowed a pressure in his last five games. He is the only center since 2016 Week 15 including the playoffs to have over 40 pass blocks and not allow a pressure.
Philadelphia Eagles: Carson Wentz was forced to move off of his dropback eight times. On seven attempts off those dropbacks he had three completions for 88 yards. That was the most passing yards he’s had off these kind of passes in his career, and only the second time with more than 22.
Washington: Outside linebacker Junior Galette had a pass-rushing productivity of 30.0, which is the fifth-best for an edge defender on opening weekend in the past 12 years for those with 10 or more pass-rushes. He had one hit and three hurries on his 10 pass-rushes.
NFC North
Chicago Bears: Over the last six regular season weeks dating back to 2016 Week 13, Akiem Hicks has 22 stops which is the most for any defensive linemen.
Detroit Lions: Defensive tackle Jeremiah Ledbetter is one of ten interior defenders with four or more pressures in Week 1 of their rookie season in the PFF era. Others on that list include Gerald McCoy, J.J. Watt and Ndamukong Suh.
Green Bay Packers: Packers rookies played a combined 12 offensive and defensive snaps, which was the fewest for any team’s rookies in Week 1. Running back Jamaal Williams played six snaps and cornerback Kevin King played six.
Minnesota Vikings: Over the last 12 years, only three Vikings had more than 100 receiving yards from the slot. Cordarrelle Patterson had one game in 2013, Stefon Diggs had one last year, and now Adam Thielen had 146 yards from the slot this past Monday.
NFC South
Atlanta Falcons: Tight end Austin Hooper had 5.44 yards per route run on Sunday. That was the best for a Falcons tight end with 10 or more routes run in a game since PFF has collected data.
Carolina Panthers: Halfback Christian McCaffrey was not tackled on first contact on 46.15 percent of his carries. That was third-best for backs this week.
New Orleans Saints: Saints rookies played a combined 267 offensive and defensive snaps, which was the most for any team’s rookies in Week 1. They had four rookies start including left tackle Ryan Ramczyk, linebacker Alex Anzalone, cornerback Marshon Lattimore, safety Marcus Williams.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: When Jameis Winston was under pressure in the preseason, he completed 80 percent of his passes. No other quarterback with 20 or more attempts under pressure had more than 65 percent.
NFC West
Arizona Cardinals: Cornerback Patrick Peterson had 43 coverage snaps and only allowed six receiving yards. This was his 13th time in his career where he had 35 or more coverage snaps and held the men he was covering to single digit receiving yards. No other cornerback has done that more often in the PFF era.
Los Angeles Rams: Wide receiver Cooper Kupp had 3.17 yards per route run. No rookie receiver in the last 12 years ran more routes than Kupp and had more yards per route run.
San Francisco 49ers: Linebacker NaVorro Bowman allowed 30 or more receiving yards in 11 games in 2015. In the five games he has played since then, he’s allowed 13 or fewer including just four yards allowed this past weekend.
Seattle Seahawks: Safety Earl Thomas made five stops against the Packers, which was the most for him in a game in his career, and also matched his total for all of 2016.
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