Don’t look now, but it’s the Baltimore Ravens who lead the NFL in points differential. The Ravens had a historic season in 2019, easily leading the league in this category. But in 2020, it’s been a rough year for Baltimore: they had clinched the 1 seed this time last season, but are still needing a win or some help in week 17 to make the 2020 postseason. Not too long ago, the Ravens were 6-5 after a Wednesday night loss with a depleted roster to the Steelers. Since then, the Ravens have won four straight games by a total of 62 points. That is enough to give Baltimore the best points differential in the NFL entering week 17.
| Poin | Poin | Poin | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Tm | Year | G | W | L | T | W-L% | PF | PA | PD |
| 1 | BAL | 2020 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 0.667 | 430 | 300 | 130 |
| 2 | KAN | 2020 | 15 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0.933 | 452 | 324 | 128 |
| 3 | GNB | 2020 | 15 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0.800 | 474 | 353 | 121 |
| 4 | TAM | 2020 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 0.667 | 448 | 328 | 120 |
| 5 | NOR | 2020 | 15 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 0.733 | 449 | 330 | 119 |
| 6 | PIT | 2020 | 15 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0.800 | 394 | 288 | 106 |
| 7 | MIA | 2020 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 0.667 | 378 | 282 | 96 |
| 8 | SEA | 2020 | 15 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 0.733 | 433 | 348 | 85 |
| 9 | IND | 2020 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 0.667 | 423 | 348 | 75 |
| 10 | BUF | 2020 | 14 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0.786 | 407 | 340 | 67 |
| 11 | LAR | 2020 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 0.600 | 354 | 289 | 65 |
| 12 | ARI | 2020 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 0.533 | 403 | 349 | 54 |
| 13 | TEN | 2020 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 0.667 | 450 | 401 | 49 |
| 14 | CHI | 2020 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 0.533 | 356 | 335 | 21 |
| 15 | WAS | 2020 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 0.400 | 315 | 315 | 0 |
| 16 | ATL | 2020 | 15 | 4 | 11 | 0 | 0.267 | 369 | 370 | -1 |
| 17 | SFO | 2020 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 0.400 | 353 | 364 | -11 |
| 18 | NWE | 2020 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 0.429 | 289 | 301 | -12 |
| 19 | CLE | 2020 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 0.667 | 384 | 397 | -13 |
| 20 | CAR | 2020 | 15 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 0.333 | 343 | 369 | -26 |
| 21 | LVR | 2020 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 0 | 0.467 | 402 | 447 | -45 |
| 22 | MIN | 2020 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 0.400 | 393 | 440 | -47 |
| 23 | LAC | 2020 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 0.400 | 346 | 405 | -59 |
| 24 | DAL | 2020 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 0.400 | 376 | 450 | -74 |
| 25 | HOU | 2020 | 15 | 4 | 11 | 0 | 0.267 | 346 | 423 | -77 |
| 26 | CIN | 2020 | 15 | 4 | 10 | 1 | 0.300 | 308 | 386 | -78 |
| 27 | PHI | 2020 | 15 | 4 | 10 | 1 | 0.300 | 320 | 398 | -78 |
| 28 | NYG | 2020 | 15 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 0.333 | 257 | 338 | -81 |
| 29 | DEN | 2020 | 15 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 0.333 | 292 | 414 | -122 |
| 30 | DET | 2020 | 15 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 0.333 | 342 | 482 | -140 |
| 31 | JAX | 2020 | 15 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 0.067 | 292 | 464 | -172 |
| 32 | NYJ | 2020 | 15 | 2 | 13 | 0 | 0.133 | 229 | 429 | -200 |
It has been a weird season in the NFL. The Ravens have the defending league MVP in Lamar Jackson but are “only” 10-5 despite the great points differential; in the NFC, the Bucs, with 2017 NFL MVP Tom Brady, are also “only” 10-5 despite being in a virtual 3-way tie with the Packers and Saints in the points differential standings. It’s possible that the points differential leaders in both the AFC and NFC are Wild Card teams, which has never happened in a full season since the merger. [1]Well, it happened in the strike-shortened 1982 season.
Here are the league leaders in points differential each season. You might notice something else pretty strange about 2020: as it stands, the Ravens would replace the 2008 Titans as the team with the worst points differential to lead the league in that category.
Please leave your thoughts in the comments. I’ll add that while the Ravens do lead the NFL in points differential, by virtue of having a more difficult schedule and nearly the same points differential, the Bucs, Saints, and Chiefs all have higher SRS ratings right now than Baltimore. Of course, Ravens fans might point out that the Covid-19 Replacement game against the Steelers is artificially suppressing their SRS rating and points differential.
References
| ↑1 | Well, it happened in the strike-shortened 1982 season. |
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